EC Approves Grants Worth BGN 16,5 Million to Help Bulgarian Tour Operators

The European Commission said on May 26 that it has approved 16.5 million leva, or about 8.4 million euro, in state aid for Bulgaria’s tour operators affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The funding would take the form of direct grants, to be used by the beneficiaries to refund their customers for trips that were cancelled between 1March 1 and 31 December 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak and the related travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
The measure aims to address liquidity shortages experienced by the grant recipients as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the Commission said.
The Commission said that the measure was in line with the conditions set out in its temporary framework on state aid, as it capped the maximum grant at 1.8 million euro per company and had a limited time scope until December 31 2021.

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