The broad package targets a number of issues that each of the countries benefiting from them need to address. Luxembourg will receive €390,000 to deliver food aid to people in need. The European Commission states this will allow Luxembourg to continue responding to the needs of households in a precarious situation and to alleviate higher demands in food delivery, complicated by the pandemic.

The financial assistance is part of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and supports member countries to provide food, clothing and other essential items, such as shoes or soap, to those in need.

National governments oversee how the money is spent, often in collaboration with non-governmental organisations. Fead complements resources allocated by member countries, providing up to 85% in matching funds.

The €33.4m EU package will see Italy receive €136m which will be added to the operational programme ‘Governance and institutional capacity' to help alleviate pressure on the country's health system. Belgium will benefit from €33.4m from the European Social Fund (ESF) which will be used to improve employment support. The objective is to integrate in the job market refugees from Ukraine and vulnerable jobseekers that lost their job, states the Commission in a press release.