Once the Council approves this proposal, the financial support will be provided in the form of loans granted on favourable terms. These loans will help Bulgaria cover the costs related to the continuation of a wage subsidy scheme introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, thereby enabling Bulgaria to tackle the continued severe socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Bulgaria is the 8th Member State, together with Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Hungary, to ask for additional support on top of the support that the Council had already approved in 2020. SURE is a crucial element of the EU's comprehensive strategy to protect jobs and workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This proposal, if adopted, would bring the overall financial support granted under SURE to a total of €93.8 billion.