Background information

The scheme has been approved by the Cabinet and announced by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, and aims to the support the artists and other people working in the art sector because all cultural activities has been suspended. At the same time, the Ministry is drafting a relevant legislation for the definition of the attributes of artists and the definition of the benefiaries of the measure.

Content of measure

The emergency supporting allowance targets artists and other people performing cultural and artistic activities permanently residing in the Republic and have not benefited by the other emergency state supporting measures.

The aim of the allowance is to mitigate the financial consequences of artists emerged with the suspension of the cultural activities due to the lockdown and the restrictive measures of movement. Beneficiaries of the scheme are the professionals in art and cultural sector that

• have suspended their activities in accordance with the decrees issued by the Minister of Health or
• their earnings have been substantially declined.

The general fields of art activity are considered the following 1. Letters and literature, 2. visual and performing arts, 3. applied arts, 4. theatre, 5. cinema, television and audio-visual arts, 6. music, 7. dance and 8. folklore.

Beneficiaries will receive a lump sum of €900 corresponding to the first three months of the pandemic COVID-19 crisis.

Use of measure

Currently, there is no any assesment of the eligible artists and the budget available for the support of the measure is not announced.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Particular professions Workers in non-standard forms of employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Social partners did not participate in the design of the measure and are not expected to participate in the implementation and monitoring process. The design was performed by the Minster of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth and approved by the Cabinet.

Views and reactions

Social partners see the measure positively even that some critics appeared in the daily press for the amount foreseen to be paid to the beneficiaries. Critics also emerged for the delays of payments to beneficiaries. Some suggested the continuation of the measure for longer periods and the increasing of the allowance.

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 06 May 2020: Καταβολή έκτακτης χορηγίας σε επαγγελματίες των τεχνών και του πολιτισμού (enimerosi.moec.gov.cy)
• 17 May 2020: Emergency supporting allowance for artists (enimerosi.moec.gov.cy)