On Friday 26 November, the European Commission approved €654 million for Spain and Hungary under the REACT-EU initiative to respond to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and as part of the linked reprogramming of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) operational programmes.
Spain is expected to receive an additional €404 million to support employment, especially for young people and the most vulnerable, and to accelerate hiring in health centres.
Hungary will receive an extra €250 million for the purchase of 13 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. The additional funding will also be used to pay overtime for 7,000 doctors and nurses.
The previous day, the Commission had approved €60 million to support Poland’s health sector, SMEs and energy efficiency.
€36.6 billion had been allocated to Member States under the ERDF and ESF as of 22 November, according to European Commission figures. The Commission has published the country by country allocation of the remaining resources, namely €11 billion for 2022 (see EUROPE 12839/11). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)