On Wednesday 16 March, Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) endorsed the proposed ‘CARE’ initiative to help frontline Member States deal with the influx of refugees caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The European Union has already welcomed nearly 3 million displaced persons, mainly women and children, fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”, noted the French Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Joël Giraud, on this occasion, welcoming the fact that the commitment made by the Member States at the Versailles European Summit was being honoured so quickly.
Member States welcomed the proposal tabled by the European Commission. However, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia reiterated their request for a subsequent ‘CARE+’ initiative (see EUROPE 12910/4). The aim is to have even more flexibility and, eventually, funding.
However, Denmark and the Netherlands expressed doubts about the extension of the 100% co-financing.
As a reminder, the proposal amends the regulatory framework for cohesion policy 2014-2020 to introduce flexibility in the transfer of resources between the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) programmes, and to make the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) more flexible.
The Commission is extending the 100% co-financing provided for in the CRII+ initiative (see EUROPE 12680/5) by one year. In addition, it proposes to make use of the €50 billion React-EU initiative, of which €10 billion has not yet been programmed. The start date of the new eligible measures is 24 February 2022, the date of the Russian invasion (see EUROPE 12906/6).
It will also reinforce Member States’ efforts to address the prolonged impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following an urgency procedure, the European Parliament is expected to vote on this initiative next week during the mini-plenary session, as was the case for the ‘CRII’ and ‘CRII+’ initiatives during the pandemic (see EUROPE 12911/10). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)