Member States’ ambassadors to the EU gave their agreement in principle to the EU’s SURE instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives II (Coreper II) on Wednesday 13 May.
Final approval to begin adoption by written procedure is expected to take place this Friday at another Coreper II meeting. Several delegations, in particular the Netherlands, consider the instrument as a package containing both the Regulation and the text on the national guarantees that would enable the Commission to obtain market financing (see EUROPE 12482/4). Therefore, some national representatives preferred to see a stabilised version of the text relating to the guarantee before giving final approval.
The instrument should be operational by 1 June, the date decided by the Member States (see EUROPE 12473/1). However, according to one diplomatic source, the goal of implementation by 1 June might not be achieved because of the authorisations required from national parliaments to free up the guarantees. This goal is difficult to achieve because of the pandemic, we are told. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)