On Tuesday 6 April, for the first time ever, the European Commission announced the approval of aid for the Netherlands and Austria under REACT-EU, an initiative to strengthen Cohesion funding intended to combat the consequences of the pandemic.
These two Member States should see their Cohesion policy investments increase by €262 million from REACT-EU, an instrument that has a budget, it should be noted, of €47.5 billion (constant prices). These investments are the result of changes made to four operational programmes, notably under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
In the Netherlands, the Commission said in its press release, that the three amendments that have been introduced increase the EU cofinancing rates and inject almost €137.9 billion into green and digital transition investments for northern (€44.9 million), eastern (€43.5 million) and southern (€49 million) regions of the country.
In Austria, the amendment to the ERDF operational programme aims to provide €123.8 million to strengthen the research and innovation capacity of businesses, but also to improve energy efficiency and develop renewable energy.
On this occasion, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, called on Member States to complete internal procedures for approving the own resources decision as soon as possible so that the institution is able to borrow on the financial markets (see EUROPE 12688/2). Further announcements are expected shortly, including announcements for Bulgaria, Latvia and Finland.
By way of reminder, REACT-EU came into force at the end of December and is able to fund expenditure from 1 February 2020 until 31 December 2023 (see EUROPE 12604/2). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)