Emergency humanitarian support within the EU

KEY POINTS

• The Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) created under this regulation is based on needs and is meant to preserve life, prevent human suffering and maintain human dignity.
• The Council decides on the activation of emergency support under this regulation based on a proposal by the European Commission.
• The Commission must monitor actions that have received funding and present an overall assessment of the support provided during a given activation, or proposals to end support, to the Council at the latest 12 months after the activation of the emergency support.
• The Commission must ensure that funds used under this regulation are not affected by fraud, corruption or any other illegal activities that may harm the financial interests of the EU.
• This regulation is meant to complement other EU funding instruments, such as the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived.

Special COVID-19 measures

• Through the ESI, the EU is mobilising €2.7 billion. This is to be used to fund emergency healthcare support such as:
  • jointly procuring, stockpiling and distributing essential resources;
  • boosting the development of medication and testing methods;
  • creating temporary hospitals and setting up temporary quarantine facilities; and
  • assisting the transporting of patients cross-border to hospitals with free capacity.
• It will also be possible to fund other actions depending on the evolving needs of EU countries, hospitals, doctors and patients.
• The Commission may fund partner organisations, such as non‐governmental organisations, specialised services of EU countries, national authorities and other public bodies, international organisations and their agencies.
• The range of potential beneficiaries of financial assistance for implementing ESI-funded actions has been widened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Where appropriate and necessary for the implementation of an action, organisations and entities with the necessary expertise, or active in the disaster relief sector may be eligible, such as:
  • private service providers;
  • equipment manufacturers; and
  • scientists and research institutions.
• The different options available for procuring supplies and services needed for providing emergency support include:
  • joint procurement by the Commission and EU countries;
  • procurement by the Commission on behalf of EU countries;
  • procurement by the Commission; and
  • sale, donation or rental of the procured supplies or services to EU countries or partner organisations selected by the Commission.
• ESI financing can cover up to 100% of direct and indirect costs related to ESI-funded actions until the end of the activation period. Direct costs can include:
  • the purchase, preparation, collection, transport, storage and distribution of goods and services; and
  • investment costs of actions or projects directly related to achieving the aims of the relevant ESI activation.
• To speed up the award and performance of contracts resulting from procurement procedures, the regulation allows for certain derogations to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the EU’s Financial Regulation (see summary).