Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/1057
Article 1
Open ↗In Regulation (EU) 2021/1057, the following article is inserted: ‘Article 12b Support for alleviating the negative socio-economic consequences of natural disasters 1. Member States may use the ESF+ to provide support to alleviate the negative socio-economic consequences of natural disasters that occur between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. For the purpose of this Article, a natural disaster shall be understood to be a major natural disaster or a regional natural disaster as defined, respectively, in Article 2(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 ( *1 ) . This may include a natural disaster resulting in direct damage below the thresholds set in Article 2(2) and (3) of that Regulation, provided that it was recognised as a natural disaster by a competent public authority of the Member State. Where the natural disaster resulting in direct damage below the thresholds set in Article 2(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 occurs after 24 December 2024, it shall be understood to be a natural disaster provided that it is recognised as such by a competent public authority of the relevant Member State within 12 weeks of the date of the first occurrence of damage as a consequence of that natural disaster. 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, resources may be programmed under the dedicated priorities of the programmes concerned. For the entire programming period, the overall resources to those dedicated priorities allocated from the ESF+, as well as from the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund pursuant to Article 3(1b) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 shall be limited to a maximum of 10 % of the initial total national allocation of the ESF+ and the ERDF. The programme amendment concerned shall be submitted within six months of the date on which the natural disaster occurred or, where the natural disaster occurred before 24 December 2024, by 25 June 2025. 3. The dedicated priorities referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article may support any of the specific objectives set out in Article 4(1) of this Regulation. 4. Where strictly necessary as a temporary measure, short-time work schemes aiming to provide a response to the consequences of a natural disaster without the need to combine with active measures as well as access to healthcare including for people who are not in imminent socio-economic vulnerability may be eligible for financing for a maximum of 18 months from the date on which the natural disaster occurred. 5. By way of derogation from Article 19(4), Member States shall not be required to complement the delivery of food and/or basic material assistance by accompanying measures under the specific objective set out in Article 4(1), point (m), where such delivery is to respond to consequences of a natural disaster. Such delivery of food and/or basic material assistance without accompanying measures may be eligible for financing for a maximum of six months from the date on which the natural disaster occurred and in any event after 1 January 2024. 6. By way of derogation from Article 63(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the managing authority concerned may select for support, under a dedicated priority, operations that have been physically completed or fully implemented before the submission of the application for funding to the managing authority, provided that the operation provides a response to a natural disaster which occurs between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. 7. The Commission shall pay 25 % of the allocation to the dedicated priorities referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, in accordance with the decision approving the programme amendment as exceptional pre-financing in addition to the yearly pre-financing for the programme provided for in Article 90(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. That exceptional pre-financing shall be paid within 60 days of the adoption of the Commission decision approving the programme amendment, subject to the availability of funds. Where the allocation to those priorities is subsequently increased, an additional pre-financing amount shall be paid, corresponding to 25 % of the increase. In accordance with Article 90(5), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the amount paid as exceptional pre-financing shall be cleared from the Commission accounts no later than with the final accounting year. In accordance with Article 90(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, any interest generated by the exceptional pre-financing shall be used for the programme concerned in the same way as the ESF+ and shall be included in the accounts for the final accounting year. In accordance with Article 97(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the exceptional pre-financing shall not be suspended. In accordance with Article 105(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the pre-financing to be taken into account for the purposes of calculating amounts to be de-committed shall include the exceptional pre-financing paid. 8. By way of derogation from Article 112(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the maximum co-financing rate for a dedicated priority established to support the alleviation of the negative socio-economic consequences of a natural disaster pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article shall be 95 %. Member States shall ensure that support from another Union instrument, from a national instrument or from a private insurance scheme received for operations selected in response to a natural disaster, is deducted from the expenditure included in the payment application submitted to the Commission.