Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION granting temporary support under Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 to Greece to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency situation following the COVID-19 outbreak
Date: 2020-08-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU loan, Greece, emergency aid, employment aid, epidemic, fight against unemployment, infectious disease, public expenditure, self-employed person

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.8.2020  COM(2020) 449 final 2020/0212 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION granting temporary support under Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 to Greece to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency situation following the COVID-19 outbreak  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Council  Regulation  2020/672  (“SURE  Regulation”)  lays  down  the  legal  framework  for 
providing  Union  financial  assistance  to  Member  States,  which  are  experiencing,  or  are 
seriously threatened with, a severe economic disturbance caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. 
Support  under  SURE  serves  for  the  financing,  primarily,  of  short-time  work  schemes  or 
similar measures aimed at protecting employees and the self‐ employed and thus reducing the 
incidence of unemployment and loss of income, as well as for the financing, as an ancillary, 
of some health-related measures, in particular in the workplace. 

On 6 August 2020, Greece requested Union financial assistance under the SURE Regulation. 
In accordance with Article 6(2) of the SURE Regulation, the Commission has consulted the 
Greek authorities to verify the sudden and severe increase in actual and planned expenditure 
directly related to a) the special allowance provided to private sector employees whose labour 
contracts  were  suspended  because  of  the  crisis,  b)  the  cost  of  their  social  security  coverage 
during  the  suspension  period,  c)  the  special  allowance  provided  to  self-employed 
professionals;  d)  the  short-time  work  scheme,  and  e)  the  employer  social  security 
contributions  for  employees  in  seasonal  enterprises  of  the  tertiary  sector,  caused  by  the 
COVID-19 pandemic. In particular,  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

a special  allowance  for  private sector  employees whose labour contracts  have been 
suspended. That measure aims to protect employment in companies that cease their 
operations by public order or belong to economic sectors that are heavily affected by 
the COVID-19 outbreak, and concerns the provision of a special monthly allowance 
of  EUR  543  to  employees  whose  labour  contracts  are  suspended  from  mid-March 
2020.  The  precondition  to  benefit  from  the  scheme  is  that  the  employer  retains  the 
same number of employees (meaning the exact same employees) for a period equal 
to the period for which the labour contract had been suspended. 

The  authorities  additionally  introduced  the  financing  by  the  state  of  the  social 
security  coverage  of  employees  that  benefit  from  the  special  allowance  referred  to 
under (a). The precondition to benefit from the scheme is that the employer retains 
the  same  number  of  employees  (meaning  the  same  exact  employees)  for  a  period 
equal to the period for which the labour contract had been suspended.  

a special allowance for self-employed professionals. The measure concerns a one-off 
special  allowance  of  EUR  600  provided  either  in  April  or  in  June  2020  to  self-
employed  professionals  (economists,  accountants,  engineers,  lawyers,  medical 
doctors, teachers, and researchers).  

a short-time work scheme that applies from 15 June 2020 until 15 October 2020 in 
all  companies,  with  the  exception  of  the  airline  industry  where  an  extension  is 
possible  until  the  end  of  2020.  Eligible  companies  are  those  that  have  recorded  a 
drop in their turnover of at least 20% and the measure allows for a reduction of up to 
50%  in  the  weekly  working  hours  of  employees  under  the  condition  that  the 
employment relationship is retained. From 15 June 2020 until 30 June 2020, the state 
covers  60%  of  the  employee’s  net  earnings  and  60%  of  the  employer’s  social 
security  contributions  in  respect  of  hours  not  worked.  As  of  1  July  2020,  the  state 
covers  100%  of  the  employer’s  and  the  employee’s  social  security  contributions  in 

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(5) 

respect  of  hours  not  worked,  in  addition  to  60%  of  net  earnings  of  employees  on 
hours not worked.   

the financing by the state of the employer’s social security contributions in respect of 
employees  in  seasonal  enterprises.  The  measure  targets  seasonal  enterprises  in  the 
tertiary  sector,  namely  enterprises  with  50%  of  their  turnover  concentrated  in  the 
third  quarter  of  the  year  based  on  2019  data,  and  aims  to  finance  the  employer’s 
social security contributions during the months of July, August and September 2020 
under the condition that companies retain the same number of employees they had on 
30 June 2020.  

Greece provided the Commission with the relevant information.  

Taking into account the available evidence, the Commission proposes to the Council to adopt 
an Implementing Decision to grant financial assistance to Greece under the SURE Regulation 
in support of the above measures.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The present proposal is fully consistent with  Council Regulation 2020/672, under which the 
proposal is made. 

The present proposal comes in addition to another Union law instrument to provide support to 
Member States in case of emergencies, namely Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 
November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) (“Regulation (EC) 
No 2012/2002”). Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and of the Council, 
which amends that instrument to  extend its scope to  cover major public  health emergencies 
and to define specific operations eligible for financing, was adopted on 30 March.   

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The proposal is part of a range of measures developed in response to the current COVID-19 
pandemic  such  as  the  “Coronavirus  Response  Investment  Initiative”,  and  it  complements 
other  instruments  that  support  employment  such  as  the  European  Social  Fund  and  the 
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)/InvestEU. By making use of borrowing and 
lending in this particular case of the COVID-19 outbreak for supporting Member States, this 
proposal  acts  as  a  second  line  of  defence  to  finance  short-time  work  schemes  and  similar 
measures,  helping  protect  jobs  and  thus  employees  and  self-employed  against  the  risk  of 
unemployment.  

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis for this instrument is Council Regulation 2020/672.   

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The  proposal  follows  a  Member  State  request  and  shows  European  solidarity  by  providing 
Union financial assistance in the form of temporary loans to a Member State affected by the 
COVID-19  outbreak.  As  a  second  line  of  defence,  such  financial  assistance  supports  the 
government’s increased public expenditure on a temporary basis in respect of short-time work 
schemes  and  similar  measures  to  help  them  protect  jobs  and  thus  employees  and  self-
employed against the risk of unemployment and loss of income. 

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Such  support  will  help  the  population  affected  and  helps  to  mitigate  the  direct  societal  and 
economic impact caused by the present COVID-19 crisis.  

• 

Proportionality 

The proposal respects the proportionality principle. It does not go beyond what is necessary to 
achieve the objectives sought by the instrument.  

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Stakeholder consultations 

Due to the urgency to prepare the proposal so that it can be adopted in a timely manner by the 
Council, a stakeholder consultation could not be carried out. 

• 

Impact assessment 

Due to the urgent nature of the proposal, no impact assessment was carried out. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The  Commission  should  be  able  to  contract  borrowings  on  the  financial  markets  with  the 
purpose  of  on-lending  them  to  the  Member  State  requesting  financial  assistance  under  the 
SURE instrument.  

In  addition  to  the  provision  of  Member  State  guarantees,  other  safeguards  are  built  into  the 
framework in order to ensure the financial solidity of the scheme: 

 

 

A rigorous and conservative approach to financial management; 

A  construction  of  the  portfolio  of  loans  that  limits  concentration  risk,  annual 
exposure and excessive exposure to individual Member States whilst ensuring 
sufficient resources could be granted to Member States most in need; and 

 

Possibilities to roll over debt. 

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2020/0212 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION 

granting temporary support under Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 to Greece to 
mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency situation following the COVID-19 
outbreak 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  

Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 of 19 May 2020 on the establishment of 
a  European  instrument  for  temporary  support  to  mitigate  unemployment  risks  in  an 
emergency (SURE) following the COVID-19 outbreak1, and in particular Article 6(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

On 6 August 2020, Greece requested financial assistance from the Union with a view 
to complementing its national efforts to address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak 
and its socio-economic consequences for workers.  

The  COVID-19  outbreak  and  the  extraordinary  measures  implemented  by  Greece  to 
contain the outbreak and its socio-economic and health-related impact are expected to 
have  a  dramatic  impact  on  public  finances.  According  to  the  Commission’s  2020 
Spring forecast, Greece was expected to have a general government deficit and debt of 
6.4% and 196.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) respectively by the end of 2020. 
According  to  the  Commission’s  2020  Summer  interim  forecast,  Greece’s  GDP  is 
projected to decrease by 9% in 2020.  

The  COVID-19  outbreak  has  immobilised  a  substantial  part  of  the  labour  force  in 
Greece. This has led to a sudden and severe increase in public expenditure by Greece 
in respect of the special allowance provided to private sector employees whose labour 
contracts  were  suspended  because  of  the  crisis,  the  cost  of  their  social  security 
coverage  during  the  suspension  period,  the  special  allowance  provided  to  self-
employed professionals, the short-time work scheme, and the employer social security 
contributions for employees in seasonal enterprises of the tertiary sector, as set out in 
recitals 4 to 8.  

(4)  More  specifically,  “Legal  Act  of  14  March  2020”2,  as  it  is  referred  to  in  Greece’s 
request of 6 August 2020, introduced a special allowance for private sector employees 
whose  labour  contracts  have  been  suspended.  That  measure  aims  to  protect 

OJ L 159, 20.5.2020, p.1. 

1 
2  Legal Act of 14 March 2020 (Government Gazette A΄ 64) ratified by Article 3 of Law 4682/2020 
(Government  Gazette  A΄  76);  Ministerial  Decision  12998/232  (Government  Gazette  B΄  1078/28 
March 2020), Ministerial Decision 16073/287/22 April 2020 (Government Gazette B΄ 1547/22 April 
2020),  Ministerial  Decision  17788/346/8  May  2020  (Government  gazette  B΄  1779/10  May  2020), 
and Ministerial Decision 23102/477/2020 (Government Gazette B' 2268/13 June 2020). 

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employment  in  companies  that  cease  their  operations  by  public  order  or  belong  to 
economic sectors that are heavily  affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, and concerns 
the provision of a special monthly allowance of EUR 543 to employees whose labour 
contracts  are suspended  from  mid-March 2020.  The precondition  to  benefit from  the 
scheme is that the employer retains the same number of employees (meaning the exact 
same  employees)  for  a  period  equal  to  the  period  for  which  the  labour  contract  had 
been suspended. 

The authorities additionally introduced the financing by the state of the social security 
coverage of employees that benefit from the special allowance referred to in recital 4. 
The  precondition  to  benefit  from  the  scheme  is  that  the  employer  retains  the  same 
number of  employees  (meaning  the same exact employees) for  a period equal  to  the 
period for which the labour contract had been suspended.  
The  “Legal  Act  of  20  March  2020”3,  as  it  is  referred  to  in  Greece’s  request  of  6 
August  2020,  introduced  a  special  allowance  for  self-employed  professionals.  The 
measure concerns a one-off special allowance of EUR 600 provided either in April or 
in  June  2020  to  self-employed  professionals  (economists,  accountants,  engineers, 
lawyers, medical doctors, teachers, and researchers).  

A short-time work scheme that applies from 15 June 2020 until 15 October 2020 in all 
companies,  with  the  exception  of  the  airline  industry  where  an  extension  is  possible 
until the end of 2020, has been introduced on the basis of “Law 4690/2020”4, as it is 
referred  to  in  Greece’s  request  of  6  August  2020.  Eligible  companies  are  those  that 
have  recorded  a  drop  in  their  turnover  of  at  least  20%  and  the  measure  allows  for  a 
reduction of up to 50% in the weekly working hours of employees under the condition 
that the employment relationship is retained. From 15 June 2020 until 30 June 2020, 
the state covers 60% of the employee’s net earnings and 60% of the employer’s social 
security  contributions  in  respect  of  hours  not  worked.  As  of  1  July  2020,  the  state 
covers  100%  of  the  employer’s  and  the  employee’s  social  security  contributions  in 
respect of hours not worked, in addition to 60% of net earnings of employees on hours 
not worked.   
Finally, “Law 4714/2020”5, as it is referred to in Greece’s request of 6 August 2020, 
introduces the financing by the state of the employer’s social security contributions in 
respect of employees in seasonal enterprises. The measure targets seasonal enterprises 
in the tertiary sector, namely enterprises with 50% of their turnover concentrated in the 
third quarter of the year based on 2019 data, and aims to finance the employer’s social 
security  contributions  during  the  months  of  July,  August  and  September  2020  under 
the  condition  that  companies  retain  the  same  number  of  employees  they  had  on  30 
June 2020.  

Greece fulfils the conditions for requesting financial assistance set out in Article 3 of 
Regulation  (EU)  2020/672.  Greece  has  provided  the  Commission  with  appropriate 
evidence that the actual and planned public expenditure has increased by EUR  2 728 
000 000 as of 1 February 2020 due to the national measures taken to address the socio-
economic  effects  of  the  COVID-19  outbreak.  This  constitutes  a  sudden  and  severe 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

3  Legal Act of 20 March 2020 (Government Gazette A΄ 68) ratified by Article 1 of Law 4683/2020 

(Government Gazette A΄ 83) 

4  Law 4690/2020 (Government Gazette A΄ 104) ratified by Articles 122 and 123 of Law 4714/2020 
(Government  Gazette  A΄  148),  Ministerial  Decision  23103/478  (Government  Gazette  B  2274/14 
June 2020) and Ministerial Decision 32085/1771 

5  Law 4714/2020 (Government Gazette A΄ 148) ratified by Ministerial Decision 32085/1771. 

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increase  because  it  relates  to  new  measures,  which  cover  a  significant  proportion  of 
undertakings and of the labour force in Greece. 

(10)  The Commission has consulted Greece and verified the sudden and severe increase in 
the actual and planned public expenditure directly related to short-time work schemes 
and similar measures referred to in the request of 6 August 2020, in accordance with 
Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2020/672.  

(11)  Financial  assistance  should  therefore  be  provided  with  a  view  to  helping  Greece  to 
address the socio-economic effects of the severe economic disturbance caused by the 
COVID-19 outbreak. 

(12)  This decision should be without prejudice to the outcome of any procedures relating to 
distortions of the operation of the internal market that may be undertaken, in particular 
under Articles 107  and  108 TFEU.  It  does not  override the  requirement  for Member 
States to notify instances of potential State aid to the Commission under Article 108 
TFEU. 

(13)  Greece should inform the Commission on a regular basis of the implementation of the 
planned public expenditure, in order to enable the Commission to assess the extent to 
which Greece has implemented that expenditure. 

(14)  The  decision  to  provide  financial  assistance  has  been  taken  taking  into  account 
existing  and  expected  needs  of  Greece,  as  well  as  requests  for  financial  assistance 
pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  2020/672  already  submitted  or  planned  to be  submitted 
by other Member States, while applying the principles of equal  treatment,  solidarity, 
proportionality and transparency, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Greece fulfils the conditions set out in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/672.   

Article 1 

Article 2 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  Union  shall  make  available  to  the  Greece  a  loan  amounting  to  a  maximum  of 
EUR 2 728 000 000. The loan shall have a maximum average maturity of 15 years. 

The availability period for financial assistance  granted by this Decision shall be 18 
months starting from the first day after the entry into force of this Decision.  

The Union financial assistance shall be made available by the Commission to Greece 
in a maximum of eight instalments. An instalment may be disbursed in one or several 
tranches. The maturities of the tranches under the first instalment may be longer than 
the  maximum  average  maturity  referred  to  in  paragraph  1.  In  such  cases,  the 
maturities  of  further  tranches  shall  be  set  so  that  the  maximum  average  maturity 
referred to in paragraph 1 is respected once all instalments have been disbursed.  

The  first  instalment  shall  be  released  subject  to  the  entry  into  force  of  the  loan 
agreement provided for in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) 2020/672.  

Greece  shall  pay  the  cost  of  funding  of  the  Union  referred  to  in  Article  4  of 
Regulation (EU) 2020/672 for each instalment plus any fees, costs and expenses of 
the Union resulting from any funding.  

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6. 

The Commission shall decide on the size and release of instalments, as well as on the 
size of the tranches.  

Greece may finance the following measures: 

Article 3  

a)  a  special  allowance  provided  to  employees  whose  labour  contracts  have  been 

suspended, as provided for by Article 13 of Legal Act of 14 March 2020;  

b) 

the social security coverage of employees under the measure referred to in point (a) 
of this Article,  as provided for by Article 13 of Legal Act of 14 March 2020;  

c)  a  special  allowance  to  self-employed  professionals,  as  provided  for  by  Article  8  of 

Legal Act of 20 March 2020; 

d)  a short-time work scheme, as provided for by Article 31 of Law 4690/2020;  

e) 

the  employer  social  security  contributions  for  employees  in  seasonal  enterprises  in 
the tertiary sector, as provided for by Article 123 of Law 4714/2020. 

Greece  shall  inform  the  Commission  by  [DATE:  6  months  after  date  of  publication  of  this 
Decision],  and  every  6  months  thereafter  of  the  implementation  of  the  planned  public 
expenditure until such time as that planned public expenditure has been fully implemented. 

Article 4 

This Decision is addressed to the Hellenic Republic. 

Article 5 

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.  

Done at Brussels, 

Article 6 

For the Council 
The President 

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