European Commission approves € 500m for Greek food service sector

It will support restaurants and take away food service providers, catering, beverage service, and other food-service

The European Commission has given the green light for the activation of the financial support program for the Greek catering sector which will amount to € 500 million. The platform for applications will open next Friday.

“The Commission today approved a Greek program worth 500 million euros to support businesses in the catering sector. “We actively support the return to normalcy, the recovery of the economy and thousands of Greek companies and families,” wrote on Twitter the vice-president of the Commission, Margaritis Schoinas.

Greece has notified the Commission, under the temporary State Aid Framework, of a € 500 million program to support food-service companies, such as restaurants and take away food service providers, catering, beverage service, and other food-service activities affected by the outbreak of coronavirus.

The program is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and will be open to companies of all sizes that saw a turnover reduction of more than 30% in 2020, compared to 2019. The aid will take the form of direct grants, with each grant amounting to up to 7% of the beneficiary’s annual turnover.

The program intends to provide the beneficiaries with working capital for the acquisition of raw materials necessary for their activities.

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