The Diplomat
Spain will receive 84.5 million euros in European aid to alleviate the effects of Brexit. That amount is part of the 819.2 million approved yesterday by the European Commission to help the sectors and regions of the Union most affected by the UK’s exit from the EU club, in a dozen member states.
In addition to this item, Brussels has agreed to release another 1,266 million euros between now and April 2023 for the same group of countries, an amount of which Spain expects to receive 130.6 million.
In announcing the decision, the EU executive explained that the funds released can be used until 31 December to cover expenditure and payments from 1 January 2020.
The Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, highlighted the “record time” in which the reserve fund was created to respond to the negative effects of Brexit on the EU economy.
“It is now up to member states to make the best use of the funds available to help regions, local communities, citizens and SMEs to diversify their activities, preserve jobs and retrain the workforce where necessary,” she said.
The reserve fund is endowed with around 5.4 billion euros to be disbursed until 2025, of which Spain is allocated around 272 million euros.
Ireland is the country most exposed to the consequences of the divorce, which is why it is the partner that will receive the most resources from this instrument (around 1 billion euros), followed by the Netherlands (810 million), France (670 million), Germany (590 million) and Belgium (350 million).
