€500 million reserved for extra coronavirus support for affected companies

The government set 500 million euros aside to expand its current coronavirus support measures to affected companies, also coming with specific subsidies for the hard-hit catering and events sectors, Ministers Wopke Hoekstra of Finance, Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs, and Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs announced on Tuesday.

The government confirmed that it will temporarily expand the TVL scheme, which covers struggling businesses' fixed costs like rent and utilities, so that more businesses can qualify. The scheme used to apply only to certain sectors, now it applies to all sectors. An amount of 140 million euros was reserved for this expansion. Companies can apply for subsidy from this scheme from mid-November.

The Ministers also confirmed rumors of a once-off compensation for bars, restaurants and cafes that had to close when the partial lockdown was implemented on October 14. This compensation is meant to cover stocks they can no longer use, and investments they made to stay open in a corona-safe manner during the winter. The subsidy will be around 2.75 percent of turnover loss, averaging at 2,500 euros. Catering entrepreneurs can apply for this subsidy from mid-November, through a TVL application. 40 million euros was set aside for this.

A special regulation was also set up for the events sector. As many companies and suppliers are dependent on the summer months for their turnover, which means a wild fluctuation in turnover this sector, events entrepreneurs often did not qualify for government support. Events entrepreneurs can apply for a special compensation through the TVL scheme. The government expects that around 800 events entrepreneurs will receive an average of around 14 thousand euros. An amount of 11 million euros was reserved for this compensation.

An amount of 40 million euros was set aside to compensate non-subsidized theaters for productions and performances that had to be canceled. The government is currently meeting with this group to work out the details. And another 60 million euros was reserved for helping the sports sector.

The government also set another 150 million euros aside to help municipalities absorb their loss of income. This amount comes on top of the 100 million previously promised.

The government is also working on a Time Out Arrangement, through which entrepreneurs can temporarily put their company into a kind of hibernation until their situation improves. This is to prevent essentially healthy companies having to file for bankruptcy in this extraordinary time of crisis.