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COM (83) 731 
 
 
 
Vol. 1983/0260 
  
 
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Conformém ent au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983 
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique 
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, 
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classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit 
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Econom ic 
Communit y and the European Atom ic Energy Communit y (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as 
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243, 
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file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.  
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
Februa r 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen  
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgem einschaft (ABI. L 43 vom  15.2.1983,  
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. Septem ber 2003  
(ABI. L 243 v om 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit  
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der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.  
COMMISSION O F THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(8j) 731 final.
Brussels, 1. December 19&3·
Extension of the system for coking coal and coke  
for the Iron and Steel Industry in the Community
(Communication from the Commission to the Council)
COM(83) 731 final.

C -C  M  i
Extension o f the system fo r coking coal and coke 
fo r the Iro n  and Steel Industry in  the Community
1. In tro d u c tio n  and background
In the context o f the "Working programme on s o lid  fu e ls " the 
Commission had proposed to  the Council a "New system fo r coking 
coal and coke fo r the iro n  and steel in d u stry in  the Community .
The o b je c tiv e  sought under th is  proposal was to  support both coking 
coal production capacity in  the Community and the corresponding 
coking capacity at a level th a t w ill assure the p ro fita b le  or m arginal­
ly  u n p ro fita b le  operation o f mines and a ra tio n a l u t iliz a t io n  o f the 
coking p la n ts , w hile at the same time p ro vid in g  the iro n  and ste e l 
in d u s try  w ith a supply under reasonable and n o n -d iscrim in a to ry 
co n d itio n s.
To re a liz e  th is  o b je c tiv e  the proposed system should in  no case 
have lead to the postponement o f decisions on adaptations th a t are 
rendered in e v ita b le  by economic developments. I t  is  only on th is  
co n d itio n  th a t a temporary derogation o f the p ro h ib itio n  o f subsidies 
envisaged by A rt. 4 c) o f the E C S C  Treaty can be m aintained.
Present coking coal market conditions and th e ir probable e vo lu tio n  
over the next few years provide the o p p o rtu n ity  fo r both groups of 
undertakings to re th in k th e ir long-term  re la tio n s h ip s . A t the end 
o f a period planned to enable Community coal mines to  adapt to 
these new market co n d itio n s, the steel in d u stry should support comple­
te ly  the cost o f it s  supply o f b la st-fu rn a ce  coke.
The Commission had provided fo r a period o f 5 years to be accompanied 
by an i n i t i a l  reduction in  the tonnage q u a lify in g  fo r Community 
fin a n c ia l aid (from 14 to  10 m illio n  tonnes) and a subsequent 
re d uctio n  o f th is  tonnage at the rate o f 2 m illio n  tonnes per annum 
(d e g re s s iv ity ).
(1) C O M  (83) 54
(2) C O M  (83) 174 Final

2 -
In re la tio n  to the current system,»the Commission had proposed a  
marked change in  the method o f financing th is  a id . With a view, 
p a r tic u la r ly , to  answering a long-standing request by the European 
Parliam ent, i t  was proposed to have coking coal a id covered by the 
^ general budget o f the European Communities, thus abandoning the 
present system o f s p e c ific  financing from three sources . namely 
the E C S C  budget, six Member States and the iro n  and ste e l in d u s try .
To give e ffe c t to  the mechanism described above, two le g al instrum ents 
were necessary :
-  an E C S C  D ecision, based on A r tic le  95 E C S C  ;
-  a Council Regulation (EEC) based on A rtic le  235 EEC.
The examination by the Council o f the "new system" revealed d iffe re n ce s 
o f opinion on the scope and d uratio n  o f the proposed amendments which 
were on such a scale th a t the Commission recognized th a t i t  could prove 
im possible to reach agreement on it s  proposal. While continuing to  
emphasize the m erits o f it s  proposal but conscious o f the need to 
replace the e x is tin g  system before it s  expiry at the end o f the year, 
the Commission undertook to present a new proposal c a llin g  fo r less 
fa r-re a ch in g  reform ; the p rin c ip a l p oints cv th is  proposal were 
accepted by the Council during the meeting at which they were f i r s t  
presented.
2. Basic th in k in g  on the subject o f extension
The Commission re g re ts th a t it s  i n i t i a l  proposal was not taken up, 
e s p e c ia lly  in respect o f the method o f fin an cin g  and remains convinced 
o f the need to resolve the problem o f supplying the iro n  and ste e l in ­
dustry w ith coking coal w ith in  the context o f a coherent s o lid  fue ls 
p o lic y , on which several complementary Commission proposals have already 
been presented.
The Commission -considers th a t a s p e c ific  coking coal system w ill remain 
e sse n tia l fo r several more years i f  u n ce rta in ty and d is c o n tin u ity  
-  and e s p e c ia lly  the cre a tio n  o f a le g is la tiv e  vacuum -  are to be 
avoided in  th is  area w ith a ll the negative consequences th a t would 
otherwise fo llo w  fo r both the coal and ste e l in d u s trie s .
In the Commission^opinion, the extension o f the system must re st on 
the same fundamental p rin c ip le s  which in sp ire d  the in tro d u c tio n  o f the 
"new system" -  none of these p rin c ip le s  has been s e rio u s ly  ca lle d  in to  
question during discussions w ith the C ouncil.

3 -
In  p a r tic u la r i t  should be noted th a t the Community is  convinced that 
the long-term  maintenance o f the system is  no longer ca lle d  fo r on 
the groundsof s e c u rity  o f supply ; accordingly the two in d u s trie s  con­
cerned must s e ttle  fo r the fin a l dism antling o f the system. For th is  
reason the p rin c ip le  o f d e g re s s iv ity  has been introduced in  the legal 
instrum ent fo r extension o f the system, making an e ffe c tiv e  reduction 
o f the e lig ib le  tonnage in  the th ir d  year o b lig a to ry . I t  should also 
be noted th a t Decision n° 528/76/ECSC on fin a n c ia l aids in favour of 
the coal in d u s try  w ill cease to  have e ffe c t at the end o f 1985 thus 
enabling an o v e ra ll review o f coal in d u stry a id . This w ill be a very 
im portant review.
3. Procedure and p rin c ip a l components o f the instrument
A ll th is  leads the Commission to in it ia t e  the procedure provided under 
A r t ic le  95, 1, o f the E C S C  Treaty w ith a view to o btaining the unanimous 
assent o f the Council and the opinion o f the C onsultative Committee on 
a te x t to  replace the proposal contained in  document C O M  (83) 174 f in a l.  
This new te x t should also be forwarded to  the Parliament and the 
Economic and Social Committee.
The new legal instrum ent provides fo r :
-  a s lig h t increase in  the average rate o f sales aid to 3.6 E C U  per
tonne (5.10 E C U  fo r coastal in s ta lla tio n s  and 3.10 E C U  fo r other 
s ite s ) ; ' -
-  a re d uctio n  in  the c e ilin g  fo r intra-Community trade q u a lify in g  fo r 
Community sales aid from 14 to  10 m illio n  tonnes per annum fo r both 
1984 and 1985 ; the agreement to  fu rth e r reduce th is  tonnage fo r 
1986 ;
-  an amount o f sales aid esta b lish e d  at no more than 36 m illio n  E C U  
per year (in ste ad  o f 47 m illio n  as at present) ;
-  a corresponding reduction in  the c o n trib u tio n  o f the iro n  and steel 
in d u s try  to  6 m illio n  E C U  (instead o f 17 m illio n  as at p re se n t).
The f u l l  te x t o f the new legal, instrum ent is  given in annex.

AN N EX
D raft instrument
amending Decision n° 73/287/ECSC concerning 
coking coal and coke fo r the iro n  and ste e l 
in d u stry in  the Community (1)
A r tic le  1
Decision 73/287/ECSC is  hereby amended as fo llo w s :
1. A r tic le  1  b) is  replaced by the fo llo w in g  :
"b) a sales aid applying to  d e liv e rie s  made to  areas remote from the 
c o a l-fie ld  o f e ffe cte d  by way o f intra-Community tra d e . The rate 
o f any such aid may not exceed 5.10 E C U  per tonne o f coking coal 
in the case o f d e liv e rie s  to in s ta lla tio n s  which can be supplied 
d ire c t by sea or where, in  the case o f intra-Community tra d e , 
carriage by sea is  necessary , and 3.10 E C U  per tonne o f coal 
in a ll other cases. No scale adopted by a government s h a ll in tro ­
duce any element o f d is c rim in a tio n  in to  the aids re la tin g  to the 
d e liv e rie s  made by the coal undertakings. '
2. A r tic le  7 (1) and (2) are replacedby the fo llo w in g  :
"1 . The Community financing arrangements s h a ll cover an annual quan­
t i t y  o f coal amounting to no more than 10 m illio n  tonnes and 
an amount o f no more th a t 36 m illio n  E C U  per year fo r the years 
1984 and 1985. The maximum tonnage fo r 1986 w ill be revised 
downwards before the end o f 1985."
"2. The special fund s h a ll be financed annually as fo llo w s  :
a) The c o n trib u tio n  o f the European Coal and Steel Community 
s h a ll be six m illio n  E C U  ;
(1) The words or passages underlined show the amendments to  the te x t of 
the Decision c u rre n tly  in  force (see Commission communication O.J. 
N° C  36 o f 13.2.1980 p.2 subsequently amended by Decision n° 896/82 
ECSC, 0J n° L 106 o f 21.4.1982, p. 5 ).

5
b) The o v e ra ll c o n trib u tio n  o f the Member States s h a ll
amount to  no more th a t 24 m illio n  E C U  on the fo llo w in g
scale (in  M EC U )
Germany
Belgium7.75
3.25
France 7.00
Ita ly
Luxembourg3.00
1.50
Netherlands 1.50
c) The o v e ra ll c o n trib u tio n  o f the iro n  and ste e l in d u s trie s  
not re fe rre d  to  in  the second indent o f A r tic le  6 s h a ll be 
6 m illio n  E C U  ; th is  amount s h a ll be apportioned among the 
iro n  and ste e l undertakings on the basis o f th e ir  consumption 
o f b la st-fu rn a ce  coke.
The c o n trib u tio n  o f the iro n  and ste e l in d u s trie s  re fe rre d  
to  in  the second indent o f A r tic le  6 is  ca lculated on the 
basis o f the rate per tonne o f consumption a pp lica b le  to the 
other undertakings. "
3. The second paragraph o f A r tic le  13 s h a ll read as fo llo w s :
" This Decision s h a ll cease to  apply on 31 December 1986.
This Decision s h a ll be binding in  it s  e n tir e ty  and d ir e c tly  a p p li­
cable in  a ll Member S tate s".
This Decision s h a ll enter in to  force on the day o f it s  p u b lic a tio n  in the 
O ffic ia l Journal o f the European Communities and s h a ll apply w ith e ffe c t 
from 1st January 1984.
This Decision s h a ll be binding in  it s  e n tire ty  and d ir e c tly  app lica b le  
in  a ll Member States.A r tic le  2