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

22 The fourth amendment, 75 adopted on 13 October 2020, meant two major developments. First, recognising the protracted nature of the economic crisis, it extended the temporal scope of the Temporary Framework, which was 31 December 2020 originally. Under the prolonged rules, Member States were permitted to grant aid until 30 June 2021. Second, the fourth amendment added a new category, “aid for uncovered fixed costs” (Section 3.12), which was essentially a simplified loss compensation instrument of maximum 3 million euros per beneficiary available to businesses whose revenues had dropped by minimum 30% in the eligible period compared to the same period in 2019. This possibility was designed especially to help undertakings active in the tourism and similar sectors, where revenues dropped significantly and there was no hope that the growth path will return in a short time. The fourth amendment introduced additional leeway for aid grantors; for example, it became possible to disregard repaid aid for the purposes of the aid ceilings in Section 3.1 of the Temporary Framework. The Commission did not hesitate for long before it extended the Temporary Framework for the entire year of 2021. On 28 January 2020, the fifth amendment, 76 the last to date, came out, extending the Temporary Framework for the entire calendar year of 2021 because of the dire economic forecasts for 2021 and the second wave of infections. 77 Moreover, the Commission significantly raised the maximum aid amounts for “limited amounts of aid” (Section 3.1 aid, to 1.8 million euros, by more than double the previous figure) and “aid for uncovered fixed costs” (Section 3.12, to 10 million euros). Also, the conversion of aid instruments under Section 3.1 aid (e.g. from loans to grants) was allowed by the amendment (until the end of 2022, i.e. beyond the current expiry of the Temporary Framework), which meant even more freedom for aid grantors. 75 Communication from the Commission 4th Amendment to the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak and amendment to the Annex to the Communication from the Commission to the Member States on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to short-term export-credit insurance C(2020) 7127 13 October 2020 76 Communication from the Commission 5th Amendment to the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak and amendment to the Annex to the Communication from the Commission to the Member States on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to short term export-credit insurance C(2021) 564 final 28 January 2021 77 Point 5 of the fifth amendment.