The European Commission found that the creation of a €25 billion Pan-European Guarantee Fund managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak was in line with EU State aid rules, on Monday 14 December (see EUROPE 12494/20).
The Fund is expected to mobilise up to €200 billion of additional financing to support mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the outbreak in the 21 participating Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden).
Administered by the EIB and the European Investment Fund, the Fund will complement national aid schemes by providing guarantees on debt instruments (such as loans).
The operations of the Fund will be jointly guaranteed by the participating Member States from their national budgets. Each participating Member State’s contribution to the Fund shall be proportionate to its contribution of capital of the EIB. These contributions, totalling €25 billion, take the form of guarantees which will cover part of the losses incurred by beneficiaries in the context of operations supported by the Fund. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)