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

“Between 2014 and 2020, the FEAD in Luxembourg supported 71,640 beneficiaries with an envelope already incurred of some €3.5m,” the Commission said in a statement on 20 August. “The additional React EU allocation aims to address possible new requests entailed by the social consequences of the pandemic.”

React EU provides €50.6bn over the course of 2021 and 2022 to finance social cohesion programmes in member countries as part of pandemic relief.

The commission in April last year amended FEAD regulation to include protective material under essential items, not only for the most deprived themselves but also for those delivering aid.

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

One in five people in Luxembourg were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2019, shows. The rate grew from 15.5% just over a decade earlier in 2008, rising in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Across the EU, however, the risk of poverty and social exclusion has been falling, from nearly 25% in 2012 to 21.1% in 2019.

Luxembourg also ranked above average on the , placing second in the EU (13.5%) only behind Romania (15.3%). Across the EU, roughly one in ten people were at risk of being poor despite having a job, a rate that rose after the 2008 financial crisis.

Still, Luxembourg had one of the lowest rates of people being severely materially deprived at 1.3%, compared to an EU average of 5.6%.