Background information

To address the high costs of energy resulting from the war in Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic (MH SR) created a support scheme for selected entities of public administration affected by high energy prices.

The purpose of this measure is to ensure that selected entities of public administration, churches and religious societies can retain their employees, continue to pay their bills, and maintain their liquidity and cash flow. On the basis of Act No. 71/2013 Coll., these organisations can apply for the provision of subsidies within the scope of the MH SR. The measure follows the case State aid to cover energy payments for companies .

Content of measure

A subsidy may be provided to cover the increased costs of natural gas and/or electricity. A subsidy under this scheme can be provided up to 80% of eligible costs. The total amount of the subsidy may not exceed €200,000 per applicant per month of the eligible period. The eligible period lasts from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.

A subsidy based on this scheme can be provided no later than 30 June 2024. However, the subsidy can be paid out until 31 December 2024. The total amount of allocated resources is €210 million.

The authorised beneficiary must meet certain criteria:

• must have settled financial relations with the state budget
• is not subjected to bankruptcy proceedings
• has not violated the ban on illegal employment in the previous three years
• has no social security or health insurance arrears

Entities with an established electricity and /or gas consumption point are eligible for this measure.

Use of measure

No data on the subsidies provided has been published yet.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Other businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government EU (Council, EC, EP)	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Unknown	Unknown

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

From the autumn of 2022, employers' organisations have been appealing to the government to help businesses pay their increased energy costs. The discussion in October 2022 at the Economic and Social Council (a tripartite body) was significant, where the government promised to prepare measures to supplement the already agreed Memorandum on not increasing electricity prices in 2023. As part of the collection of measures, the Ministry of Economy also prepared a measure for energy subsidies for public utilities sector.

Views and reactions

At the tripartite meeting 11 July 2022 (Economic and Social Council of the Slovak Republic), support for businesses was discussed in connection with the compensation of electricity and gas prices. On 24 October 2022, the entire discussion was devoted to the topic Compensation of high energy prices for business entities. The Public Sector Assistance Scheme was also discussed. There was agreement on the highest possible support for various types of businesses.

Sources

• 08 December 2022: Zákon č. 71/2013 Z.z. o poskytovaní dotácií v pôsobnosti Ministerstva hospodárstva Slovenskej republik (www.slov-lex.sk)
• 01 January 2023: Dotačná schéma na podporu vybraných subjektov verejnej správy a cirkví (energodotacie.mhsr.sk)