Bulgaria with an EU loan to fight unemployment

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The EU is lending 100 billion euros to local businesses to save jobs during the pandemic , according to The Brussels Times. The European Commission will spend € 100 billion on financial support for companies affected by the pandemic, helping employees' incomes. The funds will be provided as a loan to 16 Member States. Each country will then invest locally in so-called short-term employment schemes. The schemes can be used when companies have to reduce staff working hours but still want to pay full salaries.

The recipient countries are Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The measure is part of the EC framework Support for reducing the risks of unemployment in emergencies (SURE). It is designed to help Member States keep jobs during and after a pandemic. SURE will provide the 100 billion euros in the form of social bonds, which guarantees investors that their investments can and will be spent only on preserving jobs.

In her Twitter account, EC President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that these funds would "give investors a chance to contribute to our efforts to reduce the social impact of the pandemic."