On Thursday, 22 December, the European Commission green-lit a €3 billion Polish aid scheme aiming to support companies that are active in the Polish gas market in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The measure will be open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies that are active in the Polish gas market—in particular, sellers of last resort and entities legally obliged to sell natural gas on the gas exchange market.
The aid (subsidised loans) will be granted and administered by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK).
The amount of individual aid per beneficiary will be equal to either 15% of the beneficiary’s average total annual turnover over the last three closed accounting periods or 50% of the energy costs incurred over a 12-month period preceding the application for aid.
When beneficiaries can justify that they operate in sectors that are particularly affected by the effects of the current crisis, the amount of the loan may be increased by a 12-month period for large companies that need to provide financial collateral for their trading activities on energy markets so as to cover liquidity needs derived from these activities (and by a 6-month period for both SMEs and large companies for liquidity needs). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)