23/03/2021 (Agence Europe) – As part of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council held on Monday, 22 March, Member States approved the activation of the European SURE instrument providing temporary support to short-time work schemes for Estonia (see EUROPE 12667/28). Tallinn is thus expected to receive €230 million to cover the costs related to its short-time work scheme. With this agreement, the EU Council has now approved a total of €90.6 billion in financial support (out of €100 billion) to 19 Member States. According to an interim report by the European Commission, the instrument has reportedly supported 26.5 million people in the EU since the beginning of the pandemic (see EUROPE 12683/25). The institution is reportedly in talks with several Member States that are already beneficiaries to extend the financial support. (PH)