Commission approves Czech, French, Dutch and Slovak amendments to ETS indirect cost State aid schemes
The purpose of the schemes is to reduce the risk of energy-intensive companies relocating to countries outside the EU with less ambitious climate policies, resulting in an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions by compensating them for higher electricity prices due to the impact of carbon prices (‘indirect emission costs’) under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
The amendments approved consist in the following:
- For the Czech Republic, France, and the Netherlands, the scope of their measures is extended to include additional sectors. Slovakia’s scheme will be amended to exclude oil & gas companies, which were previously included.
- For the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Slovakia, the maximum aid intensity that can be given for sectors that were included in the original schemes is increased from 75% to 80%.
- The Netherlands and Slovakia will increase the total budgets of their respective schemes: from EUR 834.6 million to 3.7 billion for the Netherlands, and from EUR 250 million to EUR 710 million for Slovakia.
The amendments to the schemes were assessed under EU State aid rules, in particular the ETS State aid guidelines, and the Commission found that they are necessary and appropriate and limited to the minimum necessary and having a limited impact on competition and trade in the EU.
The decision will be made available under the case numbers SA.123662 (the Czech Republic), SA.122969 (France), SA.122999 (the Netherlands) and SA.123428 (Slovakia) in the State aid register.
For more information see the Commission’s PR.