Brussels, 22/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 22 February, the European Commission authorised Romania to grant RON 1169 million (approximately €270 million) of public funding to National Hard Coal Company JSC Petrosani (CNH SA) for the closure of three uncompetitive coal mining units. It takes the view that this measure is in line with EU state aid rules.
Council Decision 2010/787/EU allows public authorities, subject to a number of conditions, to grant aid to the coal industry with a view to facilitate the closure of uncompetitive hard coal mines until December 2018.
National Hard Coal Company JSC Petrosani, a publicly owned company, is the only company producing coal in Romania. It currently owns seven coal production units and Romania has decided to close three of them, which are considered uncompetitive. One of the mines, Petrila Colliery, will close by the end of 2015 and the other two, Uricani and Paroºeni Collieries, by the end of 2017.
The Commission states that the closure plan submitted by Romania will result in a gradual decrease in the overall amount of aid granted to cover production costs. Moreover, the plan includes measures to mitigate the environmental impact of the production of coal. Romania has also committed to support miners who are to be laid off and their retraining in order to help them find new jobs outside the coal industry. All of this is in line with the Council decision. (OL/transl.rt)