Press Release: State aid: Commission authorises temporary Latvian guarantee scheme to boost real economy

The European Commission authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a Latvian scheme aimed at providing relief to companies encountering financing difficulties as a result of the credit crunch in the current economic crisis. The scheme allows the granting of subsidised guarantees for initial investment and working capital loans concluded by 31 December 2009. It meets the conditions of the Commission’s Temporary Framework for state aid measures to support access to finance during the crisis because it 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 that allows aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.