Government to consider strategy of stopping Covid state aid

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The government should start considering how to stop state support in Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity) said at the government meeting April 20, LETA reported.

The Cabinet of Ministers today supported the Finance Ministry's proposal to allocate additional EUR 126.5 million for support measures in Covid-19 crisis. So far EUR 320 million have been earmarked for the purpose.

Kariņš said that this funding is 'borrowed money" from international markets.

Finance Minister Jānis Reirs (New Unity) said that Latvia is approaching the set "threshold" when the government debt reaches 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Reirs voiced concerns that if the epidemiological situation deteriorates in the autumn, it is not possible to predict the ability of the state to continue providing support to those stricken by the Covid-19 crisis.

The PM said that as a number of restrictions have been eased, it should be assessed where state support should continue to be provided.

"We should consider how to stop this support - gradually or suddenly. The state will not be able to subsidize business indefinitely," he said.

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