Vice Chancellor Kogler, Finance Minister Blümel, Minister of Economic Affairs Schramböck and Chamber of Commerce Mahrer host Friday’s press conference.
Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens), Minister of Finance Gernot Blümel, Minister of Economics Margarete Schramböck and President of the Chamber of Commerce Harald Mahrer (all ÖVP) presented new things about securing location and employment in corona times.
Start-up scenarios next week
Right from the start, Kogler reveals something interesting: The government plans to present the scenarios of how to slowly ramp up the country next week.
Check out the PK above in the live stream!
Emergency fund
Today, Kogler and Co. explain the so-called emergency fund very precisely. It has two major goals: bridging the bottlenecks in the form of loans and compensating for damage in the form of grants.
“We radically shut down a few industries,” says Kogler. The government wants to ensure that these have no effects on the rest of the economy, do not trigger a domino effect.
In the case of loans, up to 90 percent of the guarantee should be taken over by the state. Grants that do not have to be repaid come for the operating costs.
Dividends are restricted
The government is also responding to criticism that some companies are paying profits to their shareholders despite government aid. The government will stop this in the future. In detail, this means a one-year payment freeze and no bonuses for board members.
Loan amount
Blümel gives details: When it comes to loans, companies get as much money as they would have made sales in a quarter (three months). You then no longer have to pay back part of it. Namely 75 percent of its operating costs and 70 percent of the fixed costs.
You can then repay this loan for up to ten years. There are also conditions: In the crisis year, the company may not distribute dividends and pay bonuses to board members. It should be possible to apply for all of this from April 8th – the respective house bank will handle it.
Who is the help for?
Who can use these emergency funds? Companies with a drop in sales of at least 40 percent, says Blümel.
Next PK afterwards
After the economy ministers are finished, the time has come for Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens). She will speak on justice issues at 11:30 a.m. Here, too, there is a lot to regulate in the crisis.
Finally, politics will switch back to the National Council this afternoon. The meeting begins at 12 noon and the third Corona legislative package is passed.
++ All current information about the corona virus and Austria can be found here ++
The current Corona map for Austria:
