On Tuesday 7 February, the European Commission approved a €100 million Slovenian scheme to support companies in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. This support was approved under the Temporary Framework for State Aid, which was adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended on 20 July and 28 October 2022.
The aid will cover part of the salary paid by the eligible beneficiaries to those employees who are placed on short-time work or have to temporarily reduce their working hours. The scheme therefore aims to preserve employment levels and avoid redundancies. The measure will be open to companies of all sizes and in all sectors, with the exception of finance and insurance and the processing and marketing of agricultural products. To be eligible, companies must demonstrate that their energy costs have increased by at least 1.5 times the 2021 reference price.
In addition, the Commission adopted on the same day: - support from Sweden to reduce peak electricity consumption in the context of the war in Ukraine; - a Finnish guarantee scheme (€15 million) to support electricity trading companies in the Åland region. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)