Support for self-employed people

Question for written answer  E-000642/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Krzysztof Hetman (PPE), Andrzej Halicki (PPE), Jarosław Kalinowski (PPE), Jarosław Duda (PPE), Jan Olbrycht (PPE), Jerzy Buzek (PPE), Magdalena Adamowicz (PPE), Bartosz Arłukowicz (PPE), Ewa Kopacz (PPE), Adam Jarubas (PPE), Janina Ochojska (PPE), Róża Thun und Hohenstein (PPE), Tomasz Frankowski (PPE), Janusz Lewandowski (PPE), Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska (PPE), Radosław Sikorski (PPE), Danuta Maria Hübner (PPE)

On 23 December 2020, the Commission approved, under the State aid Temporary Framework, a EUR 2.9 billion (PLN 13 billion) Polish state aid scheme to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises active in sectors such as retail, hospitality, leisure and transport that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The approval was based on a scheme called ‘Financial Shield for SME 2.0’, which is designed to support companies operating in the above-mentioned sectors affected by the measures introduced by the Polish Government in November 2020 to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Unfortunately, self-employed persons, such as travel guides and entertainers, were excluded from the scope of the scheme.

• 1.Does the Commission agree that the above situation jeopardises the level playing field within these sectors in Poland?
• 2.Could the Commission give examples of how other Member States ensure non-discriminatory support for both the self-employed and small and medium‑sized enterprises in order to counteract the economic drawbacks of the coronavirus pandemic?