Regulation 2020/521 - Council Regulation 2020/521 activating the emergency support under Regulation (EU) 2016/369, and amending its provisions taking into account the COVID‐19 outbreak - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 117/3

The COVID‐19 crisis, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020, has affected the society and the economy of the Union in a dramatic way, requiring Member States to adopt a set of exceptional measures.

In addition to the economic and social impact of the pandemic, the healthcare systems of Member States are severely strained by the crisis. Member States are faced with increased demands in particular for medical equipment and provisions, essential public services and production capacities for such materials.

Rapid and diversified measures are needed to allow the Union as a whole to address the crisis in a spirit of solidarity under the constraints caused by the quick spread of the virus. In particular, such measures should aim to preserve life, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and maintain human dignity, wherever the need arises as a result of the current COVID‐19 crisis.

The nature and consequences of the COVID‐19 outbreak are large‐scale and transnational and, therefore, require a comprehensive response. The measures provided for under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (‘rescEU’) established by Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) and other existing Union instruments are limited in scale and therefore do not allow a sufficient response or make it possible to address effectively the large‐scale consequences of the COVID‐19 crisis within the Union.

Therefore, it is necessary to activate the emergency support under Council Regulation (EU) 2016/369 (2).

To allow for the level of flexibility needed to ensure a prolonged coordinated response under unforeseen circumstances as it is the case for the COVID‐19 crisis, for example, provision of medical supplies and medication, recovery measures, relevant medical research, it is necessary to ensure, by way of derogation from the first subparagraph of Article 114(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), that budgetary commitments made during the activation period can be used for concluding legal commitments during the entire duration of the activation period. This should be without prejudice to the obligation to cover also the costs of corresponding legal commitments entered into after the activation period in compliance with the n+1 rule set out in that subparagraph. Costs incurred under such legal commitments should be eligible for the whole period of their implementation.

In order to ensure equal treatment and a level playing field for Member States, it is necessary to allow for retroactive eligibility of costs as of the date of activation of the emergency support, including for actions already completed, provided they have started after that date.

In order to preserve the subsidiary nature of emergency support under Regulation (EU) 2016/369, such support should be strictly complementary to any assistance made available under other Union instruments.

In the context of the COVID‐19 crisis, it has become apparent that it is necessary to extend the scope of Regulation (EU) 2016/369 in order to provide financing to cover urgent needs for medical equipment and materials, such as respiratory ventilators and...