EU promises €20 billion to help the vulnerable countries to fight against COVID-19
EU Development Ministers have launched the Team Europe aid package to support partner countries to address the pandemic and its economic consequences by providing an overall financial support of over €20 billion from existing external European action resources.
“In this global pandemic, international solidarity is not just a matter of staying true to our values,” Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said. “It is also about making sure that we win the fight against the virus together.”
“Unless the virus is defeated everywhere, it is not defeated. A global pandemic can only be solved globally, with united, swift and decisive global action, as we are presenting it today.” Borrell added.
The aid package aims to support extra-EU vulnerable countries with a particular attention on Africa and the EU’s neighbourhood.
Team Europe package will focus on the people most at risk, including children, women, the elderly, and disabled people, as well as migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons and their host communities.
The package will combine resources from member states, and European financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The fund will give priority to:
- Responding to the immediate health needs.
- Strengthening health, water and sanitation systems.
- Mitigating the immediate social and economic consequences.
Work would continue in partnership with the United Nations, International Financial Institutions, as well as the G7 and the G20.
