“The recovery starts now!”
The Minister of State set the tone for the Principality’s economic recovery plan to address the COVID-19 crisis at a press conference held at the Oceanographic Museum on Wednesday 14 October: “Support is the guiding principle of the Government’s policy to safeguard companies and jobs, and restart the economy. Our approach is to be as practical as possible, using the guide that we are presenting to you today. It contains details of all of the assistance measures and, most importantly, how they work,” said H.E. Mr Pierre Dartout.
Determined to “reassure and protect employees while helping companies feeling the strain,” Didier Gamerdinger, Minister of Health and Social Affairs, set out the State’s strong commitments on social policy, with now essential direct measures, beginning with the extension of the strengthened provisions for total temporary layoff until 31 March 2021. “Over 12 months, the total temporary layoff provisions cost €150 million, more than 10% of the State’s budget,” explained the Minister, who also welcomed the fact that exemptions from charges had been expanded to cover businesses with up to €5 million in annual revenue.
For his part, Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, declared: “The recovery starts now! This 15-page practical guide is an essential tool for better disseminating this message of support. It summarises all of the specific assistance measures rolled out through the various Recovery Plan Funds, which should benefit both businesses and individuals, focusing on support for the economy and the resumption of activity for SMEs, craftspersons and traders in the Principality.”
The guide shows that the measures are exhaustive, ranging from assistance with energy-efficiency upgrades for housing to improving business productivity using digital technology, not forgetting subsidies for the purchase of eco-friendly vehicles, including electric bikes.
Finally, Laurence Garino, Head of the Welcome Office, noted the particular attention that had been focused on the hard-hit Monegasque retail sector, and the solutions introduced by the Red and White Fund: “Despite a budget deficit, the State will nonetheless inject €4.6 million into the local economy through the award of a one-off, end-of-year bonus to all civil servants, State employees and civil service retirees, a total of nearly 8,000 people. The bonus will take the form of gift vouchers for businesses in the Principality. Added to this is the offer of four hours of free parking at the weekends and on public holidays for customers of Monegasque businesses, and the introduction of a new service for travel within Monaco provided by Taxis de Monaco. Traders will be able to offer this service to their customers thanks to subsidised vouchers. This will encourage consumption within the country,” she said.
The practical guide to economic recovery measures can be viewed and downloaded here.
Source: www.gouv.mc
