Article – Covid-19's economic impact: €100 billion to keep people in jobs

Short-time work schemes would allow families to maintain their incomes and continue paying their bills, while firms would be able to protect production capacity and employees, ensuring market stability. In the longer term, short-time work schemes can prevent more severe consequences on the economy and help businesses recover faster after the crisis.

Welcoming the creation of Sure and calling on EU countries to implement it quickly,  Slovak ECR member Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, chair of Parliament’s employment committee, said: “It is an important expression of EU solidarity and a helpful instrument to mitigate the socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 crisis. By supporting short-time work schemes and similar measures, Sure will help companies experiencing economic difficulties to keep people in jobs.”

EU solution to support employment

While Sure is a temporary instrument designed specifically to tackle the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission is also working on a new proposal for a European Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme to support employment and protect workers who lose their jobs due to economic shocks.

The European Parliament has said that such a basic unemployment benefit scheme would contribute directly to stabilising household income, thus strengthening the social dimension of Europe. In a resolution adopted on 17 April, MEPs reiterated their call for a permanent European Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme to ensure that workers in Europe are protected from income loss.

A future European Unemployment Benefit Reinsurance Scheme aims to reduce pressure on EU countries’ public finances by providing support to national measures to preserve jobs and skills and to facilitate the transition back into work. The Commission is expected to present its proposal later this year.