(1)

Regulation (EU) No 223/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) lays down rules applicable to the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (the ‘Fund’).

(2)

Member States have been affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 in an unprecedented manner. The crisis entails higher risks for the most vulnerable, such as the most deprived persons, in particular by disrupting the support provided by the Fund.

(3)

In order to provide for an immediate response to the impact of the crisis on the most deprived persons, expenditure for operations fostering crisis response capacities to address the outbreak of COVID-19 should be eligible as from 1 February 2020.

(4)

With a view to alleviating the burden on public budgets responding to the outbreak of COVID-19, Member States should be given the possibility, on an exceptional basis, to request for a co-financing rate of 100 % to be applied for the accounting year 2020 to 2021 in accordance with budget appropriations and subject to available funding. Based on an assessment of the application of that exceptional co-financing rate, the Commission may propose an extension thereof.

(5)

In order to ensure that the most deprived persons can continue to receive assistance under the Fund in a safe environment, it is necessary to provide for sufficient flexibility for Member States to adjust their support schemes to the current context based on consultations with partner organisations, including by allowing alternative schemes of delivery, such as through vouchers or cards in electronic or other form, and by allowing Member States to amend certain elements of the operational programme without requiring the adoption of a Commission decision. In order to ensure safe assistance to the most vulnerable persons, it should also be possible to provide the necessary protective materials and equipment to partner organisations outside the technical assistance budget.

(6)

It is appropriate to establish specific rules for determining the eligible costs borne by beneficiaries where operations are delayed, suspended or not fully implemented as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19.

(7)

In order to enable Member States to focus on introducing measures to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19 and avoid the disruption of the delivery of support to the most deprived persons because of the risk of contamination, it is appropriate to provide for specific measures that reduce the administrative burden on authorities and provide flexibility with regard to compliance with certain legislative requirements, in particular those relating to monitoring, control and audit.

(8)

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to introduce specific measures to ensure the effective implementation of the Fund during the outbreak of COVID-19, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective.

(9)

Given the urgency of the support needed, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(10)

In view of the urgency entailed by the exceptional circumstances caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, the associated public health crisis and its social and economic consequences, it was considered to be appropriate to provide for an exception to the eight‐week period referred to in Article 4 of Protocol No 1 on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union, annexed to the TEU, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.

(11)

Regulation (EU) No 223/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

in Article 9, the first subparagraph of paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

(2)

in Article 13(1), the following subparagraph is added:

‘By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the deadline for the submission of the annual implementation report for the year 2019 shall be 30 September 2020.’;

(3)

in Article 20, the following paragraph is inserted:

(4)

in Article 22(4), the following subparagraph is added:

‘By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, expenditure for operations for fostering crisis response capacity to address the outbreak of COVID-19 shall be eligible from 1 February 2020.’;

(5)

in Article 23, the following paragraph is inserted:

(6)

in Article 26, paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

(7)

the following articles are inserted:

(8)

in Article 30, the following paragraph is inserted: