Malta has received €120 million from the European Commission to ensure that companies retain their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moreover, a second tranche of a similar amount will be made available shortly, meaning Malta will receive roughly €244 million from the EU.

“The goal now is to invest in our economy so that the recovery will be strong,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with TVM.

.@EU_Commission President @vonderleyen has great news for #Malta 🇲🇹🎉! As from tomorrow, Malta will have access to the first 120 million Euro under the #SURE Programme, to make sure companies retain their employees during these hard times!

Watch the interview w/ @demicolikeith pic.twitter.com/sDmaozG7a9

— EU Commission Malta (@ECRepMalta) November 16, 2020

The SURE Programme, which is an EU instrument to support unemployment risk in emergencies, will subside the salaries of employees in companies that are currently struggling to pay their staff due to the economic hardships brought by the ongoing pandemic.

“When the economy is picking up again we need companies that have the knowledge and workforce in place to take the offers that are coming now.”

“SURE is a bridge during this difficult time towards a better time when we recover,” she said.

The Maltese government has been relying on its very own wage supplement scheme which was first introduced in April. It announced last month that it will be extending the scheme until at least March.

Today, the EU will be signing its fifth contract for a COVID-19 vaccine as part of its overarching plan to ensure that everyone will have access to a vaccine when available.

“Malta, as any other member state, will have access to the vaccine on a pro-rata basis, under the same conditions and at the same time like all 27 states in the European Union,” von der Leyen said.

Thus far, Malta has been allocated 330,000 doses of a potenital vaccine.

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