European Commission to grant Estonia €230 million to cover covid-19 costs
The European Commission on Friday presented a proposal to the Council for a decision to grant €230 million in financial support to Estonia under the temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) programme.
Friday's proposal brings overall financial support proposed under SURE to a total of €90.6 billion and covering 19 member states, spokespeople for the European Commission said.
Once the Council approves this proposal, the financial support will be provided in the form of loans granted on favorable terms. These loans will assist Estonia in covering the costs related to its short-time work scheme and other similar measures that have been introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
SURE is a crucial element of the EU's comprehensive strategy to protect jobs and workers, and mitigate the severely negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The Commission has already disbursed €53.5 billion to 15 member states under SURE, and it expects to undertake most of the remaining borrowing operations in the first half of 2021.
Member states can still submit formal requests, including for top-ups in response to the second wave of the pandemic, for support under SURE, which has an overall firepower of up to €100 billion.
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Editor: Helen Wright
