The European Commission approved the first financing decisions under the EUR 264 million 2010 allocation for the so-called Vulnerability FLEX mechanism to help the most vulnerable African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries cope with the impact of the global financial crisis and economic downturn.

The V-FLEX mechanism is a short-term instrument which provided for EUR 500 million over two years (2009-2010).

"Developing countries continue to face important difficulties, including funding gaps in their government's budgets, as a direct consequence of the global financial crisis. This year, this EU mechanism will help 19 ACP countries maintain their level of public spending in priority areas, and therefore mitigate the social impact of the economic downturn," said Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development

The Vulnerability FLEX (V-FLEX) mechanism is the European Union's swift response to help countries most affected by the economic downturn due to their poor resilience to external shocks. In 2010, it will provide, upon their request, support to: Antigua & Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu and Zimbabwe.

The financing decisions in favour of Burkina Faso (EUR 14 million) and Grenada (EUR 3,5 million) have been adopted today. Financing decisions in favour of other countries will follow during the course of autumn 2010.

15 countries have previously benefited from EUR 236 million funding under V-FLEX: Benin, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Malawi, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Island, and Zambia.