More than 4,500 employers will receive monthly support under the SURE instrument

"We are submitting our decision to the National Assembly as soon as possible so that Bulgaria can start implementing the SURE instrument in a short time. This will complement our national efforts to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and its socio-economic consequences for workers and the self-employed," Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said at an extraordinary government meeting on December 15.

The Council of Ministers adopted a decision proposing to the National Assembly to ratify by law the Loan Agreement between the European Union as a lender and the Republic of Bulgaria as a borrower.

During the meeting, Finance Minister Kiril Ananiev noted that the European instrument is expected to support an average of between 4,500 and 5,000 employers a month to retain about 140,000 employees.

The maximum amount of funds that the European Union can grant to Bulgaria under the SURE instrument is EUR 511,000,000, with a 15-year maximum average maturity. The term of availability of the provided financial assistance is 18 months, as of September 30, 2020.

The agreement derives from Art. 8 (2) of Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 of 19 May 2020 establishing the European temporary support instrument to mitigate the risks of unemployment in exceptional circumstances following the COVID-19 pandemic, known as SURE.

On August 7, a formal request was made by the Republic of Bulgaria for financial assistance under SURE. The agreement was signed by the Minister of Finance Kiril Ananiev on 26.11.2020 and by the European Commission on 11.12.2020.