Covid-19, Estonia, Financial Services, Good for Business, Markets and Companies

The terms of the grants will be specified by Thursday, when the measures are planned to be approved at a government meeting, government spokespeople said.

"The second wave of coronavirus has so far hit particularly hard in East-Viru County, where the strictest restrictions are currently in place due to high infection," Prime Minister Juri Ratas said.

Ratas noted that with the agreed measures, the state supports the areas of accommodation, catering and entertainment activities in East-Viru County, as well as culture, creative, artistic and sports activities and education across Estonia.

"By supporting local business and, through this, the people of East-Viru County, we strive to alleviate the economic impact of the restrictions in the county. The purpose of the subsidies to be introduced by the government is to ensure people's livelihood and continued income and to help local businesses recover as soon as possible after the coronavirus crisis," the prime minister said.

The entrepreneurship measure will support companies in East-Viru County that had to suspend their activities due to the restrictions imposed by the government on December 10 with 2.1 mln euros.

"The specific amount of the subsidy is calculated on the basis of twice the company's wage costs in November of this year. The maximum amount of the subsidy per enterprise is 150,000 euros," Minister of Foreign Trade and IT Raul Siem said.

In the case of supporting businesses, the state aid aspect must also be taken into account, which can prolong the process of receiving support by approximately one month.

The members of the government agreed to allocate 560,000 euros through the area of administration of the Ministry of Culture to support culture, hobby education and hobby activities, of which 430,000 euros are intended for East-Viru County and 130,000 euros for the rest of Estonia.

Altogether 811,000 euros will be allocated to support the field of sport, including coaches, of which more than 60,000  euros will be allocated to East-Viru County sports institutions and clubs. The Ministry of Education will provide support for hobby education and activities for young people and private education in the amount of over 1.5 million euros, of which 205,000 euros will be allocated to educational institutions in East-Viru County.

"Due to the restrictions on preventing the spread of the coronavirus, both cultural and sports life in East-Viru County has stalled," Minister of Culture Tonis Lukas said, adding that, in order to maintain the diversity of the cultural sector and sporting opportunities, it is necessary to support covering the sector's unavoidable costs.