The European Commission authorised, on Thursday 24 November, a €1.22 billion Irish scheme to support companies across sectors in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The scheme was authorised under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended on 20 July 2022 and 28 October 2022.
The support will take the form of direct grants. The measure will be open to companies of all sizes active in all sectors that are affected by the current crisis, with the exception of credit and financial institutions.
To be eligible, companies must demonstrate that the average monthly unit price for either electricity or gas has increased by at least 50%, compared to the average unit price for the same month in the previous year.
Such businesses are eligible for aid of up to 40% of these additional costs. The scheme will initially run until 28 February 2023, but may be extended until 30 April 2023 at the latest.
In addition, the Commission adopted on the same day an Italian aid of €34.4 million to support businesses in the context of the war. The measure will be open to employers in the iron, steel, wood, ceramics, automotive and food sectors. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)