In addition to increased support for Greenland (see other news), on Thursday 5 February the European Commission’s experts presented several other re-mobilisations under the ‘budgetary flexibility cushion of the EU’s financial instrument for external action’ (‘NDICI-Global Europe’s cushion’) to MEPs on the Budget (BUDG), Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Development (DEVE) Committees of the European Parliament.
A budget of €500 million has been earmarked to support decarbonisation and industrial transformation in India in 2026 and 2027. Additionally, €150 million has been earmarked for Syria to support the country’s political transition and socio-economic recovery, in particular through job creation and capacity building. Finally, for 2026 alone, €150 million will be earmarked for the ‘Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’.
Other re-mobilisations are also “possible” in Moldova and Gaza, the Commission said on Thursday. However, Myriam Ferran, a senior official in the International Partnerships Department (DG INTPA), pointed out that “the ‘cushion’ is nearly depleted as we speak”, with just €159 million remaining unallocated in the ‘cushion’ for the years 2026-2027.
“This is a limited amount, but we are fully confident that all the mobilisations we have been calling on so far were definitely duly justified and answering to non foreseeable needs at the time. So this pleads also in favour of the need for funding for external relations, and this is backed by our proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)”, said the expert from the EU institution.
To see the detailed table of the ‘budgetary cushion’: https://aeur.eu/f/klb (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)