The Austrian government on Sunday blamed the EU’s “endless bureaucracy” for the delay in approving a common rule to support industry in member states, in the context of high energy prices, and announced that it would activate its own subsidy system starting Monday, EFE reports.

“We will no longer wait for EU approval. The EU’s authorization of the subsidy for industrial electricity has been postponed week after week,” criticized the conservative Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer in a statement, according to Agerpres.

The Austrian minister said that the “endless bureaucracy” was hindering investment and activity in European industry and called for a faster decision.

The ministry will therefore open the application portal on Monday, allocating 150 million euros for this year and retroactively until 2025.

The subsidies are intended for companies of all sizes that produce paper, pig iron, steel and ferrous alloys and that consume more than one gigawatt-hour of electricity per year.

In addition, the company must have an energy audit and an environmental management plan and allocate at least 80% of the subsidy to improving energy efficiency in its production.

The ministry expects around 60 companies, with a total of 30,000 employees, to apply for this aid.

On March 20, European Union leaders urged the European Commission to “present without delay” measures to address the current oil and gas prices, which have skyrocketed since the start of the Middle East war, and to reduce electricity bills for industry in EU member states.