After adopting the Communication on the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy during the current COVID-19 outbreak (“TF”) (available here), the European Commission (“EC”) published the Notification Template (available here) on March 24, 2020, and invited Member States to provide their notifications.
Notification of each Member State shall, first of all, include general information i.e. description of the serious disturbance in the economy and the official reaction of its authorities. By requiring this information and data, the EC aims to clarify specificities of the current situation in each country. Countries shall also provide a general description of the aid measure, as follows: (i) national legal basis, (ii) granting authority, (iii) objective, (iv) estimated budget, (v) geographical scope, (vi) beneficiaries, and (vii) duration thereof.
Confirmations and commitments have, of course, not been omitted. Countries will confirm to the EC that the measures are only available to undertakings which are not in difficulty, leaving out the difficulties occurring as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Apart from general information, as previously described, additional information is requested for each of the form of aid applied for – aid in form of direct grants, repayable advances and tax advantages, aid in form of guarantees on loans and aid in form of subsidized interest rates on loans (for list of additional information requested please see the Notification Template).
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