(BRUSSELS) – The European Commission gave its approval Monday to the disbursement to a group of 12 EU Member States of more than EUR 2 billion under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.
This decision will make available a total of EUR 819.2 million by the end of March 2022 and the rest by April 2023.
“Brexit has had a negative impact on many people’s lives within the EU,” said Cohesion Commissioner Elisa Ferreira: “The Brexit Adjustment Reserve was set up and adopted in record time to help Member States mitigate the adverse economic, social and territorial consequences of Brexit.”
She said it was now up to EU Member States to make “the best use of the available funding to support regions, local communities, citizens and small and medium businesses to diversify their activities, keep jobs and reskill the workforce where necessary.”
The funding was set up to help the economies of the Member States mitigate the adverse impact of Brexit on their economies and regions, through support to regions and economic sectors, small and medium sized companies as well as job creation and protection, such as short-time work schemes, re-skilling, and training.
Member States may use the funding until 31 December 2023 to cover expenses incurred and paid since 1 January 2020.
The impact of Brexit has varied in the various Member States, with some regions, sectors, or local communities more affected than others.
The Brexit Adjustment Reserve of EUR 5.4 billion has been put in place to support all Member States with a strong focus on those most affected.