EC approves Romania's 4 bln euro support scheme for cos hit by Ukraine war

In light of the high degree of economic uncertainty caused by the current geopolitical situation, the scheme is aimed at ensuring that sufficient liquidity remains available to the affected companies by enabling banks to continue lending to the real economy, the EU's executive body said in a press release.

The support scheme was approved under the state aid temporary framework adopted by the Commission.

"Russia's unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine continues to negatively affect the EU and the Romanian economy. The 4 billion euro scheme approved today will enable Romania to mitigate the economic impact of the current geopolitical crisis on companies across sectors," Commission executive vice-president in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said.

The eligible beneficiaries will be entitled to receive new loans that are covered by a State guarantee of up to 90% of the loan amounts, with maximum maturities of up to six years.

Under this measure, the aid will take the form of loan guarantees with a maximum budget of 3.6 billion euro, and direct grants with a maximum budget of 390 million euro to compensate parts of the costs due under the guaranteed loans.

At the end of June, the EC said that it has approved a 60.7 million euro Romanian funding scheme to support companies active in road transport of goods and passengers in the context of the Russian war on Ukraine.

($=0.9917 euro)