In the wake of the Corona crisis, the Federal Cabinet adopted far-reaching measures on Monday, 23 March to combat the economic consequences. These will be submitted to the Bundestag on Wednesday and to the Bundesrat on Friday for approval. On Monday, March 30, exact details of the aid programs are expected.
Federal Cabinet approves measures
The Federal Cabinet has very quickly announced a far-reaching catalogue of measures, which will be passed in the Bundestag and presented to the Bundesrat on Friday.
The measures include
- Emergency aid for micro-enterprises and the self-employed
- Short-time compensation
- business parachutes
- Protection for self-employed persons and social services
VPLT praises the fast help with reservations
The Association for Media and Event Technology (VPLT) praised the measures in a statement: “Never before has a federal government decided on aid measures for the economy in such a short time and at such a high level. The lifting of the ‘debt brake’, an economic stabilisation fund of 600 billion euros, up to 50 billion euros in emergency aid for small businesses – these are some of the unprecedented support measures that the federal government has launched in record time and with the approval of all democratic representatives in parliament”.
Despite this commendable commitment, the VPLT has considerable reservations and has already communicated these to politicians in discussions on how it views the effectiveness of these aid measures for our industry.
Among other things, the association criticizes
- The measures are taking effect too late, because since mid-February companies and independent sole traders in the event industry have been lacking all sales opportunities.
- The emergency aid sums earmarked are too low. What if the crisis lasts 4 months? Entrepreneurs must be able to assess risks. This is not possible in this crisis.
- There is no clear or simple clearing house. The federal government allows the individual ministries to publish their information through various channels. People and businesses need clear,
undifferentiated information and a central contact point for this. - Credits instead of subsidies are not a business management solution for SMEs in this crisis.
A detailed statement of the VPLT can be found here.
