Coronavirus response: €32 million to help SMEs and the health sector in the Lubuskie Province in Poland

The European Commission is redirecting €32 million of Cohesion policy funds to help Poland address the effects of the coronavirus crisis, through a modification of the Lubuskie Regional Operational Programme. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, commented: “I am glad that the Lubusz Province is making available much needed resources to fight the crisis with the help of the EU. While we are waiting for the deployment of a vaccine we must do our best to support the ones most affected by the coronavirus and facilitate the recovery of the economy.” €10 million will be dedicated to the implementation of the Lubuskie Support Voucher project targeting small and medium-sized companies particularly affected by the negative consequences of the coronavirus. Another €10 million will be used to purchase ventilators and medical equipment. The rest will be dedicated to hospitals, entities operating in the social care area and subsidies to employees’ salaries and social contributions. The modifications are possible thanks to the exceptional flexibility under the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+) which allow Member States to use Cohesion policy funding to support the most affected sectors by the pandemic, such as healthcare, SMEs and labour markets. More details on the CRII packages on the dedicated Coronavirus Dashboard.