On Friday 11 September, the Council of the EU adopted its position, by written procedure, in favour of the amending budget (No 8) for 2020 which will provide €6.2 billion to counteract the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the European Union (see EUROPE 12549/2).
The revised budget will increase payments to the Emergency Support Instrument by €1.09 billion to ensure that a vaccine can be developed and deployed against Covid-19. The European Commission will use these funds as a down payment for pre-orders of vaccine doses.
Draft amending budget No 8 also increases payments for the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative and the Investment Initiative + by €5.1 billion. The funds will be used to cover any additional needs related to cohesion policy funding forecasts up to the end of the year. The Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative redirects unspent funds from the EU budget to tackle the Covid-19 crisis, while the Investment Initiative Plus relaxes the rules on cohesion spending to increase flexibility.
On 16 September, the European Parliament will adopt its position on this amending budget, based on the position taken by the Council of the EU. The amending budget will then receive final approval. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)