On Friday 6 October, the European Commission announced that it had approved a new Polish aid programme worth around €1.2 billion (PLN5.5 billion) to support energy-intensive businesses faced with rising energy costs due in part to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.
The measure, notified under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (see EUROPE 13138/1), will be open to energy-intensive businesses active either in industrial production or in sectors such as mining, quarrying and manufacturing, or in the particularly affected sectors listed in Annex I of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework.
The European Commission stresses that the overall aid per energy-consuming company active in the industrial production sectors will not exceed 50% of the eligible costs, with a ceiling of €4 million per beneficiary.
In addition, energy-intensive businesses operating in particularly hard-hit sectors will be eligible for aid of up to 80% of eligible costs. For this category of company, aid will be capped at €40 million.
The aid must be granted before 31 December 2023 in the form of an advance to energy-intensive companies operating in the sectors particularly affected, and before 31 March 2024 to energy-intensive companies operating in the industrial production sectors. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)