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Law360 (April 27, 2020, 5:49 PM EDT) -- The European Commission has approved more measures by 10 member countries totaling €6.3 billion ($6.82 billion) to help local businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, including two multibillion-dollar aid packages from Finland and Slovenia.
The commission said Friday that Finland will offer its companies €3 billion in grants, tax breaks and loans and Slovenia will provide its businesses €2 billion in the form of wage subsidies, social security payment exemptions and deferred credit payments.
Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said in statements Friday that the funds from Finland and Slovenia will help businesses maintain operations during the pandemic.
"We continue to work with member states to ensure that national support measures can be put in place in a coordinated and effective way, in line with EU rules," Vestager said.
The commission also approved aid packages from Belgium, France, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden totaling approximately €1.21 billion.
The commission said all the measures meet the requirements of its temporary rules allowing member countries to provide businesses with financial support typically prohibited by its state aid rules that ban unfair competition through government funding.
Under the commission's temporary framework, passed March 19 and amended April 3, European Union members can offer companies grants, subsidies and other financial support to help them stay afloat during the pandemic without violating the state aid rules.
The temporary rules, which are in effect until December, allow member countries to provide direct grants and equity to farms and fisheries, to guarantee loans, to subsidize public loans to businesses and to support manufacturers of ventilators and protective equipment. The measures also permit states to provide companies with tax deferrals and subsidies for worker wages.
Earlier this month, the commission approved a €10 billion French program of guarantees to the domestic credit insurance market to help businesses cope with the outbreak.
--Additional reporting by Joseph Boris and Christopher Cole. Editing by Stephen Berg.
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