(ANSA) - BRUXELLES - The European Commission has approved under EU state aid rules Latvian plans to partially compensate energy-intensive users for charges paid to support renewable energy. The Latvian government sets aside for the programme a yearly budget of around 95 million euro and is estimated to benefit around 100 energy-intensive industries, covering the period from 2016 until 2021.

The Commission concluded that the scope of the beneficiaries under Latvia's plans meet the criteria under the EU state aid rules. The measure enables Latvia to "strike a balance between guaranteeing support to renewable energy and ensuring competitiveness of energy-intensive industries", and will contribute to strenghten the sector, "without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market", a statement says.

EU 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy allow Member States to grant reductions from contributions under certain conditions in order to maintain the global competitiveness of energy-intensive sectors or those exposed to international competition. (ANSA).