Malta gains access to €120m under EU’s SURE Programme aimed at assisting companies to retain workers

Malta has gained access to €120 million under the European Commission’s SURE Programme aimed at helping companies to retain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement was made by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday evening in an interview released by Malta’s representation to the EU and TVM.

The SURE Programme, called the temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency in full, is available to Member States that need to mobilise significant financial means to fight the negative economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak on their soil. The allocation for Malta is €244 million.

.@EU_Commission President @vonderleyen has great news for #Malta 🇲🇹🎉! As from tomorrow, Malta will have access to the first 120 million Euro under the #SURE Programme, to make sure companies retain their employees during these hard times!

Watch the interview w/ @demicolikeith pic.twitter.com/sDmaozG7a9

— EU Commission Malta (@ECRepMalta) November 16, 2020

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.