CCS and Covid: a timeline of the measures

May 8, 2020, 4:58 pm

Consult this timeline and learn more about the emergency measures Europe put in place to support sectors most hardly hit by the pandemic. 

  • In the second half of March, the European Commission adopts a Temporary Framework to enable Member States to use the full flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Temporary Framework enables Member States to ensure that sufficient liquidity remains available to businesses of all types and to preserve the continuity of economic activity during and after the crisis.
  • On March 26 the European Parliament approves the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII), a 37 billion EUR effort which enables Member States to use Structural Funds money to support small businesses and employment schemes. The day after, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education Sabine Verheyen welcomes the initiative but warns that new structural funds made available to Member States must reach the creative sector immediately.
  • At the beginning of April, the European Commission proposes SURE, a new instrument of up to €100 billion in total for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency. Specifically, the SURE instrument should act as a second line of defence, complementing national efforts to protect employment. It should support short-time work schemes and similar measures, to help Member States protect jobs and thus employees and self-employed against the risk of unemployment and loss of income. It is expected to be operational by 1 June 2020.
  • The extraordinary video-conference of EU’s Ministers for Culture on 8 April benchmarks various ongoing national initiatives to immediately relieve the cultural and creative sectors, while strengthened funds for Creative Europe were also mentioned. Following the e-meeting, Commissioner for Culture Mariya Gabriel announces that the Commission would set up two EU-wide platforms for Member States to share their best practices and for the sectors to come up with their own proposals. Find here the new platform for cultural and creative stakeholders.
  • Cultural activities are wide ranging and varied, which makes it difficult to put a precise figure on the number of jobs at stake. If we look at Eurostat estimates, the impact of the outbreak on cultural activities and related professions could mean around 7.3 jobs across the EU put in danger, representing 3.7% of total employment across the EU.
  • On April 9, Ministers of Finance of the Eurozone meet in the so-called Eurogroup to discuss the comprehensive economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The compromise reached makes no mention of joint debt instruments, while announcing a Recovery Fund worth 540 billion euros “through the EU budget” to kickstart the EU economy. All of a sudden, lights are back on the EU’s long-term budget 2021-2027, whose figures are still to be agreed by EU leaders.
  • In its April 17 joint resolution on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the European Parliament urges to provide support, both at Union and national level, to CCS. The resolution also pays attention to some specific features of the CCS, such as the presence of intermittent freelancers and self-employed workers whose income has reduced dramatically.
  • As a result of the video conference of the members of the European Council on 23 April, the European Commission has been tasked to come up with a revised MFF proposal, which integrates a recovery fund for Europe in the already existing MFF proposal, while increasing its financial envelope.
  • On 8 May, a new meeting of the Eurogroup takes place to exchange views on the economic situation of the euro area based on the European Commission’s spring forecast and discuss the main features of the Pandemic Crisis Support instrument of the European Stability Mechanism. The aim is for the instrument to be operational by 1 June.
  • Meanwhile, the European Commission has made available to all current and potential applicants and beneficiaries of Creative Europe a list of Questions & Answers to shed some light on the most acute issues regarding the programme. The document gives answers to questions that were raised and those that may come up and will be regularly updated to take account of further concerns.
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