EC Approves €4 Billion Scheme to Support Romanian Companies

The European Commission has approved a €4 billion (approximately RON 19.7 billion) Romanian scheme to support companies across sectors following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework.

 “Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine continues to negatively affect the EU and the Romanian economy. The €4 billion scheme approved today will enable Romania to mitigate the economic impact of the current geopolitical crisis on companies across sectors. We continue to stand with Ukraine and its people. At the same time, we continue working closely with Member States to ensure that national support measures can be put in place in a timely, coordinated and effective way, while protecting the level playing field in the Single Market.”

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy

How will be the Romanian companies supported by this scheme

Romania notified the Commission, under the Temporary Crisis Framework, a €4 billion (approximately RON 19.7 billion) scheme to support companies of all sizes and sectors in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to the press release, under this measure, the aid will take the form of:

• loan guarantees with a maximum budget of €3.6 billion (approximately RON 17.75 billion)
• direct grants with a maximum budget of €390 million (approximately RON 1.93 billion) to compensate for parts of the costs due under the guaranteed loans.

In light of the high degree of economic uncertainty caused by the current geopolitical situation, the scheme aims to ensure that sufficient liquidity remains available to the affected Romanian companies by enabling banks to continue lending to the real economy.

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

Concerning limited amounts of aid in the form of direct grants, the assistance will not exceed €62,000 and €75,000 per company active in the agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture sectors respectively, and €500,000 per company active in all other sectors. Support under the scheme will be granted no later than 31 December 2022.

The following types of aid are also possible on a case-by-case basis, subject to conditions:

• support for companies affected by the mandatory or voluntary gas curtailment
• support for the filling of gas storage
• transitory and time-limited support for fuel switching to more polluting fossil fuels subject to energy efficiency efforts and to avoiding lock-in effects
• support the provision of insurance or reinsurance to companies transporting goods to and from Ukraine.