On Monday 11 May the European Commission authorised several national schemes to support businesses in the context of the coronavirus pandemic under the Temporary Framework on state aid (see separate news item).
United Kingdom. The Commission has authorised a €10.3 billion UK aid scheme to support self-employed workers and members of partnerships during the coronavirus period. The scheme was approved under the Temporary Framework for state aid measures adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020, as amended on 3 April and 8 May 2020. The scheme will take the form of direct grants and will apply to all sectors and the whole of the United Kingdom.
Greece. The Commission has approved a €500 million Greek programme to support the self-employed, including self-employed managers of small businesses in sectors affected by the coronavirus. This is a one-off payment of €800 per self-employed person, including self-employed managers of companies with fewer than 20 employees in severely affected sectors.
Poland. The green light has been given to a €450 million programme to support the Polish economy. The planned support measures will be co-financed by the EU Structural Funds. The aid will take the form of loans and public guarantees on loans. The scheme will be accessible to companies active in all sectors, which have access to the European Structural Funds and which are facing difficulties. Around 7,000 companies will benefit from this aid.
France. The Commission has validated a French €200 million guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises whose export activities are suffering from the pandemic. The aid will be available to all French exporting firms with an annual turnover of less than €1.5 billion. The scheme aims to limit the risks associated with the provision of financing guarantees to the exporting companies hardest hit by the economic repercussions of the pandemic and thus ensure the continuation of their activities. The Commission assessed the measure under EU state aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). It allows the Commission to authorise state aid measures put in place by countries to remedy a serious disturbance in their economy.
Consultation. On Monday 11 May, the Commission invited Member States and other stakeholders to comment on its updated proposal to exempt from prior Commission scrutiny under EU state aid rules aid granted through national funds for projects supported under certain centrally managed EU programmes.
The Commission conducted a first public consultation from 27 July to 27 September 2019 on a targeted review of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) with a view to extending its application, under a limited set of conditions, to national funds operating in the following three areas: - European Territorial Cooperation ('ETC') projects; - projects which have received the label of excellence under the Horizon Europe programmes; - national funding combined with funding under the InvestEU Fund.
The updated proposal aims to improve clarity and bring the rules more in line with EU financing rules. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)