The European Commission authorised, on Monday 27 July, a Czech wage subsidy scheme worth €866 million providing support to enterprises affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State Aid Temporary Framework.
Margrethe Vestager, the Commission's executive vice-president responsible for competition policy, explained that this wage subsidy scheme “will further support businesses that are severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak”.
By helping them to meet their labour costs, the scheme supports companies that would otherwise have had to lay off personnel due to Covid-19.
The scheme is accessible to employers of all sizes and covers wages in the period between 12 March and 31 August 2020 and around 280,000 companies are expected to benefit from this support scheme.
The aid amounts to 80% of wage costs, capped at €1,475 per month, for employees who cannot work because of a quarantine or restrictions.
The support is set at 60% of the wage cost, capped at €1,100 per month, when the employer's business is affected in a different way by the coronavirus outbreak (reduction in demand, unavailability of supply).
The Commission has validated a Belgian aid of €35 million to support potato and ornamental plant producers in the Flemish Region. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)