2023-05-25 14:41:38
The multi-billion dollar Covid aid for companies continues to cause inconsistencies. Of the subsidies paid out, 1.062 billion euros are wobbling, reports the “OÖN” with reference to a parliamentary question from NEOS to Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP). The trigger is the EU state aid law, according to which subsidies may only be awarded per group of companies and not for individual locations. The state payout agency COFAG did not comply with this.
Around 1.1 billion euros in subsidies paid out might potentially be affected by this group view. How much more was actually paid out than allowed has not yet been clarified and still needs to be checked, the Ministry of Finance said regarding the APA. One is in constant exchange with the EU Commission on questions relating to state aid.
As a reminder: Because the EU and the national aid institution COFAG have different views as to whether all the aid was paid out correctly, 888 applicants across Austria were asked by COFAG at the end of the year to provide additional information on their company structure. According to the federal government’s transparency portal, the electronics chain Mediamarkt has submitted 127 applications in three years. Here the individual branches received funding – for example in the Linzer Passage 280,000 euros (2020), 168,000 (2021) and 72,000 euros (2022) – while the Fussl Modestrasse with its 150 locations received a total of 2.2 million euros in aid, with a loss in sales of 63 million euros, reports the “Oberösterreichische Nachrichten”.
According to the Finance Minister, 901 applications with a volume of almost EUR 560 million have not yet been finally processed. According to the NEOS, it is explosive that the EU stopped payments in March 2022, but the first notifications by COFAG were only sent in December. The Ministry of Finance said that “immediately following the receipt and legal assessment of the letter, an exchange was made with the Commission”. After legal clarification of the procedure, the payments were stopped immediately.
In a statement to the APA, COFAG stated that it had no discretion in paying out the grants, but had to comply with the regulations and pay out the grants in accordance with them. The design of the guidelines is subject to the federal government.
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