Deal reached on EU fund to help regions and businesses adapt to Brexit
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EU legislators reached an agreement on Thursday on the 5 billion euro Brexit Adjustment Reserve, paving the way for a first payment by December.
With a budget of 5 billion euro (in 2018 prices – 5.4 billion euro in current prices), the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) will focus on countries and sectors worst affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
A first instalment of 1.6 billion euro in pre-financing will be available by December 2021. Two other pre-financing tranches of 1.6 billion euro will be paid at the beginning of 2022 and 2023. The remaining 1 billion euro will be paid in 2025.
Allocation method
According to the provisional agreement, three factors will be used to calculate how much money each EU country will receive from the BAR: the importance of trade with the UK, the importance of fisheries in the UK exclusive economic zone and the population living in maritime regions bordering the UK.
Ireland will be by far the largest beneficiary in absolute terms, followed by the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium.
Member states that depend significantly on fisheries will have to direct a specific percentage of their national allocation to small-scale coastal fisheries and local and regional communities dependent on fishing activities.
