The European Commission has presented two proposals to the Council for a decision to grant an additional €550 million in financial support to Croatia under the SURE instrument, bringing the total support to the country to €1.6 billion, and an additional €142 million to Lithuania, bringing the total support to €1.1 billion. Once the Council approves the proposals, the financial support will be provided in the form of loans granted on favourable terms. The loan to Croatia will help cover costs, primarily incurred in 2021, related to the continuation of a short-time work scheme and a wage subsidy scheme, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan to Lithuania will also help fund the expenditure incurred in 2021 for the continuation of two wage subsidy schemes, including one that functions like a short-time work scheme, introduced in response to the pandemic. The measures thereby tackled the severe socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. There are now nine Member States who have requested additional SURE support on top of the support that the Council had already approved in 2020: Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Croatia. SURE is a crucial element of the EU’s comprehensive strategy to protect jobs and workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Today’s proposal, if adopted, would bring the overall financial support granted under SURE to a total of €94.5 billion. The Commission has already disbursed €91.8 billion to 19 Member States under SURE, and it expects to undertake the remaining borrowing operations in the coming months. €5.5 billion is still available under SURE for possible future requests. (For more information: Veerle Nuyts – Tel.: +32 229 96302; Andrea Masini – Tel.: +32 229 91519)
