Brussels, 03/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 2 October, the European Commission authorised France to pay EUR 996 million to its coal industry in 2002. The amount will cover the following financial measures: - aid to reduce activity intended to bridge the gap between the cost of producing coal and its sale price, in this case EUR 303.4 million; - aid to cover exceptional costs, not relating to current production (inherited liabilities), amounting to EUR 692.4 million. All the pits receiving the...