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Details of Slovakia's support measures to help citizens and companies during the significant economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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:

  • On 17 January 2022, the Commission approved a €9 million scheme to support bus companies in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The assistance, in the form of direct grants, aims to compensate the beneficiaries for the decline in turnover during the period between April 2020 - May 2021, caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the restrictive measures implemented to limit the spread of the virus.

  • On 21 December 2021, the Commission approved the modification of an existing scheme to preserve employment and support self-employed individuals. The modification, preceded by amendments in November 2020, March 2021 and June 2021 respectively, includes the increase of the overall budget by €1 billion, a six-month extension until June 2022, a raise of the maximum amount of aid per beneficiary in the form of direct grants and an adjustment of the eligibility conditions.

  • on 10 September 2021, the Commission approved a €65 million scheme to support travel agencies in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. Under the scheme, the public support, in the form of subsidised loans, aims to mitigate the losses incurred by cancellations due to the coronavirus outbreak and the travel restrictions put in place to limit the spread of the virus.

  • on 9 August 2021, the Commission approved a €10 million scheme to support professional sport clubs in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The public support, in the form of direct grants, is open to eligible clubs that have experienced a significant revenue decline due to the coronavirus outbreak and the measures implemented to limit the spread of the virus. The scheme aims to address the liquidity needs of the beneficiaries and help them continue their activities during and after the outbreak.

  • on 22 June 2021, the Commission approved the modification of an existing scheme for preserving employment and supporting self-employed individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak, and the emergency measures adopted to limit the spread of the virus. The public support, in the form of direct grants, wage subsidies and wage-equivalent income to support self-employed individuals, was increased from €2 billion to €3 billion. The compensation benefits employers that will preserve jobs despite the obligation to cease or reduce economic activities based on the emergency state measures. The scheme also allows for the compensation of self-employed persons and employers. The measure is expected to support the jobs of close to 400,000 employees and 300,000 self-employed persons.

  • on 4 May 2021, the Commission approved a €90 million scheme to support operators active in the tourism sector affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The public support, in the form of direct grants, aims at mitigating the impact of the restrictive measures implemented by the government to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

  • on 18 January 2021, a €8 million Slovak scheme to support sport clubs participating in professional leagues in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The public support, in the form of direct grants, is available to companies that have experienced a significant decline in revenue due to the coronavirus outbreak and the measures imposed by the Government to limit the spread of the virus. The scheme aims to address the liquidity needs of the beneficiaries, and help them continue their activities during and after the outbreak.

  • on 23 December, under EU state aid rules, a €29.8 million aid scheme to compensate airport operators for the damage suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak and to support them in the context of this outbreak. The aid, in the form of direct grants, consists of three measures: a damage compensation scheme, an aid scheme to support the airport operators, and an aid scheme to support the uncovered fixed costs of these companies.

  • on 22 December, €100 million scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The support, in the form of direct grants, is open to companies active in all sectors except for the primary agriculture, fishery and aquaculture, and financial ones. The scheme aims to address the liquidity needs of the beneficiaries, helping them continue their activities during and after the coronavirus outbreak. Over 1,000 companies are expected to benefit from the scheme.

  • on 11 August 2020, a €25 million scheme to support innovative companies with limited access to credit facilities in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The public support, which will take the form of convertible loans with maturities between 18 to 36 months, will be open to companies with a scalable innovative product or service with potential for significant growth in international markets. The purpose of the scheme is to help innovative companies access external financing at a time when the normal functioning of credit markets has been severely disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. 

  • on 13 July 2020, a €80 million  scheme to support industrial research and experimental development projects, as well as testing and upscaling infrastructures related to the production of coronavirus relevant products. The public support will be co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds. It will take the form of direct grants and will be open to companies of all sizes, except financial institutions. The aim of the scheme is to enhance and accelerate the development and the production of products directly relevant to the coronavirus outbreak, including vaccines, hospital and medical equipment, medicinal products and protective equipment.

  • on 19 June 2020, three aid schemes, with an overall budget of €4 billion, to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The schemes aim at providing liquidity to companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak, thus helping them continue their activities, start investments and maintain employment levels pre-dating the coronavirus outbreak.

  • on 16 June 2020, a €200 million scheme to support companies renting premises, which were limited or to carry out their activities due to the measures imposed by the Slovak government in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. These companies had to close business in the premises, interrupt teaching (in schools and school facilities) or exclude the presence of the public from the establishment due to the coronavirus outbreak. The public support, which will take the form of direct grants, is intended to cover the reduction of the rent negotiated with the landlord, up to a maximum amount of 50% of the original rent., More specifically, if a tenant negotiates a rebate of 20% of the rent with the landlord, the State will pay to the landlord, on behalf of the tenant, another 20% of the rent, thereby reducing the rent by 40% for the tenant. This aims at mitigating the sudden liquidity shortages that the affected companies are facing due to the measures taken by the Slovak authorities to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

  • on 21 April 2020, a Slovak aid scheme for preserving employment and supporting self-employed individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak and the emergency measures taken by the State. The Slovak support measure is a wage subsidy aid scheme that would allow the Slovak authorities to finance a part of the wage costs (including employer's social security contributions) of undertakings that, due to the coronavirus outbreak, would otherwise have laid off personnel. The compensation will benefit employers that will preserve jobs despite the obligation to cease or reduce economic activities based on the emergency state measures. The scheme would also allow the Slovak authorities to compensate self-employed persons and employers affected by lower revenues due to the crisis or by the imposed restrictions of their operations. The measure is expected to support the jobs of close to 400,000 employees and 300,000 self-employed persons.