The government is preparing an aid programme for businesses along the Odra. “Consulted entrepreneurs propose that a condition for receiving support should be a drop in revenue of at least 50 % month-on-month”, announces Deputy Minister for Development and Technology Olga Semeniuk in her interview.

Deputy Minister, Government Plenipotentiary for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Olga Semeniuk met on Friday with entrepreneurs affected by the Odra disaster. The conversation focused on the scale of the problem and possible forms of support.

According to Olga Semeniuk, entrepreneurs are primarily interested in a quick form of support, preferably using existing solutions, such as a standstill refund, a small subsidy or an employee wage subsidy.

“I have asked entrepreneurs to send in their proposals with PKD codes as soon as possible, in order to identify as precisely as possible the types of business activities to be supported, as well as to indicate the preferred instruments. Their voice is crucial here. There is still the question of targeted aid, based not only on PKD codes, because for example, a restaurant in Wrocław, which can still operate, and a fish fry bar located directly by the river, which is actually closed today, are in a different situation” added the deputy head of the Ministry of Development.

The second form of support under consideration is money that companies will be able to raise, perhaps also through local authorities, to monitor and digitalise air and water quality control. According to the announcement, PLN 250 million will be allocated for this purpose.

Deputy Minister Semeniuk also referred to the criteria for aid to the riverside companies.

“A decrease in revenue will be crucial. Entrepreneurs are proposing that a drop of at least 50 % of revenue month-on-month should be a condition for receiving aid”, she said, adding that the government wants to implement the Odra shield as soon as possible.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński