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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

• The European Court of Auditors’ Special report on SURE (December 2022)
• Replies: European Commission (December 2022)