ATHENS — Finance Minister Christos Staikouras on Tuesday welcomed the second disbursement of funds to Greece through the SURE programme, noting that this came just 10 months after the Eurogroup's decision to create a "safety net" for workers and nine months after it was established by the European Council.

"The government has used and continues to use in an optimal manner, with economic efficiency and social reciprocity, both domestic and European funds in order to minimise the repercussions of the health crisis on households and businesses as much as possible and ensure the best possible starting point for the post-coronavirus period and the country's course toward recovery," he said.

Staikouras was commenting on the disbursement of 728 million euros to Greece on Tuesday, which concludes the disbursement of a total of 2.7 billion euros approved for Greece in total in order to finance action to support employment. The government has also applied to the European Commission for the disbursement of additional funds that are unused on a European level from the SURE programme.

The funds are an extremely low to zero-interest loan and are directed at actions to support employees and employers during the pandemic. They include the payment of social insurance contributions for workers on furlough, seasonal workers and the SYN-ERGASIA programme.