EU gives green light to 115mn euro Polish virus measures

• The scheme is intended to partially cover interest on business loans and will take the form of direct grants, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday.
• The Polish government said it would beef up a rescue package to up to 330 billion zloty, a sum that combines direct state budget spending, guarantees and central bank measures.

WARSAW: The European Union has approved a 527 million zloty (115 million euro) scheme by the Polish government to support its economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

The scheme is intended to partially cover interest on business loans and will take the form of direct grants, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday.

"(The) scheme will allow Poland to relieve companies of part of the interest they have to pay on loans, thus alleviating their financial burden in the current crisis," said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.

On Wednesday, the Polish government said it would beef up a rescue package to up to 330 billion zloty, a sum that combines direct state budget spending, guarantees and central bank measures.

As of Friday morning, Poland had reported 5,742 cases of the coronavirus and 175 deaths.