(ČIA) The European Commission (EC) has proposed a new temporary support tool to mitigate the risks of unemployment (SURE) and to protect jobs in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the framework of the programme, EU countries should have the possibility to draw financial assistance in the form of loans with a total volume of up to EUR 100bn. There is no pre-set amount for the respective member states. The loans should be used by the member states to finance programmes enabling companies in economic problems to temporarily decrease the number of hours worked by their employees.