On Tuesday 21 April, the European Commission approved a number of aid schemes to support economies during the coronavirus pandemic. They were approved under the Temporary State Aid Framework, which was adopted by the Commission on 19 March and amended on 3 April 2020.
Italy. The Commission has approved a €100 million aid scheme to support SMEs in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture affected by the coronavirus (state guarantees and direct grants).
Aid for the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region worth €50 million was also approved.
Slovakia. A €2 billion Slovakian aid scheme has been approved. This involves wage subsidies that will allow the Slovak authorities to fund part of the wage costs for companies that would otherwise have made staff redundant because of the pandemic. The scheme will also allow the authorities to compensate self-employed workers and employers affected by a drop in income. The measure is expected to support the jobs of almost 400,000 employees and 300,000 self-employed workers.
Estonia. The green light was given to eight Estonian aid schemes with an estimated total budget of €75.5 million, aimed at supporting companies affected by COVID-19 (via direct grants).
Finland. The Commission has approved a €2 billion aid scheme that will allow Finland to grant loans on preferential terms and provide public guarantees for loans to companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Airline industry. The Temporary Framework allows countries to support the airline industry. “We are continuing to work with Member States to find all possible solutions to protect this important sector of the economy by using all of the flexibility in the state aid rules”, stated a Commission spokesperson on Tuesday 21 April. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)