Some small businesses eligible for up to €3.1 billion in energy support from April

The Cabinet is setting aside a maximum of 3.1 billion euros for support for "several tens of thousands" small and mid-sized businesses that consume a high amount of energy. The Cabinet approved the package during the regular weekly Council of Ministers meeting on Friday.

The support will only take effect next spring to give more time to complete the final details of the plan, and to then test the intervention against European rules. The earliest companies will be able to apply for support is expected to be in April. Until then, the tax authorities will be more flexible with requests for tax deferrals as a way for companies to use more revenue to cover costs.

In addition, banks have indicated that they will be willing to provide loans in a "faster and more flexible" way. The scheme gives the banks more certainty that a small or mid-sized business will be able to repay the loans.

Minister Micky Adriaansens of Economic Affairs said that she wants the funding to help what are "essentially healthy companies." This mainly concerns bakers, butchers and horticulturists, which are often relatively small companies that use high amounts of gas and electricity. They "in general want to save money and become more sustainable, but at the same time they cannot avoid high energy consumption due to their type of production process or service."

The minister said in an explanation that a conscious decision was made to support a "very select group." Adriaansens mentioned as an example, "The bakery that is struggling with an accumulation of problems" due to recent setbacks, but is financially healthy.

Details of the scheme already leaked out on Thursday. Companies will be eligible if their energy costs correspond to at least 12.5 percent of their turnover. The support will only go to medium-sized and small companies with a maximum of 250 employees, and which use 5,000 cubic meters of gas or 50,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. Companies that meet the conditions can be reimbursed for half of the increase in energy costs compared to the threshold price of 1.19 per cubic meter of gas and 35 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity.

However, a maximum amount of 160,000 euros per company will also apply. Due to European rules, a maximum of 62,000 euros applies to agricultural companies, such as greenhouse horticulturists who are also at risk of getting into trouble due to the high energy prices.