72 LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY shut down restaurants, cafés and bars in March 2020. The scheme was initially designed to compensate the losses of these outlets on the basis of their dropped turnover. However, at the time, immediate help was needed, which meant that the Finnish authorities had to develop a calculation method on the basis of January and February 2020 turnover data (the reference period), with 5-15% of the reference period turnover paid as compensation. As this was a simplified calculation to project losses, the Finnish authorities made commitments to have any overcompensation, established on the basis of annual accounts, repaid by the beneficiaries. The German SA.58464 case159 meant the approval of an aid scheme for a specific subsector of Bavarian accommodation providers (youth hostels, school country homes and family holiday centres). As a result of official orders and recommendations, school trips were cancelled in early 2020, resulting in an effective shutdown of the eligible facilities. As a compensation, the Bavarian government offered to compensate 60% of the losses of these facilities, which was calculated on the basis of the beneficiary’s revenue in the same period in 2019 reduced by any revenue in the eligible period in 2020, any other aid or compensation (the scheme was actually introduced to complement a Temporary Framework scheme), and any loss compensation from other sources (e.g. insurance or cancellation fees). The compensation measures160 to SAS, a Scandinavian air carrier whose network primarily services Denmark, Norway and Sweden, are additional examples for the flexible use Article 107(2)(b) TFEU aid. Under the measures, the Commission approved aid in the form of state guarantees to a revolving aid facility. The methodological problem stemmed from this, as the form of aid was a guarantee, but the damage was a monetary amount, which meant that the aid element (cash value) of the guarantee had to be established somehow. According to the decision, the cash value of the guarantee should be the difference between the price of the loan guaranteed with or without the guarantee. However, in the particular circumstances (the situation of the beneficiary and the financial market situation), the Commission could not exclude that the aid should be the full amount of the loans obtained, because without the guarantee, the beneficiary possibly could not have obtained market financing at all. 159 Commission decision C(2020) 6790 final of 29 September 2020 (SA.58464 (2020/N) COVID-19: Bavarian Assistance Programme to safeguard the Social Infrastructure of Youth Hostels, School Country Homes, Youth Education Centres and Family Holiday Centres). 160 Commission decision C(2020) 2416 final of 15 April 2020 (SA.56795 (2020/N) – Denmark – Compensation for the damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak to Scandinavian Airlines) and Commission decision C(2020) 2784 final of 24 April 2020 (SA.57061 (2020/N) – Sweden – Compensation for the damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak to Scandinavian Airlines).
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