European Commission allocates € 920.4 million to Ireland from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve
The European Commission will allocate € 920.4 million to Ireland from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to help Ireland mitigate the impact of Brexit through various schemes and measures.
Ireland is the biggest beneficiary of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and the first Member State to receive its pre-financing. Of the allocated funds, Ireland will receive € 361.5 million in 2021, € 276.7 million in 2022 and € 282.2 million in 2023.
The funds aim to provide support to economic sectors, business and local communities, and organisations, including small-scale coastal fisheries, dependent on fishing activities in the United Kingdom (U.K.) waters. Brexit poses specific risks to the fisheries sector with Member States having limited access to U.K. waters. Therefore, a part of the contribution will be earmarked for the most concerned Member States. At least 50% of this amount or 7% of their provisionally allocated amount, whichever is lower, will be spent on measures to support local and regional coastal communities, including the fisheries sector in particular the small-scale coastal fisheries sector dependent on fishing activities.
Speaking on the occasion, the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms – Elisa Ferreira said, “Brexit has had a negative impact on many people’s lives. Within the EU, it is the people in Ireland who feel it the most. The EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve stands for solidarity with those most affected. In moving forward, we don’t want to leave anyone behind. The funding that Ireland will receive will contribute to improve living standards, support economic growth in the country and mitigate the negative impacts in local communities.”
Taking it to twitter, she tweeted,
📣Allocation €920.4 million #BAR to Ireland. The 2021 tranche of €361.5 million to be disbursed this month.
— Elisa Ferreira (@ElisaFerreiraEC) December 6, 2021
🇨🇮 is the 1st Member State to receive its pre-financing.#BAR has been put in place to support Member States mitigating impact of Brexit.
👉https://t.co/fB5wiqhH2H pic.twitter.com/4zO9fsEN0S
The Reserve also includes support to job creation and protection, including through short-time work schemes, re-skilling and training. It also has measures aimed at the re-integration of European Union (E.U.) citizens as well as persons having the right to reside on the territory of the E.U. who left the U.K., as a result of Brexit.
The Brexit Adjustment Reserve will also ensure the functioning of border, customs, sanitary and phytosanitary and security controls, fisheries control, certification and authorisation regimes. Besides, it also has measures for communication, information and awareness raising of citizens and businesses about changes to their rights and obligations, arising out of Brexit. The reference period for the expenditure starts with retroactivity from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023.
The European Commission will disburse the first instalment of the pre-financing to Ireland by the end of 2021. Going ahead, European Commission expects to adopt Brexit Adjustment Reserve decisions for the other Member States in the coming weeks.
Brexit impacted all the Member States of the European Union (E.U.), but in different ways. Some Member States, regions, sectors, or local communities are more affected than others. The Brexit Adjustment Reserve of € 5.4 billion has been created to support all Member States while ensuring a strong concentration on those most affected. The financial contribution from the reserve to a Member State will be implemented under shared management.
