Answer given by Mr Gentiloni on behalf of the European Commission

The Commission started working at the early months of the pandemic on a coordinated response to save lives and jobs and protect companies.

The general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact[1] and the Temporary State Aid framework[2] are giving national governments flexibility to support the hardest hit sectors. The Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives[3] also assisted them in channeling available liquidity in the cohesion policy funds where it is most needed, including to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which also benefit from a European Investment Fund EUR 1 billion guarantee.

The temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) helps finance short time work schemes to protect employees and the self‐employed; and the Effective Active Support to Employment aims at promoting a job-rich recovery.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility will help mitigating the impact of the pandemic, contribute to the recovery and make European economies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions.

Member States will include in their national plans reforms and investments that will foster growth and cohesion, addressing weaknesses and boosting growth potential and job creation. Member States may request support in the form of expertise from the Technical Support Instrument to help design or implement growth-enhancing reforms.

Cohesion policy will provide additional support to recovery investments, notably for SMEs, via ReactEU[4] and with a new specific objective to reinforce investments in culture and tourism.

This EU’s collective comprehensive response has shored up confidence, incomes and demand in the short-term, benefitting all sectors.

• [1] See: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1591119459569&uri=CELEX:52020DC0123
• [2] Communication from the Commission — Temporary framework for state aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak, (OJ C 91I, 20.3.2020, p. 1), as amended by Commission Communications C(2020) 2215 (OJ C 112I, 4.4.2020, p. 1), C(2020) 3156 (OJ C 164, 13.5.2020, p. 3), C(2020) 4509 (OJ C 218, 2.7.2020, p. 3), C(2020) 7127 (OJ C 340I, 13.10.2020, p. 1) and C(2021) 564 (OJ C 34, 1.2.2021, p. 6).
• [3] The Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives (CRII and CRII+) introduced unprecedented flexibility to cohesion policy funds that permitted so far the mobilisation of some EUR 22 billion to support national healthcare systems, to provide liquidity support to SMEs and for job-supporting, among other emergency measures: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/coronavirus-response/ .
• [4] See: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/coronavirus-response/react-eu .