Grants of up to €0.5m for firms hit by crisis

2010-01-10



The Ministry of Regional Development has outlined a new form of financial aid for enterprises hit by the economic crisis. The proposal, set out in a draft ordinance, envisages grants of up to €0.5m for companies which suffered the consequences of the downturn after 1 July 2008, to help them finance the completion of ongoing investment projects necessary to maintain continuity of production or service provision, or to change their scope of activity. The grants will be non-returnable provided that the beneficiaries do not introduce changes to the projects for three to five years.
The aid is to be available until the end of 2010. The funding is to come from regional operational programmes, i.e. the EU funds handled by the country’s provinces. It will be up to regional governments to flesh out detailed rules and procedures, and to decide whether to participate.