The European Commission has approved Lithuania’s 110-million-euro aid scheme to support businesses during the coronavirus crisis.
The scheme was approved under the Temporary Framework adopted by the Commission last month, which allows member countries to bypass some of the stringent economic regulations on state aid for businesses, selective tax advantages, subsidies, and other measures.
Read more: Every quarantine week shrinks Lithuania's GDP by 0.5 percent – finance minister
The scheme "will enable public guarantees on loans to support Lithuania's economy during the coronavirus outbreak," the commission said in a press release on Wednesday.
"It will help businesses cover immediate working capital needs and continue their activities during and after the pandemic,” Margrethe Vestager, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, is quoted in the press release.
The support under the Lithuanian scheme will be open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies facing difficulties as a result of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
In total, the Lithuanian government plans to offer over 800 million euros in guarantees for bank loans to struggling businesses.
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