On Friday 22 July, the European Commission announced the granting of €274.9 million to Spain and €125 million to three EU countries (Estonia, Lithuania and Poland) as part of the REACT-EU budgetary extension of €50 billion intended to help the Member States to revive their economies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Spain. In Spain, the additional resources will support the economic recovery of Spanish regions, help workers and jobseekers acquire the skills needed for the digital and green transition and improve access to and the functioning of social systems.
€137 million are being added to the Spanish operational programme of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) to provide food aid and support to the most vulnerable groups, including people who have left Ukraine due to the Russian aggression against the country.
The remaining resources of €137.9 million are added to the ESF programmes of eight Spanish regions: (€660,000 for Cantabria, €12.7 million for Castilla y León, €86.7 million for Catalonia, €1 million for Ceuta, €11.6 million for Galicia, €9.8 million for the Balearic Islands, €1.8 million for Melilla, €13.5 million for the Basque Country).
Spain will receive a total of €14.5 billion under REACT-EU.
Reception of Ukrainian refugees. On Friday, the Commission announced an additional €125 million from the ESF and ERDF funds to help three Member States - Estonia, Lithuania and Poland - receive and integrate people who have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This envelope will be distributed as follows: €29.6 million for Estonia, 61 million for Lithuania and 34.4 million for Poland (including 14 million for the Łódzkie region, 1.8 million for the Wielkopolska region and 4.2 million for the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)