For the second time, the European Commission has expanded the Temporary Framework to recapitalisation and subordinated debt measures to further support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. This second amendment expands the Temporary Framework to allow Member States to make well-targeted public interventions in the form of recapitalisation aid to non-financial companies in need, to help reduce the risk to the EU economy as a whole. At the same time, it sets a number of safeguards to avoid undue distortions of competition in the Single Market: beneficiaries and Member States need to develop an exit strategy for the measures, and the benefitting companies may not pay out dividends, buy back shares, or distribute bonus payments while receiving recapitalisation aid.
Under the current rules, the Commission has again approved several State aid schemes that were launched by Member States to support their economies:
– a €650 million Dutch scheme to compensate companies in the floriculture, specialty horticulture and potato sectors for damage caused by coronavirus outbreak;
– a French guarantee scheme for exporting small and midsize companies affected by coronavirus outbreak;
– a €500 million Greek scheme to support the self-employed affected by coronavirus outbreak;
– a €450 million Polish scheme to support companies affected by coronavirus outbreak;
– a €10,3 billion UK scheme to support self-employed individuals and members of partnerships during the coronavirus outbreak.