Portugal receives €3B tranche of SURE programme funds from EU

  • Lusa
  • 2 December 2020

The country has already received a €3-billion tranche of European Union funds, under the European Union's SURE programme.

Portugal has already received a €3-billion tranche of European Union funds, under the bloc’s SURE programme, to help various sectors cope with the impact of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the prime minister, António Costa.

“We received today the first tranche of the loan allocated to #Portugal under SURE, a European programme that supports Member States in their efforts to protect workers and businesses,” Costa wrote in a message published on Tuesday on Twitter. “I strongly welcome the transfer of these 3000 million euros of European funds.

“These European funds will finance measures such as the furlough, support for the self-employed, support for parents and the bonus for @SNS_Portugal [National Health Service] workers,” wrote Costa.

According to the Prime Minister, “#SURE reflects the solidarity of #EU and its prompt response to the crisis which enables us to continue protecting the jobs and workers most affected.

“We remain determined in the fight against the pandemic and in mitigating its social and economic effects,” Costa added.

On October 27, Portugal’s minister of finance, João Leão, signed a €5.9-billion loan contract under the SURE programme, to support employment.

On that occasion, the minister described the programme as a “European temporary support instrument to alleviate the risks of unemployment in an emergency situation” that would “allow the financing of measures to support the maintenance of employment contracts and other expenditure related to health at work, as part of the response to the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic.”

On October 15, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, had said that Portugal would receive €5.9 billion “soon” under the programme.

SURE – Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency – was designed to provide funds for EU member states that need to mobilise significant financial means to fight the negative economic and social consequences of the coronavirus outbreak on their territory.