Food service support cash ready for May

A support package for restaurants, cafes and bars is ready for distribution in May, Secretary General for Trade and Consumer Protection Panagiotis Stampoulidis said on Thursday, speaking to private TV station Skai.

Food service reopens on Monday in outdoor spaces only and without any music. Last Saturday Finance Minister Christos Staikouras had spoken of the preparation of a 330-million-euro package.

Stampoulidis said the package of measures was ready, with some technical issues needing to be resolved in order for the relevant platform to open and disbursement to begin.

“It is an additional support package, it is not the only support package,” he said, noting that its aim was to help businesses start up again, alongside the returnable advance process. He added that the food and drinks service sector had received the lion’s share of the cheap state loans program known as the “Deposit To Be Returned,” as well as almost all the other measures that have been implemented.

Stampoulidis underscored that the sector’s reopening will not extend to businesses within shopping malls and other enclosed spaces before May 14.