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The EU Commission has given its go-ahead for the “protective umbrella” event announced by the government. If an event is canceled due to Corona or can only take place on a limited basis, those expenses that cannot be canceled can be replaced up to an amount of one million euros, Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) said on Wednesday after the Minister council. Assume that July events could be held again indefinitely.
The EU Commission had given a “green light” the day before, according to Köstinger in the press lobby after the last Council of Ministers of the year, in which a large part of the Federal Government participated in the Chancellery. At the moment, a cost replacement of up to one million euros will be possible. Austria is trying to get approval from the EU Commission to increase this “quasi-insurance benefit” to three million euros per company per event, Köstinger said: “We are in negotiations with the EU Commission to further increase This quantity”.
As planned, a total of € 300 million will be made available to the crisis events industry as a guarantee of default. The relevant resolution of the National Council has already been approved. The “protective screen” should be applied to a wide range of events. This applies to congresses, for example, cultural festivals, theater, rock or classical music concerts, cabarets, and events in clubs and discos that could also benefit from this.
Hope for summer
Applications should be possible from January 15, 2021 and must be received no later than June 15, 2021. Application is possible for events that take place until the end of 2022; this is because many events require a very long wait time. The first date of the event that can be financed is February 1, 2021. All the details should be contained in a guide that will be published in the coming days, according to Köstinger.
“We all assume that there will be an improvement in the summer, with the massive tests and the combination with vaccines, but that we certainly do not know,” the minister emphasized. Therefore, it is good that there is a protective umbrella for the events that will take place until the end of 2022. “All events have one thing in common: a very long planning time. This sometimes reaches several years, especially when it is about fairs and congresses “.
Secretary of State for Art and Culture Andrea Mayer (Verdes) said it was about planning security. He is aware that perspective “is not particularly rosy”, especially in the field of culture. “But: there is a perspective and we want to look optimistically to the future with this instrument. Those who take the risk should only have to take a small part of the risk.” (apa)
