Parliament confirms EUR 81m in aid to vulnerable groups, businesses

Ljubljana – The National Assembly unanimously endorsed on Wednesday two pieces of legislation that will provide emergency cost-of-living aid to the most vulnerable population groups and to businesses hit hard by high gas and electricity prices.

As part of a EUR 41m package for the most vulnerable groups, some 63,000 households with 103,000 individuals plus 7,400 disabled will be eligible for one-off aid of EUR 200.

The group includes some 54,000 recipients of welfare payments, including the working poor, and 9,000 pensioners whose income is so low they receive a security allowance.

The aid will be distributed between November and the end of March, whereby EUR 27 million will be paid out this year and EUR 14 million next year.

The payments will have no strings attached and recipients will be allowed to use the money whichever way they see fit.

Coalition deputy groups stressed that this was just one in a series of measures to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis.

The opposition backed the bill despite warnings that the eligibility criteria are very narrow, insisting that many who are at risk of poverty have been left out.

The second aid package, worth EUR 40 million, is for companies that need help paying higher electricity and gas costs, with EUR 20 million available this year and EUR 20 million next year.

Two types of aid respectively capped at EUR 500,000 and EUR 2 million per beneficiary will be available for the financing of higher energy costs.

This aid will cover at least 30% of electricity or gas costs provided that energy prices are at least twice above last year’s average. A maximum of 30% of total costs can be covered.

A third type of aid is set aside for energy-intensive companies which will be eligible only if they are operating at a loss. In this case, up to 70% of their costs will be covered.

Companies that have access to regulated gas and energy prices – mostly small and medium-sized enterprises – are not eligible.

In a last-minute amendment proposed by the opposition, aid will also be available to primary producers of agricultural products and the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

The package is in line with a temporary EU Commission framework that allows member states to derogate from state aid rules in order to react to the high costs of energy.

The aid has been welcomed by businesses, but the corporate sector says much more will be needed.

The government has said a bigger aid package would be put in place for next year when more companies are expected to have problems due to the expiry of long-term contracts under which many still pay relatively low prices of electricity and gas compared to current market prices.

The post Parliament confirms EUR 81m in aid to vulnerable groups, businesses appeared first on Slovenia Times.