Eleftheria Paizanou
The procedures for the granting of state guarantees amounting to € 1 billion to companies and the self-employed are “running”.
Following the publication of the law in the Official Gazette of the Republic, last Friday, the decree of the Minister of Finance is ready, which will determine the criteria and procedures for granting government guarantees.
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According to information from “F”, yesterday Minister Konstantinos Petridis was expected to sign the decree and then forward it to Parliament for information. However, the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance have already been informed about the provisions of the decree, the draft of which was submitted together with the last text of the bill. In essence, the deputies will examine whether the provisions of the new and official decree are in line with the legislation that was unanimously approved by the Plenary Session of the Parliament two weeks ago.
The next step will be to invite banks to participate in the state guarantee scheme. Next, the interested banks will have to sign a guarantee agreement with the Ministry of Finance. Interested borrowers will then apply for a loan. Applications will be evaluated and approved by credit institutions.
It is estimated that the first loans with state guarantees will be given in the first months of 2022. It is recalled that an effort is being made to get the Republic extended by the Commission to implement the plan for state guarantees, as the European framework for aid.
The bill approved by Parliament includes a provision according to which the plan for state guarantees is expected to expire on March 31, 2022. A few days ago, it was said by the Superintendent of State Aid, Stella Michailidou, that the plan is expected to be extended until 30 June 2022, on the basis of a draft amendment to the provisional framework. The Interim European Framework entered into force in March 2020 and expired on 31 December 2020. However, the European Commission extended its implementation, initially until 30 June 2021 and then extended it until 31 December 2021.
