Press Release: State aid: Commission approved second amendment to German crisis measure allowing aid of up to €500,000

The European Commission approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, an amendment to a German scheme allowing aid of up to €500,000 per company in 2009 and 2010, initially approved in December 2008. The amendment would allow the aid element of public guarantees to be calculated on the basis of the Annex of the Commission's Temporary Framework for state aid measures to support access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis. This adjustment will permit a more effective response to the difficulties of enterprises regarding lending conditions and credit availability in the current macroeconomic situation. The measure was limited in scope and time and only applied to companies that were not in difficulties on 1 July 2008. It was therefore compatible with Article 87(3)(b) of the EC Treaty, which permits aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.