Brussels, 21/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 December, the European Commission authorised the extension, until 31 December 2011, of three national state aid schemes limited to the sum of €500,000 per beneficiary and of a fourth, in Italy, in the form of interest subsidies. The Commission considers the schemes are in line with its temporary framework on aid to businesses in times of crisis, partially extended on 1 December this year until 31 December 2011. The countries concerned are:
- Hungary, where the Commission has cleared extension of an aid scheme for non-financial companies (“real” economy) that encounter difficulties when it comes to obtaining financing due to the financial crisis. The Commission has concluded that the scheme is in line with its temporary framework.
- Germany, where it has authorised a 12-month extension of a temporary aid scheme in the form of interest subsidies. Beneficiaries should present their requests by 31 December 2010 at the latest and the authorities should grant aid until 31 December 2011. The Commission considers this scheme, initially approved on 30 December 2008, to be in line with its temporary framework as it is limited in time, complies with the thresholds fixed and only applies to companies that were not in difficulty on 1 July 2008. The extended measure can therefore be considered as appropriate for remedying any serious disorder in the German economy.
- Italy, where it has authorised extension of two temporary aid schemes. The first is in the form of loans and guarantees and was initially approved on 28 May 2009. Deadlines for presenting requests and the attribution of aid are, respectively, 31 December 2010 and 31 December 2011. The second scheme is for state aid in the form of interest subsidies initially approved on 29 May 2009. In this case, reduced interest rates were considered in line with the temporary framework because they were limited in time, they complied with criteria set and did not apply to companies in difficulty on 1 July 2008. (F.G./transl.jl)