THE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN CRISIS MODE 51 approaches to granting aid and non-aid in the crisis, and recognised the containment measure triggered economic (primarily liquidity) situation as a serious disturbance in the economy of all Member States61. From the initial design of the Temporary Framework and its aid categories, it was clear that the Commission saw the crisis as a liquidity crisis and restricted the scope of loosening State aid rules to the liquidity needs of the undertakings hit by the crisis. The Temporary Framework initially contained three aid categories: “limited amounts of aid” (Section 3.1 of the Temporary Framework), “aid in the form of guarantees on loans” (Section 3.2) and “aid in the form of subsidised interest rates on loans” (Section 3.3). The “limited amounts of aid” category was adopted as a flexible tool, allowing aid up to 800,000 € per undertaking (i.e. it applied at a company group level) in various forms (grants, payment and tax advantages, and repayable advances initially). It is worth noting that the 2009 Temporary Framework’s aid ceiling was 500,000 €, which was lower than the aid ceiling of the 2020 Temporary Framework’s corresponding aid category (even if adjusted for inflation), a possible sign that the Commission saw a bigger risk to the real economy in the COVID-19 induced crisis than in the 2009 financial crisis. The guarantees under Section 3.2 were guarantees at favourable rates to bank loans, offered for a maximum of six years, and with yearly rates gradually increasing with the duration of the underlying loan. The subsidised loans were low-interest loans, also for maximum six years, with the yearly interest increasing in the second and fourth years. In both cases, the amount of the subsidised or guaranteed loan was limited to the immediate presumed liquidity needs of the beneficiary. Aid was possible to be granted until 31 December 202062 to undertakings that were not in difficulty at the end of 2019 but that “faced difficulties” or “entered into difficulty” as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Temporary Framework in its initial form was therefore targeted to companies that were “healthy” before the crisis but had problems as a result of the crisis, and it enabled liquidity help mainly to those affected63. This liquidity focus and targeted nature of the Temporary Framework changed to a certain 61 Points 17-19 of the Temporary Framework. 62 Under the jurisprudence the time of granting is the date of the non-revocable decision from the State side. The time of the actual disbursement or pay-out of the loan is less relevant. See the judgment in case C-129/12 Magdeburger Mühlenwerke (EU:C:2013:200), paragraph 40 and C-245/16 Nerea SpA v Regione Marche (ECLI:EU:C:2017:521). 63 Point 4 of the Temporary Framework.
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