Decree-Law No. 15/2020 creating a credit line with subsidized interest addressed to operators in the fishing sector.

This Decree-Law creates a credit line with subsidized interest addressed to operators in the fishing sector. Fishing activity is regulated by the Common Fisheries Policy which aims to ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long term and managed in a manner consistent with obtaining economic, social and employment benefits, contributing to the supply of food products. The Decree-law creates a credit line with subsidized interest addressed to operators in the fishing sector. The credit line is intended to provide financial means for the acquisition of factors of production, for working capital or treasury, namely for the settlement of taxes, payment of wages and renegotiation of debts with suppliers, credit institutions or other entities authorized by law to grant credit. The measure referred to in this article is created under the temporary framework for state aid measures in support of the economy in the current context of the COVID -19 outbreak, established in Commission Communication C (2020) 91 of 20 March 2020, as amended by Commission Communication C (2020) 112 of 4 April 2020. Individuals or legal persons who meet specific requirements, including those legally qualified to perform fishing, aquaculture, processing and marketing activities, fishery products, etc. can apply for this credit line.
The credit is granted in the form of a repayable loan by credit institutions or other entities authorized by law to grant credit that enter into a protocol with the Agriculture and Fisheries Financing Institute, IP (IFAP, IP), in which a fee is established at a maximum interest rate.