The SURE instrument – key features and first assessment

Clíona McDonnell, Jocelyn Boussard, Isabelle Justo, Philipp Mohl, Gilles Mourre and Klara Stovicek

Quarterly Report on the Euro Area (QREA), 2021, vol. 20, issue 2, 41-49

Abstract: This section summarises the use of SURE financial assistance to date (25 May 2021) and provides early evidence of its impact, based on the Commission’s first bi-annual report on the instrument. Regarding the use of the instrument to date, demand from Member States for SURE loans has been strong, with 19 Member States being granted almost 95% of the maximum amount of EUR 100 billion. Investor interest in SURE bonds has also been significant, enabling the EU to achieve favourable pricing terms and disburse the loans to Member States quickly. Member States have primarily used SURE to finance short-time work schemes and similar measures for expenditure that occurred in 2020, supporting an estimated 25-30 million people and 1½ to 2½ million firms. Regarding the first assessment of SURE’s impact, an analysis using Okun’s Law shows that the increase in unemployment rates in 2020 was milder than expected, largely due to policy supports including the SURE instrument. In addition to improving general confidence in the EU, SURE encouraged Member States to adopt new short-time work schemes or modify existing schemes. Furthermore, the interest savings Member States made through SURE are estimated to be almost EUR 6 billion across the first four issuances.

Keywords: euro area; COVID-19; SURE; short-time work schemes; financial assistance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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