Decision 2010/787 - 2010/787/EU: Council Decision of 10 December 2010 on State aid to facilitate the closure of uncompetitive coal mines - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 336/24

Council Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002 of 23 July 2002 on State aid to the coal industry (2) expires on 31 December 2010.

The small contribution of subsidised coal to the overall energy mix no longer justifies the maintenance of such subsidies for securing the supply of energy in the Union.

The Union’s policy of encouraging renewable energy sources and a sustainable and safe low-carbon economy does not justify the indefinite support for uncompetitive coal mines. The categories of aid permitted by Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002 should therefore not be continued indefinitely.

However, in the absence of sector-specific State aid rules, only the general State aid rules apply to coal. In this context, uncompetitive coal mines, currently benefiting from aid under Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002, may no longer be eligible for aid and may be forced to close.

Without prejudice to the general State aid rules, Member States should be able to take measures to alleviate the social and regional consequences of the closure of those mines, that is to say the orderly winding down of activities in the context of an irrevocable closure plan and/or the financing of exceptional costs, in particular inherited liabilities.

This Decision marks the transition, for the coal sector, from the application of sector-specific rules to the application of general State aid rules which are applicable to all sectors.

In order to minimise the distortion of competition in the internal market resulting from State aid to facilitate the closure of uncompetitive coal mines, such aid should be degressive and strictly limited to coal production units that are irrevocably planned for closure.

In order to mitigate the environmental impact of the production of coal by coal production units to which closure aid is granted, the Member States should establish a plan of appropriate measures, for example in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy or carbon capture and storage.

Undertakings should be eligible for aid to cover costs which, in accordance with normal accounting practice, do not directly affect the cost of production. Such aid is intended to cover exceptional costs that arise from the closure of their coal production units. In order to avoid such aid from unduly benefiting undertakings that close only some of their production sites, the undertakings concerned should keep separate accounts for each of their coal production units.

In accomplishing its task under this Decision, the Commission should ensure that normal conditions of competition are established, maintained and complied with. With regard, more especially, to the electricity market, aid to the coal industry should not be such as to affect electricity producers’ choice of sources of primary energy supply. Consequently, the prices and quantities of coal should be freely agreed between the contracting parties in the light of prevailing conditions on the world market.

The application of this Decision should not exclude that aid to the coal industry may be found compatible with the internal market on other grounds. In this context, other specific rules, in particular those concerning...