The European Commission warmly welcomes the agreement between Member States in the Council on the regulation establishing the European instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE).
Today’s decision is an important step in the EU’s joint fight against the socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Financial support to Member States under SURE will become available once all Member States have voluntarily committed and signed their guarantee agreements with the Commission. Once this has happened, SURE will become operational and the EU will be able to support Member States in protecting the jobs and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic by providing up to €100 billion in loans on favourable terms.
These loans will help fund Member States’ short time work schemes and similar measures, as well as some ancillary health measures at the workplace, that have been put in place to ensure workers and the self-employed continue receiving a proper income and businesses retain their staff and ensure that they can work in a safe environment. By protecting the productive capacity of our economies, SURE will also help to secure a faster and more complete recovery once the health emergency is over.
*Source: European Commission
By: N. Peter Kramer
