The Slovak government will not be able to use European Union funds to subsidize household energy prices, according to a statement from the European Commission obtained by the Euractiv portal. This means that money for energy aid will have to come directly from the state budget.
Opposition parties are calling it a failure by Economy Minister Denisa Saková, while analysts say that more targeted assistance could save the government hundreds of millions of euros.
The government has promised households that use gas for heating around €435 million in support to offset high prices. Prime Minister Robert Fico initially claimed the funds would come from EU sources. However, after parliament approved the aid package last week, Minister Saková—of the Hlas party—acknowledged that only €17 million of EU money is available for administrative purposes. “We received assurances from the President of the European Commission that this energy aid could be covered by EU funds, particularly in areas where we risk falling behind next year. We are now seeking a way to use this money in line with the Commission’s rules,” explained the Minister.
But the European Commission maintains that, under current regulations, EU funds cannot be used to finance direct energy subsidies. However, according to Barbara Zmušková from the Euractiv portal, the European Commission offered us alternatives. “The money can be used, for example, to insulate buildings or develop renewable energy sources,” she said, adding that this would help the country’s long-term energy sustainability. “But we can’t say the EU paid for household subsidies,” concluded Zmušková.
Opposition MP Karol Galek from the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party says the Economy Ministry will have to increase the state budget deficit by another hundred million euros: “If the subsidy is 400 million euros, households will receive only 200. They’ll take 700 euros from one pocket and put a 200-euro coin in the other.”
Energy analyst Radovan Potočár from Energieportál suggests an alternative—refinancing EU-funded projects from the state budget, which could free up funds for energy support. According to him, this could release money for energy aid, but it would only solve the issue temporarily. “The government may need to scale back its plan to cover up to 90% of households and focus the help more effectively,” stated Potočár for Rádiožurnál, the main news program of public Slovak Radio.
He also added that, according to analyses by the Regulatory Office and Eurostat, fewer than 10% of Slovak households suffer from energy poverty. Targeting assistance to those families alone, he said, would reduce the total cost to just tens of millions of euros.
Source: Soňa Mačor Otajovičová, Slovenský rozhlas
