At today’s meeting, the Council of Ministers is to adopt a draft law on aid for enterprises incurring additional costs due to sudden increases in electricity and natural gas prices. Support will not go to everyone.
The Ministry of Development and Technology has prepared a draft act on the rules for the implementation of entrepreneur support programs in connection with the situation on the energy market in 2022-2024.
Minister Waldemar Buda himself is responsible for it. The government is expected to adopt the bill on Tuesday. As we read in the justification of the assumptions, due to the high dynamics caused by the geopolitical situation, it is crucial to provide appropriate support measures adapted to market conditions. However, the Act will not define the detailed rules of the program. The aid will only be provided to selected companies.
Who is the company support for?
Let us recall that the carbon supplement, and recently extended to heating in general , was introduced by law. The government for entrepreneurs will prepare aid programs in the form of a resolution – similar to the financial shield in times of a pandemic. They will define groups of entrepreneurs covered by a given government program due to their financial situation, as well as the operator responsible for the implementation of the program.
According to MRI , energy-intensive companies with the cost of purchasing electricity and gas amounting to at least 3% will be able to apply for support. production values and which operate in the sectors indicated by the European Commission in the Annex to the Temporary Framework as “sectors particularly affected by the crisis”. This includes production of steel products, ceramic tiles and tiles, fertilisers and nitrogen compounds, flat and household glass. This in turn means that the aid will not go to the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises. The planned amounts of support are:
- up to EUR 2 million – if the increase in energy and gas prices in the period February 2022 – December 2022 amounts to at least 100% in relation to the price incurred by the enterprise last year.
- up to EUR 25 million – in the event of incurring a loss on operating activities and meeting the condition of price increase.
For the program to start, consent will have to be given by the European Commission. Until the program is notified, state aid will not be paid.
Source: BusinessInsider
