On Friday 26 June, the European Commission approved several national support schemes to deal with the impact of Covid-19. The measures were approved under the Temporary Framework for state aid measures adopted by the Commission on 19 March, and as amended on 3 April and 8 May 2020.
Lithuania. The Commission approved two Lithuanian measures with a total budget of €50 million to support travel agencies and accommodation and catering businesses. Government assistance will include: - individual guarantees to ensure that tour operators can meet their contractual obligations, particularly in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy; - loans to tour operators, accommodation and catering service providers.
Cyprus. Approval has been given to two Cypriot schemes. The first scheme, with a budget of €100 million, will be open to micro and small enterprises with up to 50 employees and will provide one-off grants of up to €6,000 per company. This measure should provide support for more than 50,000 businesses. The second scheme (€180 million) will be open to all companies and self-employed workers. It will offer favourable subsidised interest rates on new loans signed between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2020 (loans with a maximum length of four years).
Czech Republic. The European Commission has approved a €2.6 million Czech scheme to support businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme has been set up by the region of Moravia-Silesia.
The Commission has also authorised amendments to a French scheme for facilitating risky investments in some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), under EU state aid rules. The aid will be granted in the form of a tax cut for individuals who subscribe to the certain companies’ capital. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)