17/11/23 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 17 November, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a €105 million Austrian State aid scheme for daily newspapers, weeklies, magazines and press publishers for both print and online publications. The scheme will run until 30 June 2029. The aid will reach beneficiaries through direct grants, limited to a maximum of €1.5 million per beneficiary. The amount of aid will be calculated based on the number of professional journalists employed by the beneficiaries and certain quality guarantees for their publications. The Commission found that the scheme complied with the European rules on State aid and, in particular, with Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which allows aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas to be authorised under certain conditions. (EV)