© Shutterstock
The European Commission has given the green light to pay two billion euros to twelve European Union member states suffering from the economic impact of Britain’s exit from the European Union. Belgium will receive 305 million euros.
ltosource† BELGA
The Brexit Amendment Reserve was launched last year to provide support to member states affected by the UK’s exit from the European Union. The funds should help affected regions and economic sectors mitigate the impact, including through support for small and medium-sized businesses, retraining and training programmes.
After 920 million euros were earmarked at the end of last year for particularly hard-hit Ireland, the commission agreed to disburse the money to 12 other member states on Monday. The first payment of €819.2 million will be made available at the end of this month, and the rest by April 2023.
Read also. European Billionaires Bill Threatens UK Over Fraudulent Imports
185 million euros
In the first tranche, €119.9 million was allocated to Belgium, which lobbied hard for the creation of the fund during negotiations on the current multi-year budget. Next year, our country will receive another 185 million euros (91.7 million euros for 2022 and 93.6 million euros for 2023).
The Brexit adjustment reserve contains up to 5.4 billion euros. About 80 percent is paid out in pre-financing on various tranches. In 2025, a final tranche of €1.1 billion is then made available to reimburse costs already incurred for actions eligible for support.
