State aid worth EUR 30 million for Romanian SMEs

The European Commission has authorized the state aid scheme worked out for SMEs in Romania,
with the total value of the aid to be provided being worth EUR 30 million, according to the
Competition Council.

The state aid is to be awarded to economic operators that are registered
with the portfolio of the State Assets Recovery Authority (AVAS) or the Ministry of Economy (ME),
and is to help them survive the world financial-economic crisis. "This state aid scheme was worked
out to save the small and medium-sized enterprises in the AVAS and the Ministry of Economy's
portfolios from falling because of the economic crisis, being meant as a temporary and reversible
support to such companies now in difficulty. The approval from the European Commission
represents a sine qua non condition for the scheme to be implemented,' Bogdan Chiritoiu, the
chairman of the Romanian Competition Council explained. The total estimated budget of the state
aid scheme will be EUR 30 million, out of which 15 million are to be injected in enterprises in
2009.

The necessary money will be allotted from the state budget, via the AVAS and ME budgets.
The maximum value of the state aid to be granted to a beneficiary of the scheme will be the
equivalent of EUR 2.5 million. This state aid to be granted based on the scheme will mean credits
to be given for no more than 6 months, with an interest rate to be equal with the reference rate
adopted by the European Commission for Romania, plus 1 % (currently, the reference rate is
17.29 %). The beneficiaries can be economic operators from all the activity sectors, except for the
coal and steel, agriculture, fishing and aqua-culture sectors. The maximum number estimated of
beneficiaries of the scheme was 15. The state aid scheme will be carried out for two years, 2009-
2010, with the possibility existing to be prolonged by one year in the context of the world
economic-financial crisis not being solved.

Source: Agerpres.