Bulgaria receives 511M euro under EU’s SURE instrument
The European Commission said on May 25 that it has disbursed 511 million euro to Bulgaria under its SURE instrument, the first time that the country received funding under the instrument.
Set up last year, the temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) mechanism is meant to protect jobs and workers affected by Covid-19, providing loans on favourable terms from the EU to member states.
The money will cover the costs directly related to the financing of national short-time work schemes, and other similar measures that they have put in place as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, including for the self-employed.
The disbursement followed the issuance of the seventh social bond under the SURE instrument, the Commission said. The EU borrowed a total of 14.14 billion euro, with 8.14 billion euro due for repayment in July 2029 and six billion euro due for repayment in January 2047.
In Bulgaria’s case, it will have to repay 0.31 billion euro in 2029 and 0.2 billion euro in 2047.
In total, the EU plans to borrow up to 100 billion euro under SURE until the end of 2022, with 89.64 billion euro already disbursed, the Commission said.
(European Commission headquarters Berlaymont building. Photo: JLogan)
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