Factsheet for measure
RO-2022-27/2927
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Updated
– measures in Romania
IMM Invest Plus: Loan guarantees and direct grants for SMEs
Schema de ajutor de stat IMM Invest Plus
Background information
In the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the economic disturbances caused by it, the government has adopted a state aid scheme aiming to ensure that sufficient liquidity remains available to the affected companies.
The state aid scheme was adopted trough a Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO 99/2022) in June 2022 and was approved by the European Commission in September 2022.
The state aid scheme is approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022, which enables Member States to use the flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Content of measure
The measure consists in a state aid scheme of €4 billion to support companies across sectors in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The state aid scheme has the following components: IMM Invest Romania (The SME INVEST ROMANIA component facilitates access to financing for small and medium enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization), Agro IMM Invest (dedicated to small and medium enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization, including professionals, in the field of agriculture, fishing, aquaculture and the food sector), IMM Prod (aims to grant government guarantees requested to ensure liquidity and finance investments by SMEs, including start-ups, from the urban area operating in productive sectors), Garant Construct (grant government guarantees for improving energy efficiency, supporting investments in the field of green energy and aligning with the environmental objectives), Innovation (SMEs supporting innovation) and Rural Invest (SMEs from fishery, agriculture and food sector).
The aid will take the form of 1) loan guarantees with a maximum budget of €3.6 billion, and 2) direct grants with a maximum budget of €390 million to compensate parts of the costs due under the guaranteed loans.
As regards the size of aid in the form of direct grants, it is capped at €62,000 and €75,000 per recipient operating in the agriculture and fisheries aquaculture sectors, respectively, and €500,000 for each enterprise operating in any of the other sectors.
The beneficiary of the state aid scheme IMM INVEST is the economic operator active in the eligible fields of activity, that meets the conditions for inclusion in the category of small businesses with medium market capitalization, including professionals.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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19 December 2022
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In December 2022, the Government has adopted an Emergency Ordinance (GEO 180/2022) that prolongs the program IMM Invest by one year until 31 December 2023. According to the document, the total guarantee ceiling will increase to RON 20.25 billion, from RON 17.75 billion in 2022. The maximum number of estimated beneficiaries will increase from 24,786 to 26,708. State aid will be granted in the form of loan guarantees and grants that will cover the risk fee, as well as the administration fee throughout the validity period of the granted guarantee, and the interest related to the loans will be subsidized for a period of up to 12 months.
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Use of measure
The launch of the new IMM Invest Plus program is expected to have a total number of 25,000 beneficiaries. This state aid scheme is expected to preserve jobs, ensure viability and contribute to the development of SME and mid-cap beneficiary businesses.
Target groups
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Workers
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Businesses
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Citizens
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Does not apply to workers
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SMEs
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Does not apply to citizens
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Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Unknown
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Unknown
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Form
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Not applicable
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Not applicable
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Unknown
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Main level of involvement: N/A
Involvement
There is no public information regarding the involvement of social partners in the design or implementation of the measure.
Views and reactions
According to a press release from CNIPMMR (The National Employers' Organisation of Romanian SMEs), the most important financing programs dedicated to SMEs at the regional and national level, such as IMM Invest Plus, IMM Prod, Garant Construct are necessary in the context of the de-capitalisation of Romanian companies. The trade unions did not express any public position on the topic.
Sources
