Government signs €5.9Bn loan package

The Minister of State and Finances has signed a €5.9Bn package to mitigate unemployment risks.

SURE – Temporary Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency, an EU temporary aid instrument aimed at mitigating the risks of mass layoffs caused by the Covid-19 crisis,
“SURE is a very important social security step at a European Union level and represents a unique opportunity for Portugal to diversify its sources of financing at favourable payback rates at low interest for the country,” says minister João Leão.
This instrument will permit the financing of support measures aimed at maintaining job contracts and other expenses regarding health in the workplace as part of a policy to deal with the effects of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The contact was signed on Monday and has been sent back to the European Commission with an estimate that half of the funds will be paid out in 2020 (€3Bn), reducing the need for other sources of financing.
At the same time it has already been learnt that the holiday region of the Algarve will get an extra €500 million from Brussels.
The announcement was made by the Prime Minister, António Costa during the signing of an agreement between Loulé Municipal Council and the IHRU (Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation).
According to the Government, “The Algarve is one of the regions where the unemployment rate has increased considerably and tourism is one of the most important sectors for the economy, and the Algarve has been one of the regions hardest hit by the pandemic,” he said.
He explained that: “In the negotiations for the Financial and Pluriannual Framework which comes into force on 1 January 2021, we were careful to make sure to compensate the Algarve for the crisis it is suffering.”
The next Pluriannual Financial Framework will be increased from €300 million of EC funds to €600 million earmarked for the Algarve.
The Algarve region of Portugal is one of a number of regions in transition, according to the EC, the region’s GDP per capita is between 75% and 90% of the European average, with a maximum rate of co-financing of 80%.