The EU-Bulgaria SURE Loan Agreement has been approved

The Council of Ministers approved the draft Loan Agreement between the European Union as a lender and the Republic of Bulgaria as a borrower and authorized the Minister of Finance to sign it on behalf of the Republic of Bulgaria, subject to subsequent ratification.

The agreement derives from Art. 8 (2) of Council Regulation (EU) 2020/672 of 19 May 2020 establishing the European Temporary Support Instrument to mitigate the risks of unemployment in exceptional circumstances following the outbreak of COVID-19, known as "SURE tool".

The need for concluding the agreement stems from the official request made on August 7, 2020 by the Republic of Bulgaria for financial assistance under the SURE instrument.

The loan requested by Bulgaria is to complement national efforts to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and its socio-economic consequences for workers and the self-employed.

The maximum amount of funds that the European Union can grant to Bulgaria under the SURE instrument is EUR 511,000,000, with a 15-year maximum average maturity. The term of availability of the provided financial assistance is 18 months.

The Council of Ministers also approved a Decree supplementing Decree № 381 of the Council of Ministers of 2019 on the implementation of the state budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2020, which regulates issues related to the opening of an account of the central budget, the receipt of funds from loans under the Agreement and its servicing.