European instrument for support to mitigate unempolyment risks in an emergency (SURE)

V začetku leta 2020 je svet prizadela koronavirusna bolezen, ki jo je Svetovna zdravstvena organizacija poimenovala COVID-19, kasneje pa v zvezi z njo razglasila pandemijo. Države članice so uvedle izredne ukrepe, da bi omejile izbruh COVID-19 in njene posledice. Potrebna je bila hitra prilagoditev ljudi, organizacij, zdravstva, politik in gospodarstva. Tudi Evropska unija je hitro reagirala in pripravila Uredbo evropskega parlamenta in Sveta o vzpostavitvi mehanizma za okrevanje in odpornost, v katerem je še posebej poudarila pomembnost ohranitve delovnih mest, ter tako tudi pripravila mehanizem SURE, instrument za začasno podporo za ublažitev tveganj za brezposelnost v izrednih razmerah. Njegov cilj je zagotoviti finančno pomoč državam članicam v višini 100 milijard evrov. Pravna podlaga za sprejetje takšnega mehanizma je člen 122 Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije, ki omogoča Svetu, da državi članici zaradi izjemnih okoliščin odobri finančno pomoč Evropske unije ob izpolnjevanju predpogojev. Da je lahko država članica deležna finančne pomoči Unije, mora biti v težavah ali ji morajo groziti hude težave zaradi naravnih nesreč ali izjemnih okoliščin ter nima nikakršnega nadzora nad temi okoliščinami. Pomembno načelo evropskega prava za sprejetje takšnega mehanizma je načelo solidarnosti, Pogodba o delovanju Evropske unije tudi določa solidarnostno klavzulo. Evropska unija ima za učinkovito delovanje vzpostavljen institucionalni okvir, preko katerega uveljavlja svoje vrednote in uresničuje svoje cilje. Za sprejetje mehanizma SURE in kasneje v njegovo izvajanje so bile vključene številne institucije, predvsem pa Komisija in Svet. Mehanizem SURE ima dopolnilno naravo, kar pomeni, da dopolnjuje nacionalne ukrepe, ki so jih sprejele države članice. Ukrepi so bili nujno potrebni, saj ima lahko dolgotrajna brezposelnost resne posledice za rast in javne finance. Instrument SURE je podprl ukrepe skrajšanega delovnega časa in podobne ukrepe, ki so jih države članice sprejele, da bi zaščitile delovna mesta in s tem zaposlene in samozaposlene pred tveganjem za brezposelnost in izgubo dohodka. Komisija je 2. aprila 2020 predlagala uredbo za sprejete tega instrumenta, ki jo je Svet sprejel 19. maja 2020. Prvo izplačilo je bilo izvedeno 27. oktobra istega leta, kar je le pet tednov po tem, ko so bila finančna sredstva na voljo. Okoli 31 milijonov ljudi in 2.5 milijona podjetij je bilo podprtih s sredstvi mehanizma SURE v 19 državah članicah. Zanimivo dejstvo je tudi, da naj bi bilo več kot polovica javnih izdatkov, ki so bili podprti iz SURE, porabljenih za programe skrajšanega delovnega časa. Slovenija je Unijo za finančno pomoč zaprosila 7. avgusta 2020, v vlogi za finančno pomoč je navedla ukrepe skrajšanega delovnega časa, čakanja na delo, temeljnega dohodka, oprostitve prispevkov za samozaposlene in druge ukrepe, ki ohranjajo delovna mesta. Svet je 25. septembra 2020 sprejel izvedbeni sklep, s katerim so Sloveniji odobrili posojilo v višini največ 1 113 670 000 EUR. Slovenija je znesek prejela v dveh nakazilih, 17. novembra je prejela 200 milijonov evrov in 2. februarja 2021 še preostalih 913 milijonov evrov.In early 2020, the world was struck by a coronavirus disease named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. Later, a pandemic was declared. The Member States introduced emergency measures to limit the outbreak of COVID-19 and its consequences. Rapid adaptation of people, organizations, health, policies, and the economy was needed. The European Union also reacted quickly. It prepared the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a Recovery and Resilience Mechanism emphasizing, in particular, the importance of maintaining jobs, thus establishing the SURE instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency. It aims to provide €100 billion in financial assistance to the Member States. The legal basis for the adoption of such a mechanism is Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows the Council to grant a Member State financial assistance from the European Union due to exceptional circumstances, subject to exceptional conditions. To be eligible for Union financial assistance, a Member State must be in difficulty or at risk of serious difficulties as a result of natural disasters or exceptional circumstances and has no control over these circumstances. An important principle of European law for the adoption of such a mechanism is the principle of solidarity. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union also provides for a solidarity clause. The European Union has an institutional framework for effective functioning. Through it, it promotes its values and achieves its goals. Several institutions, in particular the Commission and the Council, were involved in the adoption and subsequent implementation of the SURE instrument. The SURE instrument is complementary in nature, which means that it complements national measures taken by the Member States. Measures were urgently needed because long-term unemployment could have serious consequences for growth and public finances. The SURE instrument supported part-time measures and similar measures taken by the Member States to protect jobs and thus the employed and self-employed from the risk of unemployment and loss of income. On the 2nd of April 2020, the Commission proposed regulation for adopting this instrument. The regulation was adopted by the Council on the 19th of May 2020. The first payment was made on the 27th of October of the same year, which is just five weeks after the funding became available. Approximately 31 million people and 2.5 million companies were supported by the SURE instrument in 19 Member States. It is also an interesting fact to note that more than half of the public expenditure supported by SURE is said to be spent on part-time programs. Slovenia applied to the Union for financial assistance on the 7th of August 2020. In its application for financial assistance, it stated the measures of reduced working hours, waiting for work, basic income, exemption from contributions for the self-employed, and other measures that preserve jobs. On the 25th of September 2020, the Council adopted an implementing decision granting Slovenia a loan of a maximum of €1,113,670,000. Slovenia received the amount in two transfers. On the 17th of November, it received €200 million, and on the 2nd of February 2021, the remaining €913 million