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Companies affected by the third lockdown will receive a refund for lost sales until December 31, but thereafter only a subsidy for fixed costs or compensation for losses. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) made that clear on Saturday. The Ministry of Labor and the social partners will negotiate how short-time work is going.
Blümel emphasized that the revenue substitution will also apply to all companies affected by the new measures until the end of 2020. The comparison value is the December sales of the previous year. That will cause additional costs of up to 300 million euros. Work will continue on measures to support suppliers that are indirectly affected by the forced closure of companies. The guidelines should be ready “in December”. Applications for suppliers will only be possible once the application for directly affected companies has been completed. Aid to indirectly affected companies should cost almost a billion euros, according to Blümel.
The tourism industry is currently negotiating the extension of the short-time work model for January, said Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP). Insolvency protection of more than 300 million euros has already been negotiated for the travel industry. It will be managed by the ÖHTB. It is important that tourism reduces the number of infections “to be able to have part of the winter season until after Easter.” The next phase will be crucial, when vaccines are widely available.
Special challenges for ski areas
According to Köstinger, the situation is “extremely different” for ski areas, which can open from December 24 with the permission of individual federal states. While in large ski areas the capacity is very large in view of the absence of tourists and distances are not a problem, in the ski areas close to the city, especially near Vienna, there can be many hikers.
Basically the same rules apply to gastronomy in ski areas as in other parts of Austria, says Köstinger. So you can basically offer to pick up food and drink. However, for ski areas there are special challenges and needs, so the federal and state governments are currently discussing a practical approach, added the Ministry of Tourism. The federal states want to come up with uniform rules under the leadership of Salzburg.
There are still agreements with the Ministry of Health on the exact rules for masks. Basically, the masks should be used in the cable cars in the same way as in other means of public transport. If someone doesn’t wear the mask there, then these people “are generally politely asked by other passengers to wear mouth and nose protection,” said Köstinger. However, coordination with the Ministry of Health is still required regarding FFP2 masks, which can be slightly moistened outdoors and then possibly have the opposite effect.
More talks with the EU
Finance Minister Blümel also noted that further efforts were being made to increase the ceilings for the fixed cost subsidy (€ 800,000 per company) and loss compensation (€ 3 million). Negotiations were ongoing with the EU Commission, and Germany was campaigning for it too.
“This government is only characterized by empty promises and placebo measures, which today can no longer fulfill what was promised yesterday,” criticized liberal economic spokesman Erwin Angerer in a broadcast. “Meanwhile, the black and green have at least recognized that limiting the fixed cost subsidy II of 800,000 euros means financial ruin for many medium and large companies. An idea that could come too late for many companies, especially in the sectors hotel and winter tourism “. said the FPÖ politician. “Today we were able to experience again the excellent example of a ‘public relations press conference’ in which bad economic news followed the next.”
WKÖ President Harald Mahrer and General Secretary Karlheinz Kopf (both ÖVP) welcomed the expansion of public support for companies: “The crisis has hit many companies hard, many are reaching their limits. It is even more important that the help to companies now be specifically expanded so that the network of survival aids becomes even closer. “
Bitter pill for tourism
The president of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Wolfgang Ecker (ÖVP), came up with more drastic words. “The third blockade has to be the last. Our companies urgently need quick help without bureaucracy. They could not cope with a fourth blockade.” The economy gave it its all from the beginning and, despite the high financial burdens, it installed prevention and security measures and implemented them responsibly.
Rainer Trefelik, President of the Federal Trade Division of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) also welcomed the assistance. “Retail companies are now also being replaced by days lost until the end of the year. The comparison period is December 2019 sales. This is a great success and we have been campaigning strongly for this point in the last few days. To alleviate the economic difficulties of companies, we owe the sales substitute for all closing days in December is based on the December sales of the previous year. “
From the point of view of the director of the WKÖ tourism and leisure sector, Robert Seeber, the extension of the blockade from December 26 to January 18 or 24 is another bitter pill that, above all, tourism has to swallow again. “Unfortunately, that is the price we will be able to unlock again at the end of January to do what we do best and our passion, which is to be a good host.” (apa)
