Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community - Convention on the Transitional Provisions - Part Three - General safeguards - Chapter I - General provisions - Readaptation - Article 23

1. If in consequence of the establishment of the common market some undertakings or parts of undertakings should be compelled to discontinue or alter their activities during the transitional period defined in Article 1 of this Convention, the Commission shall, on application by the governments concerned, assist as provided below in ensuring that the workers do not have to bear the brunt of the readaptation and in affording them productive employment, and may provide non repayable aid to some undertakings.

2. On application by the governments concerned, the Commission shall take part, as provided in Article 46, in studying the possibilities for re employing redundant workers in existing undertakings or through the creation of new activities.

3. The Commission shall facilitate, in the manner laid down in Article 54, the financing of programmes submitted by the governments concerned and approved by itself for the conversion of undertakings or for the creation, either in the industries within its jurisdiction or, with the assent of the Council, in any other industry, of new and economically sound activitiescapable of reabsorbing the redundant workers into productive employment. Subject to the approval of the government concerned, the Commission shall give preference to programmes submitted by undertakings which have to close as a result of the establishment of the common market.

4. The Commission shall provide non repayable aid towards:

(a) the payment of tideover allowances to workers, where undertakings are closing altogether or in part;

(b) the payment of allowances to undertakings to enable them to continue paying such of their workers as may have to be temporarily laid off as a result of the undertakings' change of activity;

(c) the payment of resettlement allowances to workers;

(d) the financing of vocational retraining for workers having to change their employment.

5. The Commission may also provide non repayable aid to undertakings which have to close as a result of the establishment of the common market, provided that this state of affairs is directly and solely due to the fact that the common market is confined to the coal and steel sectors, and is leading to a relative increase in the production of other Community undertakings. The aid shall be limited to the amount required to enable the undertakings to meet their immediate liabilities.

The undertakings concerned must make all applications for aid through their governments. The Commission may decline to provide any aid to an undertaking which has not informed its government and the Commission that a situation was developing which might lead it to close or change its activity.

6. The Commission shall make the provision of non repayable aid under paragraphs 4 and 5 conditional upon payment by the State concerned of a special contribution at least equal in amount, unless an exception is authorized by the Council, acting by a two thirds majority.

7. The financing arrangements laid down for the application of Article 56 shall apply to this Article.

8. Assistance under this Article may be provided during the two years following the end of the transitional period by decision of the Commission with the assent of the Council.