On Thursday 16 March, the European Commission approved a €650 million Slovenian aid package to support businesses facing rising energy costs as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The scheme has been approved under the Temporary Framework for State Aid for crises and transitions, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023.
The Slovenian aid consists of two measures: - limited amounts of aid; - aid for additional costs due to exceptional natural gas and electricity price increases.
Under both measures, the aid will take the form of direct grants. The measure will be open to companies of all sizes and sectors, with the exception of the financial and insurance companies.
The aim of the measure is to cover part of the increased costs of natural gas and electricity, and the heating and cooling of products directly from them. These aids have been validated. For the first measure, the support will not exceed €2 million per beneficiary. For the second measure, the overall aid per beneficiary will not exceed 50% of the eligible costs, with a maximum of €4 million. Beneficiaries incurring operating losses may receive further aid, not exceeding 40% of the eligible costs and up to a maximum of €100 million. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)