By Judith Ugwumadu | 12 March 2014

European legislators have approved the creation of a €3.8bn fund to help Europe’s poorest people.

The European Union’s Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) is expected to help 4 million people who are at risk of poverty over the next six years.

It will support member states provide a broad range of non-financial assistance including food, clothing and essential goods for personal use, to the most materially deprived people. But material assistance must also be combined with social reintegration measures such as guidance and support to help the most deprived to get out of poverty.

László Andor, commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, said: ‘I welcome the agreement of the [European] Parliament and the [European] Council on thecreation of this new Fund with a significantly increased budget, which will be able to ensure that around 4 million people will benefit from immediate assistance. I urge member states to make full use of the Fund and to implement it according to their specific needs.’

Member states will be responsible for paying 15% of the costs of their national income programmes, with the remaining 85% coming from the FEAD.

The FEAD is expected to contribute to meeting the Europe 2020 Strategy target to reduce the number of people in or at risk of poverty by at least 20 million.