August 14 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Friday it has approved Slovenia's 100 million euro ($118 million) scheme to support coronavirus-affected companies, as well as the research, development (R&D) and production of coronavirus-relevant products.
The scheme is made up of four measures, and under the first two the government will extend direct grants and loans with zero interest rate to small and medium-sized companies that face liquidity shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Commission said in a statement.
The direct grants and zero-interest loans will not exceed 800,000 euro per company.
The other two measures will help enhance and accelerate R&D projects and the production of coronavirus-relevant products, with the government support taking the form of direct grants that will be open to companies of all sizes.
"With respect to support to R&D projects and to the production of coronavirus-relevant products, (i) the aid will cover a significant share of the necessary R&D and investment costs; and (ii) any result of the research activities will be made available to third parties in the European Economic Area at non-discriminatory market conditions through non-exclusive licences," the Commission noted.
It added that the Slovenian scheme is compatible with EU state aid rules.
($=0.846061 euro)