Member State governments have disbursed only 15% of the €3 trillion in State aid approved by the Commission to help businesses in the first wave of the outbreak. There are also large differences between Member States: Germany by far made the most money available to companies (almost half of all aid schemes approved by the Commission), whereas France actually paid out the most aid. (Source: POLITICO Pro)
Under the State Aid Temporary Framework, the Commission has recently approved:
- a €110 million Czech rent compensation scheme to support businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak;
- a €99,4 million Danish scheme to support cafés, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, venues and their suppliers in the context of the coronavirus outbreak;
- a €13 million Polish scheme to support companies active in the wood sector affected by the coronavirus outbreak;
- a €378 million Slovenian scheme to support farmers and other self-employed affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
EU health ministers have called for better coordination in the fight against COVID-19 in a videoconference on 30 October. They also discussed the reform of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the aftermath of its much-criticised handling of the crisis in its early stage. German Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn is quoted as saying that the WHO must become “more transparent, more effective and more potent”. (Source: Agence Europe)
Following the introduction of lockdowns in a number of European countries, a survey among 18 leading economists found that the Eurozone economy is now expected to shrink by 2,3% in the fourth quarter of this year. Previously, most Eurozone countries had forecast positive growth. (Source: Financial Times)