The Technical Working Group on State Aid has met 6 times since it was established in November 2017. The dates of these meetings are as follows:
20th November 2017
12th December 2017
19th February 2018
23rd March 2018
26th April 2018
26th July 2018
In addition, as part of the work of the Technical Group, a further meeting took place with DG Agriculture on 2 August 2018.
In between all the meetings noted above, there has been ongoing bilateral engagement with DG Competition and DG Agriculture.
Meetings are arranged as required and therefore a schedule of meetings for the remainder of this year and Q1 2019 has not been developed. However, we would expect that the Irish Delegation, led by my Department, will meet with DG Comp/DG Agri again before the end of this year.
A number of schemes have been developed to mitigate against the effects of Brexit. In late November 2017 a Rescue and Restructuring (R&R) Scheme was approved by the EU Commission. This scheme has been put in place as it is considered prudent to have contingency measures in place so that we can respond swiftly to changing circumstances as necessary.
The Brexit Loan Scheme was launched in April 2018 and provides affordable working capital financing to eligible businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future. This is operated within State aid rules under the de Minimis regulation.
In May 2018, the Rescue and Restructuring scheme was extended to include temporary restructuring aid for enterprises experiencing acute liquidity needs. The aid is granted in the form of loans repayable over a period of 18 months. Together with the Brexit Loan Scheme, this temporary restructuring aid will provide valuable stabilisation to businesses as they respond to the immediate and long-term impacts of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
The Future Growth Loan Scheme was announced in Budget 2019. The scheme will be available to eligible Irish businesses, including those in the primary agriculture and seafood sectors, to support strategic, long-term investment in a post-Brexit environment. It is expected that this scheme will be operational in Q1 2019.
We are also working with DG Competition and DG Agri on the development of schemes that do not fall under the General Block Exemption Regulation and therefore require notification. These are currently being progressed.
Should issues arise that require an approach that does not fit within the existing State Aid rules, this will be raised as part of the Working Group discussions.