Caribbean360: Grenada, Haiti get crisis package from Europe

Grenada, Haiti get crisis package from Europe
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Chris Hoyos on 16/12/2009 16:18:17
 
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, December 16, 2009 – Grenada and Haiti will receive a
total of Euro 35.9 million (US$52.2 million) from the European Commission as
part of global crisis package.
The Euro 5.9 million (US$8.5 million) for Grenada and Euro 30 million (US$43.6
million) in financial assistance to Haiti will come from the Commission’s
vulnerability assistance scheme, which was adopted in August 2009 as a quick
response to help eligible African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries deal
with the affects of the global financial crisis.
In total, 13 ACP countries will receive assistance totalling Euro 230 million
(US$334.3million) under the Vulnerability FLEX mechanism (V-FLEX).
Grenada will be the first Eastern Caribbean country to benefit from financial
assistance under the mechanism. The funds which are non-reimbursable are to be
used by Grenadian authorities at their discretion and convenience. The financing
decision on Dominica's application will be presented in 2010.
Following the announcement of the package EU Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian Aid, Karel De Gucht said, "Developing countries were hit hard by
the crisis due to their poor resilience to external shocks. This has left
funding gaps in many ACP governments' budgets. The Vulnerability FLEX mechanism
is the European Union's swift response to help countries maintain priority
spending, thereby assisting the worst affected countries to reduce the social
costs of the crisis".
The V-Flex is demand-driven and targeted at countries with a high degree of
economic, social and political vulnerability, the right policies in place to
fight the crisis and sufficient absorptive capacity as well as a financing gap
in their budgets where EU support can make a difference by closing or
significantly reducing this gap.
The mechanism is a short-term instrument supporting the most vulnerable ACP
countries to cope with the impact of the global financial and economic crisis
and to mitigate its social consequences.