Report: New state aid rules offer big emitters €2 billion windfall

(EurActiv, 2 Apr 2014) Big energy-guzzling companies will get a handout of up to €2 billion under proposed new state aid rules due to be finalised by the European Commission by 9 April, according to an analysis by the Öko Institute, which EurActiv has seen.

The analysis says that industry's contributions to financing renewable support schemes planned under the new guidelines could be slashed by a third of current revenues.

“This is clearly a gift to Germany and if industry is going to pay less, the consumer will have to pay more,” said the Green MEP Claude Turmes . “The commission will effectively be bankrolling windfall profits for big carbon emitters.”

The complicated new EU rules follow a Commission investigation into the market-distorting potential of Germany’s energiewende transition to a renewable-powered economy, which has been fuelled by feed-in-tariffs.

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EurActiv, 2 Apr 2014: Report: New state aid rules offer big emitters €2 billion windfall