On April 18th extraordinary plenary session the European Parliament endorsed the “Corona Response Investment Initiative Plus“, including changes to the current Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) aimed to ensure that the most deprived can continue to receive assistance by the Fund in a safe environment.
The amended regulations provide for sufficient flexibility for Member States to adjust the schemes of support to the current context, including by allowing alternative schemes of delivery e.g. through (electronic) vouchers and by allowing Member States to amend certain elements of the operational programme for the distribution of food/basic material assistance (FEAD OP I) without requiring the adoption of a special decision by the Commission.
All FEAD expenditure for operations fostering crisis response capacities in the context of the Coronavirus outbreak are eligible as of 1 February 2020. This proposal makes it possible to provide the necessary protective materials and equipment to partner organisations outside the technical assistance budget.
A small success story of our advocacy efforts: On a Green initiative and joint advocacy efforts of Eurodiaconia, FEANTSA and CARITAS Europe the European Parliament were able to convince the Council that the organisations working with the people are best placed to decide whether electronic or other types of food vouchers work best – not just electronically.
To find out more about the current changes to the FEAD, please visit the European Commission’s website.