The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

21 Article 107(3)(b) of the TFEU. 71 An example of a scheme designed also on this recommendation is the SA.59668 case, 72 under which the Cypriot authorities introduced a guarantee scheme to guarantee the full value of vouchers (“credit notes”) issued by package travel organisers, hotels, car rental companies and cruise lines to consumers or, in the case of hotels and cruise lines, also to package travel organisers. The guarantees, according to the decision, will be limited in time (they will expire at the end of 2021), and priced according to the Temporary Framework (Section 3.2), but as the extent of the guarantees went beyond the maximum in the Temporary Framework, the measure had to be approved directly by the Commission under Article 107 (3)(b). The third amendment, 73 published by the Commission on 29 June, was the first not to introduce new aid categories. Instead, it relaxed the existing ban on undertakings in financial difficulty on 31 December 2019, because start-up companies by nature are often in difficulty on paper (especially in the early phase) 74 and before the third amendment, such technically-in-difficulty start-ups were excluded from the scope of the Temporary Framework for most categories. With the changed rules, micro- and small enterprises became eligible under the Temporary Framework even if they had been in difficulty at the end of 2019 (unless they were under an insolvency procedure or received rescue and restructuring aid at the time of the award). In addition, Section 3.10 aid (wage subsidies) was made available for self-employed individuals, i.e. Member States were authorised to support self-employed individuals under wage subsidy rules. The third amendment also saw some minor adjustments to Sections 3.3 (subsidised loans) and 3.11 (recapitalisation aid). Following this amendment, the Temporary Framework was not extended further for three and a half months, implying that the Commission saw the framework as suitable to tackle the issues of the real economy at the time, and chose to wait and see how the crisis moved before making further changes. 71 Paragraphs 15-18 of the Recommendation. Rescue and restructuring aid can be authorised by the Commission and is assessed under Article 107(3)(c) and the rescue and restructuring guidelines, i.e. Communication from the Commission — Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non- financial undertakings in difficulty OJ C 249, 31.7.2014 72 Commission decision C(2021) 229 final of 1 December 2020 (SA.59668 (2020/N) COVID-19: Aid in the form of guarantees on credit notes issued for consumers and package travel organisers) 73 Communication from the Commission 3rd Amendment to the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak C(2020) 4509 final 29 June 2020 74 Point 7 of the third amendment.