1.A Member State may request Union financial assistance under the Instrument (‘financial assistance’) where its actual and possibly also planned public expenditure has suddenly and severely increased as of 1 February 2020 due to national measures directly related to short‐time work schemes and similar measures to address the socio-economic effects of the exceptional occurrence caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
2.Beneficiary Member States shall use financial assistance primarily in support of their national short-time work schemes or similar measures, and, where applicable, in support of relevant health-related measures.