Last update 05/05/2020
Welcome to our WEgate - Relay hub, where you can find information on the support available to small businesses and entrepreneurs in these difficult COVID-19 times. What is your government doing to keep small business afloat; to keep the borders open to goods and services so that the Single Market can function? Help us keep our repository of support measures updated, and the community informed, by sharing any measures or national best practices we might have missed.
EU Support and Initiatives
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Joint Council-Commission Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment measures
Description: At their meeting on 26 March 2020, the Members of the European Council committed to do everything that is necessary to protect the EU’s citizens and overcome the crisis while preserving the European values and way of life.
Beyond the urgency of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate consequences, the Members of the European Council called for preparing the measures necessary to get Europe’s societies and economies back to a normal functioning and to sustainable growth, integrating inter alia the green transition and the digital transformation, and drawing all lessons from the crisis. - Report on the comprehensive economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Description: The Eurogroup decides to provide an emergency response plan of 200 billion of financing for SMEs, among the 540 billion of the emergency response plan agreed on the 9th of April.
- State aid: Commission extends Temporary Framework to enable Member States to accelerate research, testing and production of coronavirus relevant products, to protect jobs and to further support the economy in the coronavirus outbreak
Description: The European Commission has adopted an amendment extending the Temporary Framework adopted on 19 March 2020 to enable Member States to accelerate the research, testing and production of coronavirus relevant products, to protect jobs and to further support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak.
- Questions and answers: Commission proposes SURE, a new temporary instrument worth up to €100 billion to help protect jobs and people in work
Description: The new instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) is designed to help protect jobs and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. It will provide financial assistance, in the form of loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to Member States, of up to €100 billion in total.
- Questions and answers on the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus: New actions to mobilise essential investments and resources
Description: How does the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+) complement the measures adopted under the first package? The first package of measures of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative concentrated on the immediate mobilisation of structural funds, to allow for a prompt response to the crisis. In this regard, a number of very important changes have been introduced that extend the scope of support of the Funds, provide immediate liquidity and give flexibility in programme amendments.
- COVID-19 - Council adopts measures for immediate release of funds
Description: The EU is taking swift action to make available money to help tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council today adopted two legislative acts to quickly release funding from the EU budget for tackling the COVID-19 crisis. One of the acts amends the rules of the structural and investment funds, while the other extends the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund.
- Eurogroup agrees on COVID-19 economic policy response
Description: Eurogroup’s agreement on a first set onf measures to mitigate socio-economic impacts of #COVID19. These include: small blue diamond fully flexible state-aid and fiscal rules; small blue diamond short-term liquidity for SMEs and small blue diamond €37 billion to fight the outbreak
- Applications welcome from startups and SMEs with innovative solutions to tackle Coronavirus outbreak
Description: The European Commission is calling for startups and SMEs with technologies and innovations that could help in treating, testing, monitoring or other aspects of the Coronavirus outbreak to apply urgently to the next round of funding from the European Innovation Council. The deadline for applications to the EIC Accelerator is 17:00 on Friday 20 March (New deadline)
- ECB announces easing of conditions for targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III)
Description: The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today decided to modify some of the key parameters of the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) to support the continued access of firms and households to bank credit in the face of disruptions and temporary funding shortages associated with the coronavirus outbreak. The changes will apply to all TLTRO III operations.
Useful Links (Non-EU/Non-MS)
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COVID-19: Business in Focus podcast series by PWC
Description: Explore the latest developments and practical advice to help keep your business resilient. PWC podcast series invites industry experts to look at the steps businesses can take. - How can we help small business affected by the COVID-19 crisis?- International Trade Centre
Description: International Trade Center expert provide us with an insightful analysis of the threats SMEs face in the light of COVID-19 and suggest countermeasure for policymakers to react to the crisis.
- COVID-19 requires gender-equal responses to save economies- UNCTAD
Description: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not gender neutral, as it affects men and women differently. Therefore, we must not be gender blind in our responses to the pandemic, or else women will carry a disproportionately higher economic cost than men. Globally, women are more vulnerable to economic shocks wrought by crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.
- Covid-19: What are the consequences for small and medium enterprises across Europe?-EURONEWS
Description: The coronavirus pandemic is proving to be a disaster for small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe, particularly for those in the south and east of the bloc and their non-EU neighbours. Most EU countries have taken some form of measure to protect businesses from the effects of the coronavirus crisis.
- Tackling Coronavirus (COVID-19) Contributing to a global effort: SME Policy Reponses- OECD
Description: Find out the policy responses that national governments are implementing to assists #SMEs in light of the rapid spread of COVID19.
- From Our CEO: we will fight this pandemic together- UNILEVER
Description: Great idea from UNILEVER that goes along the same line as ESBA’s PayIn7 campaign calling all public bodies at local, national and EU level across Europe to respond to the cash squeeze caused by the #COVID19 crisis. To help tackle this pandemic, UNILEVER is donating €100m of soap, sanitiser, bleach and food to emergency efforts; supporting vulnerable suppliers/customers with €500m of cash flow relief; and protecting their workforce from sudden drops in pay.