Majority of the Brexit aid fund – GrenzEcho

A large majority in favor of Brexit aid funds

“I am very happy that the committee has given me as a negotiator such a strong mandate for future negotiations with member states,” said Aremont after the vote, according to a message. What is the subject of “Brexit Amendment Reserve”? The European Union allocates more than five billion euros to support member states, regions and sectors most affected by the UK’s exit from the European Union. This is important help for Belgium in particular, Aremont said, as the country’s geographic position means it has strong economic ties with the UK.

However, the mechanism originally proposed by the European Union Commission for distributing these funds among member states was contested from the start: France in particular opposed the tax base, which measures the share of trade with Great Britain in the nation’s total. Economic output.

Other methods have been suggested in the Budget and Fisheries Advisory Committees, which leaves more pie for countries that have not been hit hard by Brexit.

“However, during the negotiations we repeatedly demanded that clear and measurable criteria be maintained as the basis for allocating funds. This was an exceptional achievement, because more than 800 amendments were submitted to my report. At the same time, I was in contact with representatives and ambassadors of Member States to sense the sensitivities and take into account the specifics of each. “This was the basis for many important concessions,” said Pascal Armont.

“In the end, we were able to convince the vast majority of the members of the committee of the logic of clear standards just as they are now being applied, that is, the dependence of a country’s economic output on trade with the United Kingdom,” said a member of the European Parliament in eastern Belgium. On this basis, the hardest hit countries such as Ireland (1.064 billion), the Netherlands (810 million), France (672 million), Germany (591 million) and Belgium (353 million) continue to receive the largest contributions from the reserve. .

This money is now being paid in three installments. Two billion euros of funds will be provided as pre-financing in 2021 and 2022. The remaining billion euros will then be disbursed in 2025 on the basis of expenditures reported to the Commission, subject to pre-financing. With this last slide, countries that previously felt deprived will have better access. We were also able to agree on this basis in advance with the Council (Member State representation, House of Representatives), so I hope that the tripartite dialogue (negotiations between the EU Parliament, Member States, the Commission and the House of Representatives) will take place. Because that’s what I was interested in in the negotiations from the start: this proposal must be addressed quickly and without bureaucracy so that aid reaches the regions and companies involved quickly. Our timeline for reaching a final agreement with member states is June. That is, within the current Portuguese presidency. Since the Commission’s proposal was only presented at the end of last year, one can certainly assert here that Parliament or the European Union has acted quickly to control the biggest problems of Brexit. It is extremely rare in Brussels. Implement a legal law within six months after a proposal from the commission. But times of crisis require courageous action so that companies are not left in the rain, “explains East Belgium.

Pascal Armont considers the € 353 million allocated to Belgium after this negotiating position successful, because according to the original proposal, the French threatened, among others, with a loss of about € 130 million against the Commission’s proposal. “It is in everyone’s interest that we have a balanced distribution mechanism. Because this money has to be made available where the economy is severely suffering from the consequences of Brexit – and this is the case in Belgium in a clearly measurable way. The Walloon region can then use this money to support their companies – here too. In eastern Belgium, by the way, during the negotiations, I repeatedly emphasized the strengthening of small and medium enterprises, the self-employed, communities and local organizations, ”stresses Pascal Armont.

She added that the European Union parliament is expected to approve the draft mandate at its first plenary session in June. Discussions with the board could then formally begin. (Red / sc)