Brussels, 17 November 2022
The European Commission has approved a €120 million Italian scheme to support companies in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.
The measure will be open to small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs‘) that traded with Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus and whose business is therefore seriously affected by the current geopolitical crisis.
Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants up to €400,000 per beneficiary. The individual aid amount will be calculated based on the difference between the company’s average revenues during the period between 17 February and 17 May 2022, compared to those of the same period in 2019.
The Commission found that the Italian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework. In particular, the aid (i) will not exceed €2 million per company; and (ii) will be granted no later than 31 December 2023. The Commission concluded that the Italian scheme is 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. On this basis, the Commission approved the aid measure under EU State aid rules.
More information on the Temporary Crisis Framework and other actions taken by the Commission to address the economic impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine can be found here. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under case number SA.104358 in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
Source – EU Commission