Brussels, 23/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission authorised two aid packages to the coal industry: EUR 300,000 to the Principality of the Asturias (Spain) to a private coal company and the other £900,000 to the British government for ten coal production units.
In Spain this aid will be for the period from 23 July 2002 to 31 December 2004 and aims to improve working safety in mines and to protect the environment by adapting environmental standards for the Community's technical standards for workers in the mineral-extracting industries both on the surface and underground, cleaning up polluted mining installations and improving technical qualifications for these workers. The Commission is of the opinion that the aid is compatible with the proper functioning of the internal market. The Commission has also authorised the United Kingdom to grant aid for the period from 1 January 2002 to 23 July 2002, which should help to make the mines viable, enabling them to continue their activities beyond 2002 without the need for public subsidy. The aid is compatible with the proper functioning of the internal market. The Commission believes that the aid (covering the difference between the production costs and the selling price of coal freely agreed between the contracting parties in the light of the conditions prevailing on the world market for coal of similar quality from third countries) is in conformity with the plan for modernisation, rationalisation and restructuring of the United Kingdom coal industry, which it had approved. This is limited to the period from 17 April 2000 to 23 July 2002 and stipulates that aid may be granted only to mines demonstrated to be economically viable in the long term and that the amount granted to each mine will not cause delivered prices for EU mined coal to be lower than those for coal of a similar quality from third countries.