The Croatian Presidency of the EU Council clarifies the scope of the future SURE instrument for temporary support in the field of health to alleviate the risk of unemployment in emergency situations in a new compromise proposal on Monday 27 April, which will be discussed by Member States’ experts on Wednesday 29 April.
The provisional text provides that the instrument concerns expenditure on certain health measures, in particular in the workplace, in order to reduce occupational risks and ensure protection of workers and the self-employed.
The objective, explains the text in the recitals, is to preserve the employment aspect of the instrument and thereby ensure its effectiveness. It should be noted, however, that, where appropriate, the instrument may target “some other health-related measures”, always leaving some flexibility.
The question of the sunset clause (see EUROPE 12472/4) seems to have been definitively fixed at 31 December 2022, even though some Member States, including Denmark (which wanted the instrument to end by 31 January 2022), had wanted a shorter period, according to several diplomatic sources. There is still a possibility of extending the duration of the instrument. The reference to an extension of a period of 6 months shall be maintained at the explicit request of Italy or Spain.
At the working party meeting, the national delegations will address the thorny question of the guarantee to be provided to the Fund by the Member States to enable the European Commission to finance itself on the markets. The Member States seem to confirm their position that the European Commission is supposed to draw on the margin available under the own resources ceiling for payment appropriations before calling on the guarantees provided by the Member States.
The compromise further specifies the criteria for deciding the amount of the loan, stating that the EU Council, on a proposal from the Commission, “is to consider the existing and expected needs of the requesting Member State, as well as already submitted and planned requests for loans under this Regulation, having regard to the principles of equal treatment, proportionality and transparency, and in full respect of national competences”.
The question of how the guarantee is to be financed – which requires the participation of all Member States – is holding up progress on the text, as it has to go before certain national parliaments. As a reminder, its implementation is scheduled for the beginning of June (see EUROPE 12473/1).
The compromise text should be submitted to the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 6 May, we are told. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)