29. 6. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 159/7 
Notice pursuant to Article 19 (3) of Council Regulation No 17 (') 
Case No IV/33.151 — 'Jahrhundertvertrag' 
(90/C 159/04) 
1. On 1 June 1989, the 'Gesamtverband des deutschen 
Steinkohlenbergbaus' [General Association of the 
German Coalmining Industry — GVSt], whose 
registered office is in Essen, Federal Republic of 
Germany, notified to the Commission the 
'Supplementary agreement on the sale of German coal 
up to 1995', concluded on 23 April 1980 with the 
'Vereinigung Deutscher Elektrizitatswerke e.V.' 
[Association of the German Public Electricity Supply 
Industry — VDEW], whose registered office is in 
Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany, as a follow-up 
to the 'Agreement on the sale of German coal to the 
public electricity supply industry in the years 1978 to 
1987' concluded on 10 May 1977. 
2. Under the supplementary agreement of 23 April 
1980 in conjunction with the agreement of 24 March 
1980, coal procurement by the electricity-generating 
public electricity supply companies was extended to 
31 December 1995 and a total amount was agreed for 
the period from 1 January 1981 to 31 December 1995. 
The individual coal supply agreements are entered into 
between the individual mining companies (six in total) 
and the individual electricity supply companies (44 in 
total) that are parties to the 'Jahrhundertvertrag' 
agreement. 
3. The 'Jahrhundertvertrag' consists of the agreement 
concluded between the VDEW and the GVSt, an 
agreement between the 'Vereinigung Industrielle Kraft-
wirtschaft e.V.' [Association of the industrial producers 
of electricity — VIK] and the GVSt and an agreement 
between the Federal German Railways and the GVSt. 
However, the notification relates only to the agreement 
between the VDEW and the GVSt. 
4. The notification was carried out in response to a 
letter sent by the Directorate-General for Competition 
on 12 April 1989 suggesting that the parties to the 
agreement might consider notifying it formally. The 
GVSt takes the view that the supplementary agreement 
between the VDEW and the GVSt of 23 April 1980 does 
not require authorization under Article 85 of the EEC 
Treaty and therefore emphasized that the notification 
was purely precautionary in nature. At the same time, the 
GVSt applied for negative clearance or alternatively for 
exemption under Article 85 (3) of the EEC Treaty. 
5. The total amount which the electricity supply 
companies, each according to its quota, are required to 
purchase under the agreement principles of 24 March 
1980 during the 15-year period from 1 January 1981 to 
31 December 1995 is 511,5 million tonnes of coal units. 
The partial amounts specified for the period 1991 to 
1995 (third five-year period) amount to an average of 
(*) OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204 et seq. 37,5 million tonnes of coal units per year. The partial 
amounts stipulated for the period 1986 to 1990 (second 
five-year period) amount to an average of 34,6 million 
tonnes of coal units per year. 
In actual fact, the electricity supply companies did not 
purchase in full the quantities stipulated for the period 
1986 to 1990 under the agreement. As a result of nego­
tiations between the Federal Government and the parties 
to the agreement, it has been agreed in 1989 that during 
the third five-year period the electricity supply 
companies will only be obliged to purchase 34,4 million 
tonnes of coal units per year. 
6. The additional costs incurred by the electricity 
supply companies from converting German coal into 
electricity are to a large extent offset by grants from the 
'Ausgleichsfonds zur Sicherung des Steinkohleneinsatzes' 
[equalization fund for safeguarding the use of coal]; 
however, in respect of a certain proportion of the 
domestic coal amounts purchased, the electricity supply 
companies receive instead of the grants annual entit­
lement certificates for the procurement of 
non-Community coal. (In the Federal Republic of 
Germany, imports of coal from non-Community 
countries are restricted by law). 
7. The notified agreement between the mining 
industry and the public electricity supply industry was 
encouraged and recommended by the Federal 
Government, but not imposed on the parties, so that it 
cannot be considered to be part of the Law on the 
conversion of coal into electricity or any other Law or as 
a 'State measure'. The Commission views the agreement 
as an agreement between undertakings designed to share 
markets and sources of supply and falling under the 
provisions of Article 85 (1). 
8. Trade between Member States is affected, since, to 
the extent that the electricity supply companies are 
obliged to use German coal for the generation of elec­
tricity, the use of other primary sources of energy such 
as heavy fuel oil, natural gas or nuclear energy is 
excluded; however, the use of coal from other Member 
States does not in principle seem to be excluded, witness 
the fact that some quantities of coal from Houillieres du 
Bassin de Lorraine are used for electricity generating. It 
should be noted in this context that intra-Community 
trade in coal is of little or no significance. Trade between 
Member States is also affected since, to the extent that 
the electricity supply companies are obliged to use 
German coal for electricity generating, the import of 
electricity from other Member States is excluded. 
9. However, the agreement between the VDEW and 
the GVSt seems to justify exemption under Article 85 (3) 
subject to certain conditions. The abovementioned 
measures benefit electricity consumers and the general 
public since they serve to safeguard electricity supplies 
No C 159/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 6. 90 
and hence contribute to improving the generating and 
distribution of electricity. On the other hand, it is not 
evident that the amounts of German coal specified for 
generation of electricity under the agreement notified are 
actually indispensable to the attainment of these 
objectives and justify elimination of competition to this 
extent. 
10. The Commission therefore intends, also with a 
view to the creation of a genuine internal market for 
energy within the Community, to limit authorization of 
the agreement notified to the period up to 31 March 
1991, subject to the condition that the requirement 
imposed on the electricity supply companies to purchase 
German coal does not in the period 1 January 1990 to 31 March 1991 exceed a total of 42 millions tonnes of 
coal units; this is in line with the present position 
regarding the amounts of German coal actually supplied 
to the electricity supply companies. 
11. However, before the Commission takes a decision 
under Article 85 (3) on the abovementioned agreement, 
it invites all interested third parties to send their 
comments on this case within one month of the date of 
publication of this notice, quoting the reference 
W/33.151 — Jahrhundertvertrag', to: 
Commission of the European Communities, 
Directorate-General for Competition, Directorate C, 
rue de la Loi 200, 
B-1049 Brussels.