Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Commission has adopted support measures under the state aid Temporary Framework and EU state aid rules. These measures aim to help citizens and companies and mitigate the significant economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic:
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On 18 February 2022, the Commission approved a €6.13 million incentive scheme for airlines affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The assistance, a re-introduction of a previously-approved aid measure, takes the form of direct grants dedicated to supporting airlines to re-establish air routes from/to Cyprus, and thus enable the recovery of air connectivity and tourism.
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On 24 September 2021, the Commission approved a €2.7 million scheme to support small and medium-sized enterprises active in the agricultural and livestock production, in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The support, in the form of non-payment of land lease contracts due to the state, aims to mitigate the liquidity shortages faced by the beneficiaries and help support their economic activity.
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On 23 September 2021, the Commission approved a €900,000 scheme to support wine producers in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The assistance, in the form of direct grants, aims to partially cover the beneficiaries’ costs of managing wine and must stocks, and compensate wine producers the loss of wine value due to a loss of quality.
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on 17 August 2021, the Commission approved a €1 billion scheme to support enterprises and self-employed individuals in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The support, in the form of state guarantees on new loans, is open to companies active in all sectors except the financial one. The aim of the scheme is to provide liquidity for viable companies that experienced business disruption due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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on 14 April 2021, the Commission approved a €8 million aid scheme to support tour operators affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the state aid Temporary Framework, the support, in the form of direct grants, is open to tour operators that have concluded agreements with air carriers travelling to Cyprus. The scheme aims to stimulate incoming tourism, benefitting mainly businesses in the tourism, hospitality and food sectors.
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on 25 March 2021, the Commission approved a €20 million Cypriot scheme to support small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the state aid Temporary Framework, the public support, in the form of loans with subsidised interest rates, is open to businesses active in all sectors of the economy except the financial sector. The purpose of the measure is to help the beneficiaries address the liquidity shortages and help them continue their activities.
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on 9 March 2021, the Commission approved two Cypriot schemes with a total budget of €200 million, to support companies and self-employed individuals whose activities were suspended due to the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Under the state aid Temporary Framework, the support, in the form of direct grants, aims at addressing the liquidity needs of the beneficiaries and help them continue their activities during and after the outbreak.
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on 1 February 2021, the Commission approved a €10.2 million Cypriot scheme to support the self-employed and enterprises affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the state aid Temporary Framework, the public support, in the form of direct grants, intends to cover part of the beneficiaries operating costs. The scheme consists of two measures, applying to the self-employed and enterprises whose operations were suspended since 16 March 2020 and November 2020 respectively, due to the restrictive measures imposed by the Cypriot government to limit the spread of the virus.
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on 12 January 2021, the Commission approved, under EU state aid rules, a €86.6 million Cypriot scheme to support companies active in the tourism sector (including organisers of package travel, hotel businesses, and car rental companies) affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The public support is granted in the form of public guarantees aimed at covering vouchers (i.e. credit notes) issued by the beneficiaries to either consumers or organisers of package travels for cancelled travel packages or individual touristic services booked prior to 31 October 2020. The scheme aims to support service providers in the touristic sector that are experiencing significant revenue losses and liquidity shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak and the restrictive measures that Cyprus and other governments have had to implement to limit the spread of the virus.
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on 22 December, the Commission approved a Cypriot scheme of around €560,000 to support producer groups and producer organisations active in the distribution of agricultural products affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the state aid Temporary Framework, the public support, in the form of direct grants, aims to address the liquidity needs of enterprises that suffered a decrease in sales and an increase in their operating costs.
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on 18 November, €22.2 million Cypriot scheme to support Hermes Airports Limited, an airport operator of two international airports affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the state aid Temporary Framework, the support, in the form of a term loan facility, was earmarked for providing sufficient liquidity for Hermes to meet its financial obligations and continue operating. The Cypriot airports significantly contribute to the national economy by ensuring connectivity for businesses and tourists. In addition, the two airports operating Larnaka and Pafos will help address the effects of the coronavirus crisis in terms of reconnecting Cypriot companies with international customers, and will help boost tourism once the health crisis ends.
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on 25 August 2020, a €500,000 Cypriot scheme to support the pig sector in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The public support, which will take the form of direct grants, will be open to any natural or legal person who owns or manages a pig unit in which breeding sows are reared.
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on 6 July 2020, a €106,000 Cypriot scheme to support newspaper companies in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The public support will take the form of direct grants to newspaper publishers that have experienced a loss of their turnover due to the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme aims to ensure that the disruptions caused by the outbreak do not undermine the viability of the publishers and thereby preserve the continuity of economic activity. The Commission found that the scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. In particular, the amount of aid granted will not exceed €800,000 per company.
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on 2 July 2020, a €6.3 million Cypriot incentive scheme towards airlines affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the scheme, the support will take the form of direct grants of up to €800,000 per company and will be accessible in a transparent manner to all interested airlines operating routes to and from Cyprus. The level of remuneration will depend on the aircraft's load factor (that is, the number of passengers on board divided by the capacity of the aircraft in passenger numbers), starting from a load factor of 41% and up to a 70%, and it will be paid per each transported passenger. The aim of the scheme is to incentivise airlines in order to re-establish air routes from/to Cyprus and thus enable the recovery of air connectivity and tourism and broadly support the general economy and development of the island by providing support to airlines in a comprehensive and non-discriminatory manner. It is designed to support the air transport and tourism, sectors that have been particularly affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The measure is expected to benefit approximately 60 airlines from inside and outside the European Economic Area.
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on 26 June 2020, two Cypriot schemes providing direct grants and subsidised interest rates to companies and self-employed workers affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The first scheme, with a budget of €100 million, will be open to micro and small enterprises with up to 50 employees (including self-employed workers) and will provide them with one-off grants of up to €6,000 per company. The measure is expected to support more than 50,000 enterprises. The second scheme, with a budget of €180 million, will be open to all companies and self-employed workers. It will provide subsidised favourable interest rates on new loans signed between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2020, for loans with a maximum duration of four years. The aim of both schemes is to address the liquidity needs of the eligible undertakings, including the self-employed, to help them continue their activities during and after the outbreak.
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on 16 June 2020, a €1.8 million Cypriot scheme to support farmers active in the primary agricultural production affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020, as amended on 3 April 2020 and 8 May 2020. The support will take the form of direct grants. The scheme will be accessible to (i) holdings active in the primary agricultural production of fresh vegetables, strawberries and herbs; (ii) holdings active in the primary agricultural production of oranges of the ‘Valencia' variety; (iii) holdings active in the floriculture sector; (iv) primary agricultural producers who are owners or managers of agricultural holdings and participate in farmers' markets; and (v) owners or managers of agricultural holdings without access to irrigation. The purpose of the scheme is to address the liquidity needs of agricultural holdings, and to help them to continue their activities during and after the outbreak.
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on 10 June 2020, a €33 million Cypriot aid scheme deferring VAT payments to ease the liquidity constraints of companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the scheme, companies are allowed to delay the payment of VAT due by 10 April, 10 May and 10 June 2020, with no interests or penalties imposed on those companies that will pay the due VAT by 10 November 2020 instead. The scheme will be accessible to companies of all sizes and all sectors, except the sectors which continued to operate during the lockdown in Cyprus. The aim of the scheme is to ease the liquidity constraints faced by those companies that are most severely affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, thus helping them continue their activities.