Luxembourg Receives €2.8m from EU Solidarity Fund for COVID-19 Measures

On Wednesday 19 January 2022, the European Commission reported that Luxembourg has received a total of €2.857 million from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to support emergency measures against the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020.

The Commission recently completed the payments of the EUSF assistance to nineteen countries for a total amount of almost €385.5 million, in addition to €132.7 million paid to the European Union (EU) member states that requested an EUSF advance payment in 2020.

The support finances medical assistance, the purchase and administration of vaccines, personal protective equipment and medical devices, costs of healthcare, laboratory analyses, emergency support to the population and measures of prevention, and monitoring and control of the spread of disease.

Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, said: "The European Union stood together against the coronavirus pandemic and made a proof of solidarity in a difficult moment. The EUSF is a clear symbol of this, giving a helping hand to countries to cope with the unprecedented health emergency, both to EU Member States and countries in the process of joining the EU".

Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, added: "Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been standing by our partners in the Western Balkans. I am pleased that Albania, Montenegro and Serbia have been able to take advantage of the EUSF support. This is yet another demonstration of the EU's commitment to support the region in the fight against the coronavirus, where possible with access to the same assistance mechanisms as those for our Member States".

The EUSF finances part of public spending, calculated as 2.5% of the total amount of public spending below €1.5 billion in 2011 prices, or 0.3% of its GNI, plus 6% of the total amount of public spending above the same threshold.

For Luxembourg, the total eligible public expenditure was €168.230 million, as of Monday 17 January 2022, in relation to the COVID-19 health emergency.

According to information provided by the Luxembourgish authorities, they intend to use all awarded EUSF assistance for COVID-19 rapid antigen testing.

Of the grand total of €529.349 million EUSF aid approved to tackle COVID-19 related measures since 2020, the highst share was requested by France (€91.365 million) followed by Italy (€76.262 million).