• State aid in 2017 amounted to almost PLN 41 billion. In 2018 - to PLN 26 billion.
• More and more money, for instance for investments, goes to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
• The largest amounts were given to: Spółka Restrukturyzacji Kopalń (Restructuring Mines SA), PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna (PGE Lignite Mining and Conventional Power Generation SA), and Telewizja Polska (Polish Television SA).

The President of UOKiK monitors state aid granted to enterprises. The forms of state aid include grants, loans, development funds, compensation or tax exemptions. Data are stored in the database available on the following website: https://sudop.uokik.gov.pl/home. Anyone interested may check who got the funds, when and how much. In 2017, public aid amounted to PLN 40.9 billion, which is almost PLN 16 billion more than in 2016 (PLN 24.93 billion). These amounts include aid granted to the transport sector (PLN 9.87 billion), however, the report and the press release show data without amounts given to this industry. The European Commission also uses this method in its summaries.

The value of state aid granted to Polish companies has increased significantly. This is because another pool of EU funds was made available in 2017. Support is granted in specific cases, as it generally affects competition and favours some companies over others. For this reason, all forms of state aid are supervised very closely. Without subsidies, many micro- and small companies would not have a chance to grow or invest. A cash injection from the state to companies also gives equal opportunities to people who have difficulty operating on the labour market, such as the disabled. It also stimulates the development of a weaker region and promotes modern technologies. The granting of support is, however, subject to restrictive regulations, says Marek Niechciał, the President of UOKiK.

Data for the last year are already available: in 2018, PLN 26.2 billion of state aid was provided to enterprises.

State aid in 2017 and 2016.

In 2017, the financial support granted under operational programmes co-financed from EU funds tripled and ultimately amounted to PLN 18.33 billion compared to PLN 6.3 billion in 2016. National funds amounted to PLN 12.66 billion in 2017 (compared to PLN 13.63 billion in 2016). In total, the most popular forms of aid granted to entrepreneurs, such as subsidies, compensation and tax credits, amounted to PLN 30.52 billion.

As far as institutions are concerned, the largest amount of state aid in 2017 was provided by the province marshals (PLN 4.12 billion), mainly for new investments in infrastructure and for research works, followed by the National Centre for Research and Development (PLN 4.03 billion), mostly for the development of innovative technologies and the financing of small and medium-sized companies starting their business) and the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PLN 3.17 billion, primarily for financial assistance towards payment of salaries for disabled people). These three institutions jointly granted almost 40% of the overall value of the aid.

Aid by the size of beneficiaries in the years 2016/2017

Although the state aid pool for the SME sector increased by PLN 5.5 billion (PLN 12.93 billion in 2017 versus PLN 7.35 billion in 2016), large enterprises received, as every year, more money (PLN 18.01 billion in 2017 versus PLN 12.58 billion in 2016). The major aid beneficiaries in 2017 were as follows: Spółka Restrukturyzacji Kopalń (PLN 1.63 billion) – for projects related to mine closure, reclamation, and protection against threats, PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna (PLN 1.57 billion) – for investment projects, compensation for termination of long-term contracts, Telewizja Polska (PLN 1.22 billion) – for compensation for lost subscription revenues, and Operator Gazociągów Przesyłowych Gaz-System (PLN 1.17 billion) – for investments in natural gas transmission networks.

Aid by provinces in the years 2016/2017

To present statistics in the best possible way, we calculated the share of beneficiaries of aid in relation to all enterprises registered in given provinces. In 2017, as in 2016, it was in the Province of Lubuskie where the greatest number of entrepreneurs (2.6%) out of all the registered in the Province received public money. This indicator was also high in the Province of Świętokrzyskie (2.2%), Warmińsko-Mazurskie (2.1%) and Podkarpackie (2%), while the lowest rate was noted for Mazowsze (0.5%) and Western Pomerania (0.6%). The average value of aid per one enterprise in Poland is PLN 7,916.5.

Aid in the transport sector in 2017

The value of aid granted to entities operating in the transport sector in 2017 amounted to PLN 9.87 billion and was mainly intended for compensation for concessionary fares or the financing of municipal transport. The largest support went to Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe in Warsaw (PLN 6.73 billion), PKP Intercity (PLN 860.7 million) and Przewozy Regionalne (PLN 533.5 million). In practice, this support will be spread over several years due to long-term transport contracts.

Reporting

According to the law, the President of UOKiK monitors state aid granted to enterprises in Poland. He also informs the European Commission about it, which ultimately agrees to the disbursement of EU funds. Our website has a state aid data search engine. It is available at: https://sudop.uokik.gov.pl/home. Anyone interested may check whether certain entrepreneur has already received support, who gave it and how much it was.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL