Romania's Government received permission from the European Commission to prolong and enhance the support scheme for companies facing the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine, initially approved last September.

Under the scheme, public support takes the form of guarantees on new loans and direct grants. The total budget increased by RON 3.4 bln (EUR 695 mln) from RON 19.7 bln (EUR 4 bln), and the deadline for disbursing the money was deferred from December 2022 to December 2023.

The Commission concluded that the scheme 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 Crisis Framework.

Under its initial form, the aid was supposed to take the form of loan guarantees with a maximum budget of EUR 3.6 bln and direct grants with a maximum budget of EUR 390 mln to compensate for parts of the costs due under the guaranteed loans. The ceilings for individual grants were increased from EUR 500,000 per recipient to EUR 2 mln except for the sectors of agriculture and fishery, where they are smaller (EUR 250,000 and EUR 300,000 under the revised scheme). 

The Temporary State Aid Crisis Framework, adopted on March 23 2022, allows Member States to use flexibility under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Temporary Crisis Framework was amended on July 20, 2022, to complement the package of winter preparedness measures and in line with the objectives of the REPowerEU plan. It was later amended on October 28 to enable Member States to continue to use the flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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