REACT-EU stands for Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe and is an initiative that continues and extends the crisis response and crisis repair measures delivered through the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative and the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus. It will contribute to a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy. The REACT-EU package includes €55 billion of additional funds that will be made available to the 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) as well as the European Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). These additional funds will be provided in 2021-2022 from Next Generation EU and already in 2020 through a targeted revision to the current financial framework.
REACT-EU will provide additional funding for the most important sectors that will be crucial to lay the basis for a sound recovery. This will involve investment to support job maintenance, including through short-time work schemes and support for the self-employed. The funds can also be used to support job creation and youth employment measures, to health care systems and the provision of working capital and investment support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Such support will be available across economic sectors, including for the much affected tourism and culture sectors. The additional support will also serve to invest in the European Green Deal and digital transition, as an enhancement to the significant investment in those areas that is already taking place through EU cohesion policy. Member States will be able to decide themselves how exactly to channel the funds. Maximum flexibility, as proposed under the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative and Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus packages, will be maintained and they will be able to either direct them to crisis repair measures through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) or the European Social Fund (ESF), or support the most vulnerable parts of the society, under the Fund for European Aid to the most deprived (FEAD).