On 15 April 2020, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted a position paper on the “Poposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 223/2014 as regards the introduction of specific measures for addressing the COVID-19 crisis” where the EESC urges the Council and the European Parliament to swiftly approve the regulation so that it can be adopted as soon as possible.
The EESC expressed its recommendations, underlying that the COVID-19 outbreak constitutes a grave emergency and represents a situation unprecedented since the end of the Second World War.
In this context, all measures necessary to alleviate the crisis must be addressed by the European Union without delay. Especially for the most deprived, because the crisis risks disrupting the support provided by the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).
The impact of this unprecedented crisis shows that specific measures are urgently needed in order to protect the most deprived from the disease itself and to ensure that FEAD assistance still reaches them, despite the current constraints of the crisis.
The EESC emphasises that, in these times of unprecedented crisis, the EU and its Member States should show solidarity and provide help to the most deprived. The principles of solidarity and common values are fundamental to the functioning of the EU. NGOs and social partners at EU and national level have a key role to play in the fight against the outbreak of COVID-19.
To read the full position paper with the detailed recommendations of the EESC – click here.
