RO gets EUR 4.1 bln soft loans under SURE to support employment

Romania can use loans up to EUR 4.1 billion, at affordable interest rates, after the EU Council approved the EUR 87.4 bln financial support for 16 member states on September 25, Profit.ro reported.

The support comes in the form of loans under SURE - a temporary EU instrument designed to mitigate unemployment risks during the COVID-19 crisis.

To draw the EUR 4.1 billion from the SURE instrument, Romania had to submit a EUR 393 mln guarantee.

The EUR 4.1 bln is distinct from the EUR 79.9 bln Romania has obtained following the agreement of the European Council on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and the Next Generation EU instrument.

Prime minister Ludovic Orban was estimating in May that Romania would benefit from EUR 3 bln to 5 bln through SURE, money that would finance part of the salaries of those returning to work from technical unemployment and salaries of new employees.

The measures included in the Kurzarbeit program will also be funded through the SURE instrument.

According to Government projections, about 700,000 Romanians will be looking for a job in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the EU Council, the support will help the Member States finance the sharp increase in public spending after February 1, 2020, following the use of technical unemployment schemes and similar measures at the national level, including for the self-employed, as well as spending on some health measures taken in response to the pandemic.

(Photo: Marian Vejcik/ Dreamstime)