The €5,000 aid payments do not have to be reimbursed and are meant to help firms and freelancers get through the covid-19 cashflow crunch.

The directorate general for small and medium-sized enterprises said it had received 14,600 inquiries and processed 4,800 applications.

“In just eight days, around 3,300 applicants have already received financial assistance”, the directorate general said in a press release on 9 April.

Lex Delles, the SME minister (DP), stated in the announcement:

“We will continue to analyse each application quickly and carefully to ensure efficient support. However, we would like to point out that 1,900 incomplete applications were rejected. Needless to say, only complete applications can be processed in a timely manner.”

Information about the government’s aid schemes for SMEs and the self-employed can be found on its Guichet information portal.