Amendment to the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak

Summary:

Communication published by the European Commission on 3 April 2020 setting out an extension to the scope of the Temporary Framework for State Aid, put in place to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Further information:

The amendment aims at enabling Member States to accelerate the research, testing and production of coronavirus relevant product, to protect jobs and to further support the economic in the context of the pandemic. It provides for additional five types of aid measures:

• Support for coronavirus related research and development (R&D);
• Support for the construction and upscaling of testing facilities;
• Support for the production of products relevant to tackle the coronavirus outbreak;
• Targeted support in the form of deferral of tax payments and/or suspensions of social security contributions;
• Targeted support in the form of wage subsidies for employees.

The amended Temporary Framework also expands on the existing types of support that Member States can give to companies in need.

Official

European Commission: Coronavirus: Commission Statement on consulting Member States on the proposal to extend State aid Temporary Framework (27 March 2020) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_20_551

European Commission: Press Release, 03/04/2020: State aid: Commission extends Temporary Framework to enable Member States to accelerate research, testing and production of coronavirus relevant products, to protect jobs and to further support the economy in the coronavirus outbreak https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_570

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