Brussels, 03/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission decided that the German coal industry can receive state aid of EUR 2 billion (DEM 4 055 million) for the period 1 January 2002 to 23 July 2002.
The aid is broken down into operating aid (DEM 1 917 million); aid for the reduction of activity (DEM 785 million); aid connected with the scheme to maintain the underground mining workforce (Bergmannsprämie) (DEM 33 million); and aid to cover exceptional charges (DEM 1 320 million). The ECSC Treaty and Decision 3632/93/ECSC, which authorised certain types of aid to the coal industry, expire on 23 July 2002. The Commission can therefore only authorise aid covering the period from 1 January 2002 to 23 July 2002. Aid covering the period from 24 July 2002 can only be authorised once the Council has adopted the new proposal for a regulation on state aid to the coal industry following the expiry of the ECSC Treaty. This proposal provides that aid covering the period from 24 July 2002 to 31 December 2002 will remain subject to the rules and principles of Decision 3632/93/ECSC. The new measures provided for in the draft Regulation would therefore not be implemented until 1 January 2003, so as not to create difficulties as a result of the application of two aid schemes in the same year.
In approving the aid, the Commission particularly took into account the need to mitigate as far as possible the social and regional consequences of the restructuring measures and the reduction of activity in the Community coal industry. While the 1997 coal compromise provided for coal production in Germany of 37 million tones in 2002, the major reductions in activity in recent years will have the effect of reducing production in 2002 to less than 29 million tonnes.