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EUROPEAN COMMISSION Competition DG The Director-General Brussels, 01 June 2021 COMP/A3/IG/tb *HT.5938- 2021/056321 PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, AUSTRIA PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, BELGIUM PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, BULGARIA PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, CROATIA PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, CYPRUS PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, CZECH REPUBLIC PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, DENMARK PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, ESTONIAN REPUBLIC PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, FINLAND PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, FRANCE PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, GERMANY PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, GREECE PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, IRELAND PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, ITALY PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, LATVIAN REPUBLIC PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, LUXEMBOURG PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, MALTA PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, THE NETHERLANDS PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, POLAND PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, PORTUGAL PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, ROMANIA PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SPAIN PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SLOVAK REPUBLIC PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SLOVENIAN REPUBLIC PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SWEDEN Subject: HT.5938 - Third survey and data collection on the use of State aid in the COVID-19 crisis As soon as the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in March 2020, the Commission adopted a Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support Member States’ responses to the economic downturn triggered by the pandemic. Since then, the Commission amended and fine-tuned the Temporary Framework five times following the evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak and of the measures needed to address its adverse economic impact. With the last amendment adopted on 28 January 2021, the Commission prolonged the Temporary Framework until 31 December 2021, increased the aid ceilings for limited amounts of aid and support for uncovered fixed costs, and enabled the conversion of repayable instruments into direct grants. On 7 December 2020, the Commission launched a second survey to seek information from Member States on their experience with the implementation of COVID-19 related State aid measures. This information underpinned the design of the fifth amendment of the Temporary Framework and provided the Commission with important insights into the implementation of national support measures and their potential impact on the Internal Market. Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 [email protected] As the situation is constantly evolving, the Commission seeks to obtain up-to-date information from Member States about the use of the COVID-19 related measures and their opinions on the future of the Temporary Framework in the context of the post covid-19 pandemic recovery. For this reason, the Commission would like to consult your authorities via a third survey. This third survey comprises two parts: 1) The first part relates to a series of open-ended questions to seek views on the current set of COVID-19 related State aid rules (enclosed to this letter as Annex I). We would be grateful to receive your replies by Friday, 16 July 2021 at the email address [email protected]. When sending your replies please refer to HT.5938 - Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak. 2) In a second stage, the Commission will launch a data request, among other things, on the aid actually granted under all COVID-19 related State aid measures as of 31 December 2020 and as of 30 June 2021. Further communication will be sent to your authorities in the course of June. This survey is part of a package of initiatives aiming to enable Member States to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as rapidly as possible and to accelerate the twin green and digital transitions. In parallel, the Commission is revising the existing State aid rules (State aid Guidelines and the General Block Exemption Regulation) with a view to ensuring a sustainable green and digital recovery from the effects of COVID-19 and enabling a quick and effective deployment of funds for investments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. We would like to thank you for your responsiveness during these challenging times and we look forward to continuing cooperating with you on this matter. Yours faithfully, [e-signed] Olivier GUERSENT Enclosure: Questions regarding the current set of COVID-19 related State aid rules.  Annex I Questions regarding the current set of COVID-19 related State aid rules 1. Do you think that the Temporary Framework should be extended beyond 31 December 2021? Please explain why/why not and, if so, until when. 2. If extended, do you think that the Temporary Framework should be phased out? If so, please explain which of the various types of measures set out in section 3 of the Temporary Framework should be maintained/removed. Please also explain whether there is a need to adapt the aid ceilings and/or other compatibility conditions of the various measures, and/or whether there is a need to limit the scope of eligible beneficiaries based on their size. 3. Do you think that the Temporary Framework should be further adapted to address the needs of small and medium enterprises? If so, what measures could be introduced and/or which measures could be adapted to achieve that result? 4. Do you think that the Temporary Framework should be further adapted to prevent corporate insolvencies (e.g., by additional possibilities to enable debt restructuring and/or expanding the possibility to convert repayable aid instruments into other forms of aid such as direct grants)? If so, what measures could be introduced and/or which measures could be adapted to achieve that result? What would be the appropriate period of time to implement those measures? 5. Do you think that the current rules set out in the Temporary Framework are sufficient to address the needs of specific sectors of the economy and to facilitate their recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak? If not, please explain how existing rules could be adapted and/or new rules could be introduced to allow those sectors to restart. Please also explain which sectors should be covered by such new and/or amended rules, how to identify those sectors and why those sectors should be distinguished from other non-covered sectors. 6. Taking into account the need for green and digital investments as well as the potential need for solvency support (e.g., with the involvement of private investors, involving State guarantees, as proposed in the Commission Solvency Support Instrument), do you see scope to further adapt the Temporary Framework and/or new measures to accompany and speed up recovery? If so, what measures could be introduced and/or which measures could be adapted to achieve that result? Please also explain why you would expect the revised State aid rules (e.g., GBER, State aid guidelines) to be insufficient in this regard.  Kultuuriministeerium Meie 30.06.2021 nr 12.1-1/4950-1 [email protected] Euroopa Komisjoni küsimused ajutise raamistiku tuleviku kohta Austatud kolleegid Euroopa Komisjon võttis 19. märtsil 2020 vastu teatise „Riigiabi ajutine raamistik majanduse toetamiseks praeguse COVID-19 puhangu kontekstis“ (edaspidi „ajutine raamistik“), mida on viis korda muudetud1. Seoses ajutise raamistiku kehtivuse kavandatud lõppemisega 31. detsembril 2021 soovib Euroopa Komisjon liikmeriikide arvamust ajutise raamistiku tuleviku kohta. Palume saata Rahandusministeeriumile vastused komisjoni kirja lisas esitatud küsimustele k.a 14. juuliks. Rahandusministeerium koondab vastused ja esitab Euroopa Komisjonile. Täiendavalt lisame, et komisjoni kirjas viidatud statistilised andmed ajutise raamistiku alusel riigiabi andmise loa saanud meetmete lõikes esitame Euroopa Komisjonile riigiabi ja vähese tähtsusega abi registrile esitatud informatsiooni alusel. Lugupidamisega (allkirjastatud digitaalselt) Kaie Karniol Riigivara osakonna juhataja halduspoliitika asekantsleri ülesannetes Lisa: Euroopa Komisjoni kiri koos lisaga Ljudmilla Sokolnikova 611 3360, [email protected] Lisaadressaadid: 1 Ajutise raamistiku konsolideeritud versioon on kättesaadav aadressil: https://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/what_is_new/TF_informal_consolidated_version_as_ame nded_28_january_2021_et.pdf Suur-Ameerika 1 / 10122 Tallinn / 611 3558 / [email protected] / www.rahandusministeerium.ee registrikood 70000272 Maaeluministeerium Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium Sotsiaalministeerium Maaelu Edendamise Sihtasutus SA KredEx Ettevõtluse Arendamise Sihtasutus Eesti Töötukassa Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskus Tallinna Linnakantselei SA Eesti Filmi Instituut 2