EU approves 5 billion euro loan guarantee to Renault

The European Commission approved a 5 billion euro ($5.4 billion) loan guarantee on Wednesday to French automaker Renault group to reduce the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

The Commission, which supervises competition policy in the European Union, has temporarily eased its regulations to permit EU countries to support their economies that are set to go into recession because of the lockdown measures implemented for controlling the spread of the coronavirus.

The Commission had already approved a general French guarantee scheme permitting 70% loan coverage in March. The Renault plan was submitted separately as the French state offers loan coverage of 90%, the Commission said.

The guarantee is subject to particular restrictions, such as that it cannot support a loan exceeding 25% of the automaker’s 2019 turnover and that it last no more than six months.

Coronavirus has so far infected more than 3,193,886 people and killed more than 227,638 people worldwide.