Press Release: State aid: Commission authorises Czech temporary scheme to grant compatible aid of up to €500 000

The European Commission authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a Czech Government measure to help businesses to deal with the current economic crisis. Aid of up to €500 000 per firm may be granted till the end of 2010 to businesses facing funding problems because of the current credit squeeze. The scheme meets the conditions of the Commission’s Temporary Framework for state aid measures, which gives Member States additional scope to facilitate access to financing in the present economic and financial crisis. In particular, the scheme is limited in time, respects the relevant thresholds and applies only to companies that were not in difficulty on 1 July 2008. It is therefore compatible with Article 87(3)(b) of the EC Treaty, which permits aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.