Ljubljana, 24 April (STA) - The government has adopted a new report on state aid, covering the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. It shows the structure and balance between the main aid categories remained largely unchanged over this period, with aid for environmental protection and energy retaining the largest share. In 2023, aid was mostly disbursed in the form of subsidies.
Aid for environmental protection and energy amounted to EUR 182.66 million, representing 25.86% of all state aid granted in 2023. This was followed by employment aid, which totalled EUR 146.08 million that year, primarily allocated for employing individuals with disabilities and adapting workplaces for them, the Finance Ministry said.
A significant volume of state aid, EUR 109.73 million, was allocated to the transport sector, mainly for rail transport. Aid volumes were also notable for agriculture (EUR 65.08 million), research, development, and innovation (EUR 51.58 million), sports and multi-purpose recreational infrastructure (EUR 54.95 million), and natural disasters and extraordinary events (EUR 41.69 million).
The majority or 80.4% of state aid in 2023 was disbursed as subsidies. Reductions in social security contributions accounted for 15.93% of all aid, tax exemptions and exceptions for 2.83%, while soft loans and guarantees represented 0.63%, shows the report, adopted on Thursday.
According to the ministry, comparison with the EU indicates that Slovenia's volume and structure of state aid are comparable. The report also includes assessments of the effectiveness of the allocated state aid, compiled from summaries submitted by the aid providers. The overall impact of the state aid granted is assessed as positive on average.
