Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344 granting temporary support pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2020/672 to the Republic of Cyprus to mitigate unemployment risks in the emergency following the COVID-19 outbreak
Date: 2021-03-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, EU loan, aid to undertakings, coronavirus disease, emergency aid, employment aid, epidemic, fight against unemployment, public expenditure, self-employed person

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.3.2021  COM(2021) 167 final 2021/0090 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344 granting temporary support pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2020/672 to the Republic of Cyprus to mitigate unemployment risks in the emergency following the COVID-19 outbreak  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Council Regulation (EU) 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  25  September  2020  the  Council  granted  financial  assistance  to  Cyprus  with  a  view  to 
complementing  its  national  efforts  to  address  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19  outbreak  and 
respond  to  the  socioeconomic  consequences  of  the  outbreak  for  workers  and  the  self-
employed. 

On  10  March  2021,  Cyprus  made  a  new  request  for  Union  financial  assistance  under  the 
SURE Regulation.  

In accordance with Article 6(2) of the SURE Regulation, the Commission has consulted the 
Cypriot authorities to verify the sudden and severe increase in actual and planned expenditure 
directly related to Cyprus’ labour market measures and health-related measures and caused by 
the  COVID-19  pandemic.  In  particular,  the  increased  expenditure  for  which  additional 
financial  assistance  is  requested  pertains  to  existing  measures  referred  to  in  Council 
Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the special leave scheme, which provides wage compensation to parents working in 
the private sector who have children up to the age of 15 or children with disabilities 
of any age. The measure, initially in force for the period February 2020 to June 2020, 
was extended from January 2021 to May 2021; 

the scheme supporting companies for total suspension of operations, which provides 
wage  compensation  to  up  to  97%  of  the  employees  of  the  businesses  forced  to 
suspend  their  operations,  conditional  on  employment  retention.  The  compensation 
covers 60% of the employee's salary or 60% of the employee's social insurance units 
earned in  2018 (2019 for the period from  July 2020 to  August  2020), whichever is 
the  greater.  The  compensation  ranges  between  a  maximum  of  EUR  1 214  and  a 
minimum  of  EUR  360  per  month.  The  measure,  initially  in  force  for  the  period 
March 2020 to August 2020 was extended from September 2020 to May 2021; 

the  scheme  supporting  companies  for  partial  suspension  of  operations,  which 
provides wage compensation to the employees of businesses experiencing a decline 
in  turnover  due  to  the  pandemic,  conditional  on  employment  retention.  The 
compensation covers 60% of the employee's salary or 60% of the employee's social 
insurance  units  earned  in  2018,  whichever  is  the  greater.  The  compensation  ranges 
between  a  maximum  of  EUR  1  214  and  a  minimum  of  EUR  360  per  month.  The 
measure,  initially  in  force  for  the  period  March  2020  to  June  2020,  was  extended 
from January 2021 to May 2021;  

(d) 

the  ‘special  scheme  for  self-employed’,  which  provides  compensation  to  self- 
employed  persons  who  cannot  exercise  any  activity  according  to  the  decree  of  the 
Minister  of  Health  and/or  a  decision  of  the  Council  of  Ministers.  The  measure, 

EN 

1 

  EN 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

initially  in  force  for  the  period  March  2020  to  June  2020,  was  extended  from  July 
2020 to May 2021;  

the ‘special scheme for hotel units and tourist accommodation’, which provides wage 
compensation  to  support  employees  in  the  hotel  industry  and  other  businesses 
providing  tourist  accommodation  whose  employer  has  fully  suspended  their 
operations  or  experienced  a  decline  in  turnover  of  more  than  40%.  Participation  in the 
scheme is conditional on employment retention. The measure, initially in force for the 
period June 2020 to October 2020, was extended from November 2020 to May 2021;  

the ‘special scheme to support businesses related to the tourism industry or affected 
by  tourism  or  associated  with  businesses  that  are  subject  to  mandatory  total 
suspension’,  which  provides  wage  compensation  to  the  employees  in  those 
businesses  that  have  fully  suspended  their  operations  or  experienced  a  decline  in 
turnover of more than 40%, as opposed to 55% in the original scheme, conditional on 
employment  retention.  The  measure,  initially  in  force  for  the  period  June  2020  to 
August 2020, was extended and amended from September 2020 to May 2021;  

the subsidisation scheme for very small and small enterprises and self-employed who 
employ up to 50 employees, which provides a lump sum grant to support operating 
expenses of small businesses and the self-employed. The amounts of the lump-sump 
grants have been reviewed for various categories of businesses based on the number 
of employees. In addition, grants have been agreed for businesses, which suspended 
their  operations  since  March  2020  with  an  amount  of  EUR  10 000  for  up  to  9 
employees  and  EUR  15 000  for  more  than  9  employees.  The  measure,  initially  in 
force  for  the  period  April  2020  to  May  2020,  was  extended  and  amended  for 
November 2020;  

the  ‘sickness  benefit  scheme’,  which  provides  wage  compensation  to  employees  of 
the private sector and self-employed, on the condition that they are either classified 
as  vulnerable  individuals  according  to  a  list  published  by  the  Ministry  of  Health, 
placed  in  quarantine  by  the  Authorities,  or  infected  by  Covid-19.  The  measure, 
initially  in  force  for  the  period  March  2020  to  June  2020,  was  extended  from 
November 2020 to May 2021; 

Cyprus 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 Cyprus  under the SURE Regulation 
in support of the measures above.  

Health-related measures, as requested by Cyprus on 10 March 2021, amount to EUR 440 000.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The present proposal is fully consistent with Council Regulation (EU) 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.   

EN 

2 

  EN 

• 

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 (EU) 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. 

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; 

EN 

3 

  EN 

 

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. 

EN 

4 

  EN 

2021/0090 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION 

amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344 granting temporary support pursuant 
to Regulation (EU) 2020/672 to the Republic of Cyprus to mitigate unemployment risks 
in the emergency 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) 

(4) 

On 25 September 2020, the Council granted financial assistance to Cyprus taking the 
form  of  a  loan  amounting  to  a  maximum  of  EUR 479 070 000.  with  a  maximum 
average maturity of 15 years, following the Cyprus’ request of 6 August 2020, with a 
view  to  complementing  its  national  efforts  to  address  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19 
outbreak and respond to the socio-economic consequences of the outbreak for workers 
and the self-employed.  

The  loan  was  to  finance  the  short-time  work  schemes,  similar  measures  and  health-
related measures adopted by Cyprus, as referred to in Council Implementing Decision 
(EU) 2020/13442.  

The COVID-19 outbreak continues to immobilise a substantial part of the labour force 
in Cyprus. This has led to a still sudden and severe increase in public expenditure by 
Cyprus  in respect of the measures referred to in Article 3(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (g) (h) of 
Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344. 

The  COVID-19  outbreak  and  the  extraordinary  measures  implemented  by  Cyprus  in 
2020  and  2021  to  contain  the  outbreak  and  its  socio-economic  and  health-related 
impact  had  and  still  have  a  dramatic  impact  on  public  finances.  According  to  the 
Commission's  2020  autumn  forecast,  Cyprus  was  expected  to  have  a  general 
government  deficit  and  debt  of  6.1%  and  112.6%  of  gross  domestic  product  (GDP) 
respectively by the end of 2020. In 2021, Cyprus’ general government deficit and debt 
are  forecast  to  narrow  to  2.3%  and  108.2%  of  GDP  respectively.  According  to  the 
Commission’s 2021 winter interim forecast, Cyprus’ GDP is projected to increase by 
3.2% in 2021. 

1 
2 

OJ L 159, 20.5.2020, p. 1. 
Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344 of 25 September 2020 on granting temporary support 
under  Regulation  (EU)  2020/672  to  the  Republic  of  Cyprus    to  mitigate  unemployment  risks  in  the 
emergency following the COVID-19 outbreak, OJ L 314, 29.9.2020, p. 13–16.  

EN 

5 

  EN 

                                                 
(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

On 10 March 2021, Cyprus requested further financial assistance from the Union in an 
amount  of  EUR 124 700 000  with  a  view  to    continue  complementing  its  national 
efforts undertaken in 2020 and 2021 to address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak 
and respond to the socioeconomic consequences of the outbreak for workers and the 
self-employed. In particular it concerns the measures set out in recitals 6 to 13.  
Law  27(I)/20203,  and  Laws  49(I)/20204,  140(I)/20205,  have  been  the  basis  for  the 
introduction  of  a  number  of  monthly  Regulatory  Administrative  Acts6,  outlining 
measures to address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. On the basis of these laws, 
the authorities have introduced a “special leave scheme”, as referred to in Article 3(a) 
of  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2020/1344,  which  provides  wage  compensation  to 
parents working in the private sector who have children up to the age of 15 or children 
of  any  age  with  disabilities.  That  special  leave  scheme  can  be  considered  to  be  a 
similar  measure  to  short-time  work  schemes,  as  referred  to  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2020/672, as it provides income support to employees and helps preserve employment 
by preventing parents, who have to look after their children while schools are closed, 
from needing to terminate the employment relationship. The measure was initially in 
force  for  the  period  February  2020  to  June  2020  and  was  subsequently  extended  to 
cover the period from January 2021 to May 2021. 

Furthermore,  Law  27(I)/2020  and  Laws  49(I)/2020,  140(I)/2020,  and  a  number  of 
monthly  Regulatory  Administrative  Acts7  have  been  the  basis  for  a  “scheme 
supporting companies that have had to completely suspend operations”, as referred to 
in  Article  3(b)  of  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2020/1344.  It  provides  wage 
compensation  to  97  %  of  the  employees  of  the  businesses  forced  to  suspend  their 
operations,  conditional  on  employment  retention.  The  compensation  covers  60  %  of 
the employee’s salary or 60 % of the employee’s social insurance units earned in 2018 
(2019  for  the  period  7/2020-8/2020),  whichever  is  the  greater.  The  compensation 
ranges  between  a  maximum  of  EUR  1  214  and  a  minimum  of  EUR  360  per  month. 
The measure was initially in force for the period March 2020 to August 2020 and was 
subsequently extended to cover the period from September 2020 to May 2021. 

(8)  Moreover,  Law  27(I)/2020  and  Laws  49(I)/2020,  140(I)/2020,  and  a  number  of 
monthly  Regulatory  Administrative  Acts8  have  been  the  basis  for  the  ‘scheme 
supporting  companies  for  partial  suspension  of  operations’,  as  referred  to  in  Article 
3(b) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344. It provides wage compensation to the 
employees  of  businesses  experiencing  a  decline  in  turnover  due  to  the  pandemic, 
conditional  on  employment  retention.  The  compensation  covers  60%  of  the 
employee’s  salary  or  60  %  of  the  employee’s  social  insurance  units  earned  in  2018, 
whichever is the greater. The compensation ranges between a maximum of EUR 1 214 
and  a  minimum  of  EUR  360  per  month.  The  measure  was  initially  in  force  for  the 
period March 2020 to June 2020 and was subsequently extended to cover the period 
from January 2021 to May 2021. 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 

8 

Ε.Ε., Παρ.Ι(I), Αρ.4748, 27/3/2020 
Ε.Ε., Παρ.Ι(I), Αρ.4756, 26/5/2020 
Ε.Ε., Παρ.Ι(I), Αρ.4780, 12/10/2020 
Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  127/148/151/184/192/212/213/235/2020,  and  extended  with 
Regulatory Administrative Acts 20/88/2021. 
Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  130/148/151/187/212/213/238/243/271/273/2020,  and  extended  with 
Regulatory Administrative Acts 319/395/421/501/536/634/2020 and 15/83/2021. 
Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  131/148/151/188/212/213/239/2020,  and  extended  with  Regulatory 
Administrative Acts 16/84/2021. 

EN 

6 

  EN 

                                                 
(9) 

Law  27(I)/2020  and  Laws  49(I)/2020,  140(I)/2020,  and  a  number  of  Regulatory 
Administrative  Acts9  have  been  the  basis  for  the  ‘special  scheme  for  the  self-
employed’, as referred to in Article 3(c) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344. It 
provides  compensation  to  the  self-employed  who  cannot  exercise  any  activity 
according  to  the  decree  of  the  Minister  of  Health  or  a  decision  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers. The measure was initially in force for the period March 2020 to June 2020 
and was subsequently extended to cover the period from July 2020 to May 2021. 

(10)  Law  27(I)/2020  and  Laws  49(I)/2020,  140(I)/2020,  and  a  number  of  Regulatory 
Administrative Acts10 have been the basis for the ‘special scheme for hotel units and 
tourist accommodation’, as referred to in Article 3(d) of Implementing Decision (EU) 
2020/1344. It provides wage compensation to support employees in the hotel industry 
and  other  businesses  providing  tourist  accommodation  whose  employer  has  fully 
suspended  operations  or  experienced  a  decline  in  turnover  of  more  than  40  %. 
Participation in the scheme is conditional on employment retention. The measure was 
initially  in  force  for  the  period  June  2020  to  October  2020  and  was  subsequently 
extended to cover the period from November 2020 to May 2021. 

(11)  Law  27(I)/2020  and  Laws  49(I)/2020,  140(I)/2020,  and  a  number  of  Regulatory 
Administrative  Acts11  have  been  the  basis  for  the  ‘special  scheme  to  support 
businesses  related  to  the  tourism  industry  or  affected  by  tourism  or  associated  with 
businesses that are subject to mandatory total suspension’, as referred to in Article 3(e) 
of  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2020/1344.  It  provides  wage  compensation  to  the 
employees in the hotel industry and other businesses providing tourist accommodation 
that have fully suspended operations or experienced a decline in turnover of more than 
40% as opposed to 55% in the original scheme, conditional on employment retention. 
The measure was initially in force for the period June 2020 to August 2020 and was 
extended and amended to cover the period from September 2020 to May 2021. 

(12)  Moreover,  the  ‘subsidation  scheme’  set  by  ‘Supplementary  budget,  Temporary 
framework  for  State  aid  measures  to  support  the  economy  in  the  current  COVID-19 
outbreak’,  as  referred  to  in  Article  3(g)  of  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2020/1344, 
introduced subsidies for very small and small enterprises and the self-employed who 
employ up to 50 employees. Only the part of expenditure related to the support of the 
self-employed and one-person companies has been requested. Those subsidies provide 
a  lump  sum  grant  to  support  operating  expenses  of  small  businesses  and  the  self-
employed.  The  amounts  of  the  lump-sump  grants  have  been  reviewed  for  various 
categories of businesses based on the number of employees. In addition, grants have been 
agreed for businesses, which suspended their operations since March 2020 with an amount 
of EUR 10 000 for up to 9 employees and EUR 15 000 for more than 9 employees. The 
subsidisation  scheme  can  be  considered  to  be  a  similar  measure  to  short-time  work 
schemes, as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2020/672, as it aims at protecting the self-
employed  or  similar  categories  of  workers  from  reduction  or  loss  of  income.  The 
measure  was  initially  in  force  for  the  period  April  2020  to  May  2020  and  was 
extended and amended for November 2020. 

9 

10 

11 

Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  129/148/151/186/213/237/322/2020,  and  extended  with  Regulatory 
Administrative Acts 398/423/503/538/636/2020 and 18/86/2021. 
Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  269/317/2020,  and  extended  with  Regulatory  Administrative  Acts 
393/418/498/533/631/2020 and 13/81/2021. 
Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  270/318/2020,  and  extended  with  Regulatory  Administrative  Acts 
394/419/499/534/632/2020 and 14/82/2021. 

EN 

7 

  EN 

                                                 
(13)  Cyprus  also  further  extended  a  health-related  measure  to  address  the  COVID-19 
outbreak  provided  for  by  Law  27(I)/2020,  Laws  49(I)/2020,  140(I)/2020,  and  by 
Regulatory  Administrative  Acts12.  In  particular,  the  ‘sickness  benefit  scheme’,  as 
referred to in Article 3(h) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344, provides wage 
compensation  to  employees  of  the  private  sector  and  to  the  self-employed,  on  the 
condition  that  they  are  either  classified  as  vulnerable  individuals  according  to  a  list 
published  by  the  Ministry  of  Health,  placed  in  quarantine  by  the  Authorities,  or 
infected by COVID-19. The measure was initially in force for the period March 2020 
to June 2020 and was extended to cover the period from November 2020 to May 2021. 

that 

(14)  Cyprus fulfils the conditions for requesting financial assistance set out in Article 3 of 
Regulation  (EU)  2020/672.  Cyprus    has  provided  the  Commission  with  appropriate 
evidence 
increased  by 
the  actual  and  planned  public  expenditure  has 
EUR 742 040 000 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 increase because it is related also to an extension of existing national measures 
directly  related  to  short-time  work  scheme  and  similar  measures  that  cover  a 
significant  proportion  of  undertakings  and  of  the  labour  force  in  Cyprus.  Cyprus 
intends  to  finance EUR 138 270 000 of the increased amount of expenditure through 
Union funds. 

(15)  The Commission has consulted Cyprus and verified the sudden and severe increase in 
the actual and planned public expenditure directly related to short-time work schemes 
and  similar  measures,  as  well  as  the  recourse  to  relevant  health-related  measures 
related  to  the  COVID-19  outbreak,  referred  to  in  the  request  of  10  March  2021,  in 
accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2020/672.  

(16)  The health-related measure, as requested by Cyprus on 10 March 2021 and referred to 

in recital 13, amounts to EUR 440 000.  

(17)  Financial  assistance  should  therefore  be  provided  with  a  view  to  helping  Cyprus  to 
address the socio-economic effects of the severe economic disturbance caused by the 
COVID-19  outbreak.  The  Commission  should  take  the  decisions  concerning 
maturities,  size  and  release  of  instalments  and  tranches  in  close  cooperation  with 
national authorities 

(18)  Cyprus  and  the  Commission  should  take  this  Decision  into  account  in  the  loan 

agreement referred to in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) 2020/672.  

(19)  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  pursuant  to  Articles  107  and  108  of  the  Treaty.  It  does  not  override  the 
requirement  for  Member  States  to  notify  instances  of  potential  State  aid  to  the 
Commission under Article 108 of the Treaty. 

(20)  Cyprus 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 Cyprus has implemented that expenditure. 

(21)  The  decision  to  provide  financial  assistance  has  been  reached  taking  into  account 
existing  and  expected  needs  of  Cyprus,  as  well  as  requests  for  financial  assistance 

12 

Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  128/148/151/185/212/236/2020,  and  extended  with  Regulatory 
Administrative Acts 637/2020 and 19/87/2021. 

EN 

8 

  EN 

                                                 
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:  

Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344 is amended as follows:  

Article 1 

(1)   Article 2 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:  

‘1.  The  Union  shall  make  available  to  Cyprus  a  loan  amounting  to  a  maximum  of 
EUR 603 770 000. The loan shall have a maximum average maturity of 15 years.’; 

(b)  paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:  

‘4.  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.  Any  further 
instalments shall be released in accordance with the terms of such loan agreement or, 
where relevant, be subject to the entry into force of an addendum to the latter, or an 
amended loan agreement concluded between Cyprus and the Commission.’; 

(2) 

Article 3 is replaced by the following:  

Cyprus may finance the following measures: 

‘Article 3 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the special leave scheme for parents, as provided for by ‘Law 27(I)/2020’ and 
by  ‘Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  127/148/151/184/192/212/213/235/2020’, 
as extended;   

the  schemes  supporting  companies  for  the  total  suspension  of  operations,  as 
provided  for  by  ‘Law  27(I)/2020’  and  by  ‘Regulatory  Administrative  Acts, 
130/148/151/187/212/213/238/243/271/273/ 2020’, as extended;  

the schemes supporting companies for the partial suspension of operations, as 
provided  for  by  ‘Law  27(I)/2020’  and  by  ‘Regulatory  Administrative  Acts, 
131/148/151/188/212/213/239/2020’, as extended;  

the special scheme for the self-employed, as provided for by ‘Law 27(I)/2020’ 
and  by  ‘Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  129/148/151/186/213/237/322/2020’, 
as extended; 

the special scheme for hotel units and tourist accommodation, as provided for 
by  ‘Law  27(I)/2020’  and  by  ‘Regulatory  Administrative  Acts  269/317/2020’, 
as extended;  

the  special  scheme  to  support  businesses  related  to  the  tourism  industry  or 
affected by tourism or associated with businesses that are subject to mandatory 
total  suspension,  as  provided  for  by  ‘Law  27(I)/2020’  and  by  ‘Regulatory 
Administrative Acts 270/318/2020’, as extended and amended;  

EN 

9 

  EN 

 
 
(g) 

(h) 

the  special  scheme  for  supporting  businesses  exercising  special  predefined 
activities,  as  provided  for  by  ‘Law  27(I)/2020’  and  by  ‘Regulatory 
Administrative Acts 272/320/396/420/500/535/633/2020’; 

the  subsidisation  scheme  of  very  small  and  small  enterprises  and  the  self-
employed,  as  provided  for  in  ‘Supplementary  budget,  Temporary  framework 
for  State  aid  measures  to  support  the  economy  in  the  current  COVID-19 
outbreak’,  for  the  part  of  expenditure  related  to  the  support  of  the  self-
employed and one-person companies, as extended and amended; 

(i) 

the  sickness  benefit  scheme,  as  provided  for  by  ‘Law  27(I)/2020’  and  by 
‘Regulatory Administrative Acts 128/148/151/185/212/236/2020’, as extended;  

(3) 

Article 4 is replaced by the following:  

‘Article 4 

1. 

Cyprus shall inform the Commission by 30 March 2021, and every six months 
thereafter  of  the  implementation  of  the  planned  public  expenditure  until  that 
planned public expenditure has been fully implemented.  

2.  Where  measures  referred  to  in  Article  3  are  based  on  planned  public 
expenditure  and  have  been  subject  to  an  Implementing  Decision  amending 
Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1344 Cyprus shall inform the Commission 
within 6 months after the date of adoption of that decision, and every 6 months 
thereafter  of  the  implementation  of  the  planned  public  expenditure  until  that 
planned public expenditure has been fully implemented.’. 

This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Cyprus. 

Article 2 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

10 

  EN