BRUSSELS, April 15 (Reuters) - Ireland won approval from European Union antitrust authorities on Wednesday for its scheme to grant up to 500,000 euros ($660,000) per company hit by the liquidity crunch.
The aid, in the form of direct grants, reimbursable grants, interest rate subsidies and subsidised public loans, will be available to companies this year and next.
"The scheme is intended to increase possibilities to give timely and well targeted aid to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and large companies," the European Commission said in a statement.
Since the credit crunch deepened in September last year, the EU's executive Commission has approved similar plans in France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Luxembourg, Latvia, Austria, Portugal and Britain. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Dale Hudson)