Any business could be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For many, urgent measures need to be taken to avoid serious financial consequences as a result of these challenging and unprecedented times. Against this backdrop, governments are introducing new measures to provide direct financial and non-financial support to businesses of all sizes. Any such measures need to comply with EU State Aid law and many will require approval by the EU Commission.
The EU Commission has responded urgently to the COVID-19 challenge by introducing more flexible rules on State Aid and by approving new national measures (within only a matter of days). Most notably, the EU Commission has introduced a Temporary Framework to allow Member States to launch large aid programmes. Member States have already made extensive use of this framework and the number of new measures being introduced continues to grow daily.
Furthermore, certain sectors such as transport, tourism and healthcare stand to be particularly affected. COVID-19 has been officially recognised by the European Commission as an “exceptional occurrence” – this means Member States, subject to law and required EU authorisations, may be permitted to compensate for losses caused by the pandemic.
More than ever, the CMS EU State Aid Group is ready to help businesses and governments at an international and national level. We are here to assist with navigating through the complexity of the new rules brought about to support the economy as quickly as possible.
This expert guide outlines the state of play in each jurisdiction. It will continue to be updated as the situation develops.
Take also a look at the Covid-19 website of the Directorate-General for Competition of the EU Commission. All current decisions of the EU Commission in the field of state aid are published there.
If you have further questions you can find your contacts in the CMS State Aid Group Contact Card.
Annabelle Lepièce, Partner, Brussels, +32 2 743 69 34, annabelle.lepiece@cms-db.com
Helmer Krane, Associate, Brussels EU Law Office, +32 2 6500 417, helmer.krane@cms-hs.com
Dr. Michael Bauer, Partner, Brussels EU Law Office, Global Head of Competition & EU Group, CMS, +32 2 6500 421, michael.bauer@cms-hs.com
