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Economy and Finance

SURE

The European instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE)

Introduction

SURE

The temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) is available for Member States that need to mobilise significant financial means to fight the negative economic and social consequences of the coronavirus outbreak on their territory. It can provide financial assistance up to €100 billion in the form of loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to affected Member States to address sudden increases in public expenditure for the preservation of employment. SURE is a crucial element of the EU's comprehensive strategy to protect citizens and mitigate the severely negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Specifically, the SURE instrument acts as a second line of defence, supporting short-time work schemes and similar measures, to help Member States protect jobs and thus employees and self-employed against the risk of unemployment and loss of income. As an ancillary, SURE could also finance some health-related measures, in particular at the work place, used to ensure a safe return to normal economic activity.

Loans provided to Member States under the SURE instrument are underpinned by a system of voluntary guarantees from Member States. Each Member State’s contribution to the overall amount of the guarantee corresponds to its relative share in the total gross national income (GNI) of the European Union, based on the 2020 EU budget.

The establishment of SURE is a further tangible expression of Union solidarity, whereby the Member States agree to support each other through the Union by making additional financial resources available through loans.

Following proposals for additional assistance of €8.9 billion to 11 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Portugal), the Council has approved a total of €98.4 billion in financial support to 19 Member States, based on Commission's proposals.

With the latest and final disbursement (14 December 2022), the EU has provided €98.4 billion in back-to-back loans. All 19 EU Member States which have asked to benefit from the scheme have received all of the requested amount. This final disbursement closed the last call made by the Commission for Member States to express interest in SURE loans in 2022. The availability of the SURE instrument will end on 31 December 2022.

CountryProposed loan amountDisbursed
Belgium

8.197 billion

8.197 billion

Bulgaria

971 million

971 million

Cyprus

632 million

632 million

Estonia

230 million

230 million

Greece

6.2 billion

6.2 billion

Spain

21.324 billion

21.324 billion

Croatia

1.6 billion

1.6 billion

Hungary

651 million

651 million
Ireland

2.473 billion

2.473 billion

Italy

27.438 billion

27.438 billion

Lithuania

1.1 billion

1.1 billion

Latvia

472 million

472 million

Malta

420 million

420 million

Poland

11.236 billion

11.326 billion

Portugal

6.2 billion

6.2 billion

Romania

3 billion

3 billion

Slovenia

1.113 billion

1.113 billion

Slovakia

630 million

630 million

Czechia

4.5 billion

4.5 billion

Total98.4 billion

98.4 billion

Note: Amounts displayed in the table are rounded down to the nearest million.

The Commission analysed the impact of SURE on unemployment, the real economy and its direct financial effect in the bi-annual reports (see the subsection “Reporting under SURE”). The key findings could be summarized as follows:

  • Member States have spent almost EUR 120 billion on measures funded by SURE.
  • Approximately 31½ million people and 2½ million firms are estimated to have been covered by SURE in 2020.
  • 9 million people and over 800,000 firms were covered by SURE in 2021 in 13 Member States, with a clear phasing out in 2022 when 220,000 people and 10,000 firms were covered in 3 Member States.
  • Policy measures including those supported by SURE are estimated to have effectively helped prevent unemployment for around 1½ million people in 2020.
  • The primary beneficiaries of SURE support are small and medium sized enterprises, in particular in the sectors most affected by the pandemic (accommodation and food services, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing).
  • Beyond the social and employment benefits, Member States are estimated to have saved EUR 8.5 billion in interest payments.

EU SURE social bond

To finance the instrument, the Commission has been issuing social bonds. The Social Bond Framework is meant to provide investors in these bonds with confidence that the funds mobilised will serve a truly social objective.

By 7 December, the European Commission had issued €98.4 billion social bonds in nine rounds under the EU SURE instrument to help protect jobs (see overview:  SURE - Disbursements under various bond maturities). The issuances consisted of bonds ranging from 5 to 30 years. There was very strong investor interest in these highly rated instruments, and the oversubscription resulted in favourable pricing terms for the bonds. The raised funds are transferred to the beneficiary Member States in the form of loans to help them directly cover the costs related to the financing of national short-time work schemes and similar measures as a response to the pandemic.

On 27 October 2021, the EU SURE social bond was listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, and will be displayed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange, the world’s leading platform exclusively dedicated to sustainable securities.

Reporting under SURE

As per Article 14 of the SURE Regulation, the Commission should report to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) and the Employment Committee on the use of financial assistance, including outstanding amounts and the applicable repayment schedule under SURE, and on the continuation of the exceptional occurrences that justify the application of this Regulation.

On top of the legal requirements, the Commission is also bound by Section 2.4 of the Social Bond Framework to report on the allocation and the impact of the SURE proceeds, including on the number of workers and firms that benefitted from measures supported by SURE. 

The Commission has issued by the end of 2022 four bi-annual reports to deliver on its reporting obligations and to provide additional analysis on the impact of SURE on unemployment, the real economy and its direct financial effect.

22 MARZO 2021
First report on the implementation of SURE
English
(385.54 KB - HTML)
Scarica

Press release - Report confirms SURE's success in protecting jobs and incomes

22 SETTEMBRE 2021
Second report on the implementation of SURE
English
(383.16 KB - HTML)
Scarica

Press release - Report confirms instrument's success in protecting jobs and incomes

24 MARZO 2022
Third report on the implementation of SURE
English
(345.28 KB - HTML)
Scarica

Press release - Third report shows continued success in protecting jobs and supporting recovery

23 SETTEMBRE 2022
Fourth report on the implementation of SURE
English
(356.9 KB - HTML)
Scarica

Press release - Fourth report confirms SURE success in protecting jobs during pandemic

Audit of SURE

In 2021, the European Court of auditors announced through its 2022 Annual Work Programme that it would audit SURE because of its reported importance in cushioning the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and its sizeable envelope of €100 billion. The purpose of the audit was to find out whether the Commission responded effectively in mitigating the unemployment risk in the EU over the period 2020-2022 through the SURE instrument.

The European Court of Auditors’ report is overall very positive on the instrument, recognising the quick and efficient reaction by the Commission to the challenge of helping Member States preserve employment as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report makes only one recommendation: to evaluate SURE. The Commission accepted this recommendation and will carry out an evaluation study of SURE by the third quarter of 2024. This will complement the bi-annual reporting on SURE.

Timeline

  1. 14 December 2022

    The Commission makes a final disbursement of €6.5 billion to 9 Member States

  2. 21 November 2022

    The Council decides to grant additional financial support to Latvia

  3. 25 October 2022

    The Council decides to grant additional financial support to six Member States

  4. 21 October 2022

    The Commission proposes an additional €167 million to Latvia

  5. 5 October 2022

    The Commission proposes to amend Council Implementing Decision 2020/1353 of 25 September 2020 granting support to Poland.

  6. 3 October 2022

    The Commission proposes an additional €2.5 billion to Czechia

  7. 28 September 2022

    The Commission proposes an additional €900 million to Greece, €29 million to Cyprus and €300 million to Portugal

  8. 20 September 2022

    The Commission proposes an additional €550 million to Croatia and €142 million to Lithuania

  9. 20 September 2022

    The Council decides to grant additional financial support to Bulgaria

  10. 25 August 2022

    The Commission proposes to provide €460 million additional support to Bulgaria

  11. 20 June 2022

    The Commission proposes to amend Council Implementing Decision 2020/1355 of 25 September 2020 granting support to Romania.

  12. 29 March 2022

    The Commission disburses €1.5 billion to Poland, €523 million to Portugal and €147 million to Hungary.

  13. 4 January 2022

    The Commission proposes to amend Council Implementing Decision 2020/1354 of 25 September 2020 granting support to Portugal.

  14. 21 December 2021

    The Commission proposes to provide €147 million additional support to Hungary

  15. 25 May 2021

    Commission disburses €14.1 billion to 12 Member States

  16. 23 April 2021

    The Council decides to grant additional financial support to six Member States

  17. 30 March 2021

    The Commission disburses €13 billion to 6 Member States

  18. 30 March 2021

    The Commission proposes to provide €3.7 billion additional support to 6 Member States

  19. 16 March 2021

    Commission disburses €9 billion under SURE to seven Member States

  20. 26 February 2021

    Commission proposes to provide €230 million to Estonia under SURE

  21. 2 February 2021

    Commission disburses €14 billion under SURE to nine Member States

  22. 1 December 2020

    Commission disburses €8.5 billion under SURE to five Member States

  23. 17 November 2020

    The Commission has disbursed €14 billion to Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Slovenia, Malta and Latvia.

  24. 16 November 2020

    The Commission proposed financial support of €2.5 billion to Ireland

  25. 27 October 2020

    The Commission has disbursed €17 billion to Italy, Spain and Poland

  26. 23 October 2020

    The Council decided to grant financial support of €504 million to Hungary

  27. 7 October 2020

    The Commission proposed financial support of €504 million to Hungary

  28. 25 September 2020

    The Council decided to grant financial support to 16 Member States

  29. 22 September 2020

    SURE is activated

  30. 24-25 August 2020

    The Commission proposed a financial support of €87.3 billion for 16 Member States

  31. 19 May 2020

    The Council approved the proposal and adopted the SURE regulation

  32. 2 April 2020

    The Commission proposed the creation of SURE

Latest news

Documents

2 APRILE 2020
SURE Factsheet
italiano
(203.98 KB - PDF)
Scarica