Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wants to extend the emergency aid for companies that have to remain closed due to the partial lockdown. The EU Commission has approved one part, another has yet to be examined.
By Matthias Reiche, ARD-Studio Brussels
Small grants, bridging aid, loan regulations or economic stabilization funds: the European Commission in Brussels is busy with the German support programs alone. And Germany can now also start paying out November aid, as stated in a letter from EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager:
“To date, the Commission has approved 15 state aid measures applied for by Germany in connection with the corona pandemic. Last Friday, the program was also approved, which enables Germany to provide its extraordinary November aid to support companies that are operated by the imposed blocking measures are affected. ”
Ten billion euros in November aid
The federal government has budgeted around ten billion euros for the November aid to support the sectors affected by the partial lockdown. For each week of the closings, the affected entrepreneurs and companies are granted grants amounting to 75 percent of the average weekly turnover in November 2019. Specifically, it is about covering the fixed costs that arise despite the temporary closure, explains Annika Einhorn, spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics.
For the November aid, the federal regulation on fixed cost aid is decisive for payments that amount to over one million euros. Up to one million euros can be paid out on the federal regulation on small aid. “And this was already approved by the commission in the course of the first Corona relief measures, in the spring,” says Einhorn.
EU Commission must approve aid payments
Therefore, the aid of up to one million euros can continue to be paid out without problems until June 2021 in accordance with the legal framework established by Brussels. The situation is different with the actual November aid, which, according to Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, is now to be extended.
“The one to three million aid, the actual November aid, actually only applies to the failures in November,” says lawyer and antitrust lawyer Jens-Peter Schmidt. “That means that the discussion will now be to what extent this aid can be extended again.” Then these would have to be notified again. “The commission will look at it and then it can be paid out accordingly,” Schmidt makes clear.
Help must be proportionate
When it comes to state aid, the EU Commission has an important say. It must conclude that the measures are necessary, appropriate and proportionate. Schmidt is optimistic, even if the procedure could take some time: “An unbelievable number of companies, micro-businesses and self-employed people are affected here, so I could imagine that it would take a while for the money to actually flow.”
It is also completely open how the fixed cost aid over three million euros will be handled. The small aid scheme allows the sum to be topped up by another million. All higher amounts must then be decided on a case-by-case basis. There are negotiations with the EU Commission, according to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
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