EU approves 1.3 bln euros in aid for Danish self-employed

The European Commission said on Wednesday it had approved a Danish scheme worth around 1.3 billion euros ($1.41 billion) to help compensate self-employed workers who are facing the economic shock of the coronavirus outbreak. The Commission's anti-trust chief Margrethe Vestager said the scheme was adopted under EU state aid rules to cover up to three-quarters of the loss of turnover of self-employed workers with as much as 3,000 euros per month, per person.

"The self-employed are hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak ... The economic impact of the pandemic is severe," Vestager said in a statement, saying that the Commission, the EU executive, was working with all 27 EU governments to help alleviate the effects of the crisis. The aid scheme in Denmark will run until June 9 this year. ($1 = 0.9236 euros)