As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of October, 2020, the Republic of Croatia should be able to withdraw 490 million euros by the end of the year from the SURE programme, which was established by the European Union in the spring with the aim of supporting the preservation of jobs and reducing the risk of unemployment and losses of income across the Union.
This was pointed out at the session of the Government by Finance Minister Zdravko Maric, who is authorised on behalf of the Government to sign the Agreement with the EU on a loan for this type of temporary support.
The total projected amount that the European Commission will redirect to Croatia within the SURE programme amounts to slightly more than a billion euros (1.02 billion), which means that a payment of slightly less than half is expected within the next two months. The aforementioned 490 million euros will then be included in the budget revision.
Maric noted that the goal of establishing the SURE programme is to provide additional financial assistance to the affected member states of the European Union in the total amount of up to 100 billion euros, taken out in the form of EU loans. The EC will borrow for this financing on financial markets, and then lend these funds to member states under more favourable conditions.
The SURE programme has already become operational, focusing primarily on part-time schemes and similar measures to help EU member states preserve jobs and protect employees from the risk of unemployment and loss of income. This is a move which also applies to self-employed individuals.
Maric emphasised that Croatia had applied for funding to finance measures that had led to a sharp and serious increase in actual and planned expenditures that were directly linked together, on the one hand, to subsidies for job preservation and support for part-time work.
The maximum average maturity of the loans issued under the SURE programme is 15 years, and the period of availability for financial support stands at 18 months. The financial support can be used through a maximum of eight installments, which can be repaid through one or more tranches, the Minister explained, emphasising that these are extremely favourable loans.
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