On July 22, 2020, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the bill by the Ministry of the Economy implementing a new aid instrument aimed at companies that have suffered the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the government's "Neistart" programme, the aim of the new financial aid is to encourage firms by means of high levels of subsidy (up to 50% of eligible costs) to carry out economic development, digitalisation or environmental protection projects.
The Minister of Economy, Franz Fayot declared in front of the deputies: "The current crisis has deteriorated the business climate and may lead companies to postpone or even question certain investment projects. To encourage businesses to make investments in these difficult times, which will contribute both in short and long term to their competitiveness, we are launching this financial aid package as part of a policy of sustainable economic recovery".
The aid scheme is aimed at companies that have suffered a fall in turnover during the crisis. The programme provides for three types of aid:
- investment aids for development projects, for up to 30% of the project cost (depending on the size of the company), with a 20% increase in aid for projects that are part of the circular economy;
- investment aids for process or organisational innovation projects, for up to 50% of the project cost;
- investment aid for energy efficiency or exceeding standards projects, for up to 50% of the cost of the project.
With an aid intensity of up to 50% of eligible costs for a maximum of €800,000 of aid per project, the new programme is firmly based on higher amounts of investment aid than in normal times, in particular for projects relating to the development of the circular economy.
The aid programme will enter into force in the next few days. Details of the modalities and criteria for the aid will soon be available on guichet.lu. Applications to benefit from this aid programme can be submitted from Monday 27 July exclusively electronically via the MyGuichet.lu platform.
Webinars to provide further details on the business support programme
The Ministry of the Economy and Luxinnovation, in close collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Trades and the Fedil, invite companies to participate in webinars dedicated to this new state aid. Types of aid, eligibility criteria and how to submit applications will be discussed. The webinars will take place:
- 30 July 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in French (online registration);
- 5 August 2020 at 11.00 a.m. in Luxembourgish (online registration);
- 9 September 2020 at 11.00 a.m. in English (online registration);
Press release by the Ministry of the Economy