The European Commission is proposing to set up a new solidarity instrument, called SURE, to help the most vulnerable people in European societies survive the economic effects of the COVID pandemic.
The proposal aims to allot €100 billion euro to enable businesses to continue operations and workers to stay in employment despite the crisis. Through SURE the Commission will provide loans to countries that need it to ensure that workers receive an income and businesses keep their staff further allowing people to continue to pay their rent, bills and food shopping and provide much needed stability to the economy.
To cushion the economic effect of COVID, the Commission will make changes to a number of already running support schemes. The programmes concerned are Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the Emergency Support Instrument. The Commission is expected to also propose a range of measures to ensure that farmers and other agricultural beneficiaries can get the support they need from the Common Agricultural Policy.
For more information, please visit the Commission’s website or listen to Commissioner Nicolas Schmit’s podcast on the topic.