Italy gets EU backing for increased Covid-19 support to global companies
( January 13, 2021, 12:07 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Changes to an Italian support plan for businesses operating at an international level — which had already won EU state aid clearance at the end of July as well as a deadline extension in December — have been cleared by the European Commission, the watchdog said today. The support program will allow companies to get access to liquidity to help them get through the Covid-19 crisis. Under the changes, Italy raised the initial budget for the program from 300 million euros to 1.1 billion euros.Statement follows. State aid: Commission approves modified €1.1 billion Italian scheme to support internationally active companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak The European Commission has found the modification of the existing Italian direct grants scheme to support internationally active companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak to be in line with the Temporary Framework. The original scheme was approved by the Commission on 31 July 2020 under case number SA.57891. On 10 December 2020 the Commission approved the prolongation of the scheme until 30 June 2021 (SA.59655). Italy notified an increase in the estimated total budget of the scheme by €828 million, which means an increase in total budget from €300 million to €1.128 million. Similar to the original scheme, the modified scheme will continue to support eligible companies by facilitating their access to liquidity, and will not take the form of export aid contingent on export activities as it is not tied to concrete export contracts. The Commission concluded that the scheme, as modified, remains necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. In particular, the support will continue not to exceed €800,000 per company, and the scheme is limited in time until 30 June 2021. On this basis, the Commission approved the measure under EU State aid rules. More information on the Temporary Framework and other actions taken by the Commission to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic can be found here. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case numbers SA.60402 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline