Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1377253
7 NEWS CONTACT Adriana Farrugia or Erika Arrigo on 21382741 for sponsorship opportunities SCAN THIS CODE USING A QR SCANNER APP TO WATCH THE LATEST EPISODE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE WEDNESDAY • 26 MAY 2021 NEWS MALTA yesterday received another €177 million in financial support from the European Commission under the SURE Instrument, loans aimed at assist- ing member states in addressing sudden increases in public expenditure to preserve employment follow- ing the coronavirus pandemic. In this seventh instalment of financial support, the Eu- ropean Commission today disbursed s total of €14.137 billion: Belgium received €2 billion, Bulgaria €511 mil- lion, Cyprus €124 million, Greece €2.54 billion, Spain €3.37 billion, Italy €751 million, Lithuania €355 million, Latvia €113 million, Malta €177 million, Poland €1.56 billion, Portugal €2.41 billion and Estonia €230 million. These loans will help member states 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 pan- demic, including for the self-employed. The European Commission approved the disburse- ment of €420 million to Malta under the SURE instru- ment. With yesterday's instalment, Malta has thus far received €243 million. Tuesday's disbursements follow the issuance of the seventh social bond under the EU SURE instrument, which attracted a considerable interest by investors amid challenging market conditions in recent days. All EU members which have asked to benefit from the scheme have received part or all of the requested amount. Overall, 19 EU member states are due to receive a total of €94.3 billion in financial support under SURE, following approval by the Council of the European Un- ion based on a Commission proposal. Countries can still submit requests to receive financial support under SURE which has an overall firepower of up to €100 bil- lion and is available until end 2022. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that with the latest disbursement, Bulgaria and Estonia would receive money for the first time and ten other countries would get additional support. "SURE is a European success story and has benefitted up to a total of 30 million workers and 2.5 million firms so far," she said. "It will also help them recover faster from the pandemic." Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, said that one year after the Council adopted the SURE in- strument, 90% of available support – nearly €90 billion - had already been disbursed. "In addition to helping European workers and firms to navigate this unprecedented crisis, SURE has also saved member states €5.8 billion with respect to market fund- ing rates," he said. Malta gets €177 million as European Commission disburses €14.1 billion in assistance to member states