The support measure is aimed at companies and the self-employed working in liberal professions and takes the form of a repayable advance up to €500,000 per company.
The commission wrote in a Tuesday press release that the measure was “necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a member state.”
Under a commission framework that will be in place until December 2020, member states are allowed to offer direct grants, tax advantages and advance payments up to €800,000 per company, state guarantees for bank loans, subsidized public loans to companies, safeguards to banks that channel state aid to the real economy and short-term export credit insurance. Further details on what kind of aid is permitted under the framework can be found here.