ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(81)810
Vol.1981/0227

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(81)810 final
Brussels.8January1982
O
■^
ti'tllJif
MEMORANDUM
ONTHEFINANCIAL AIDAWARDEDBYTHEMEMBERSTATES
TOTHECOALINDUSTRYIN1981
(Communication fromtheCommission totheCouncil)
C0M(81)810final

TABLEOFCONTENTS
CHAPTERI
Introduction 1
CHAPTERII
Thesituation onthecommonmarketforcoalin1931andthetrends
infinancial aidtothecoalindustry 4
1«Thesituation onthecommonmarketforooal 4
2.Thefinancial situation ,oftheooalindustryinthe
Community 7
3«Thetrendsinaidsin1981 9
4.Compatibility ofthefinanoial aids .plannedfor1981
withtheproperfunctioning ofthecommonmartcet 15
CHAPTERIII
Conclusions 20
Annex
Survqyoffinancial aid?,plannedfor1981andexamination oftheircompatibility withtheprovisions ofDecision528/76
I.Aidsnotrelatedtocurrentproduction A/l
II.Finanoialaidsrelatingtoourrentproduction A/9
Tables

CHAPTER I
I
INTRODUCTION
1.ThisMemorandum examines thefinancial aidfor "thecoalindustry planned
bytheMemberStatesin1981fromthepointofviewofitscompatibility
1)withprovisions ofCommission Decision 528/76/BC3Candwiththeproper
funotioningofthecommonmarket.
2„The1981Memorandum followsthesamepatternasthatofthepreviousyear.
Themainsectioniadevotedtotheeconomic andfinancial problems ofunder­
takingsandtothecompetitive situation onthecoalmarket.Thecompatibility
ofaidstocurrentproduction withtheproperworkingofthecommonmarket
pursuanttoArticle3('l)ofDecision 528/76isexaminedonthebasisofthese
data.TheAnnexdescribes individual measures andtheircompatibility withthe
otherprovisions ofDecision 5^8/769
3,UnderArticle2ofDecision 528/765theCommission receivedinformation re­
gardingaidmeasuresfor1.981fromtheOoversiaett'fce ofth©following MemberStates,
(a)theGermanGovernment ^
inaletterdated5.March1981
(b)thePrenchGovernment®
inaletterdated83fey1981
(c)theUnitedKingdomGovernment .
inaletterdated16June1981
(d)theBelgianGovernment ,
inaletterdated23July1981
4.Itisevidentfromtheforegoing thattheMemberStateswerelateinsending
information for1981totheCoauuiSBionj thisshouldhavebeensubmitted in
NovemberoflastyearpursuanttoArticle2ofDecision ^2d/j6eThishas
^OJNoL63of11March1976,p.l«
I

-2-
ι
delayed completion oftheMemorandums Therelevant Commission department has
also taken longer than usual toprepare theMemorandum because ofthedelay
inreceiving information whioh isrequired tooheok that national aidmeasures
were acceptable#
There were tworeasons forthis delay t
(a)Governments generally hadtotake account ofparticular factors ofuncer­
tainty incalculating aidfor1981 .Therapid rise inprices ontheworld
coal market which hashadrepercussions ontheprioes andreturns for
Community ooal and,inturn ,onsubsidies andtheexchange rates between
thedollar andnational currencies ofcoal-producing Member States has
oreated uncertainty whioh hascaused governments toadopt acautious approach
incalculating thelevel ofaidmeasures .
(b)Speoial circumstances have been responsible fordelays inBelgium saidthe
United Kingdom .Owing tothethreat ofaminers *strike intheUnited Kingdom .
»
subsidies hadtobecompletely revised inthespring .TheBelgian Govern­
ment hadtorestructure itsfunding system foraidtothemining industry to
keep theoost ofsubsidies tothepublio purse aslow SUBpossible .This
question will bedisoussed inmore detail below .
5.Where theCommission obtained knowledge from thereports ofMember State
Governments ofeoonomio facts whioh areoovered bytheobligation ofpro­
fessional secrecy assetoutinArticle 47oftheECSC Treaty ,these have
not been inoluded inthis Memorandum .

Incalculating theamountofaidpertonnefor19°lfthefollowing output
wasusedasabasis(milliontonnes,tat)}
FederalRepublicofGermany 93.6
Prance 17•5
UnitedKingdom 125.0
Belgium 6.1
TOTAL 242.2
Forconverting theaidamountsexpressed innationalcurrencies intoECU,
thefollowing exchangerateswereusedt(averageforfirsthalfof198l)
1ECU»DM2.55
-FF'6.01
-UK£0.54
-BFR41.5

CHAPTERII
THESITUATION ONTHECOMMON MARKET FORCOALIN1981AM)THETRENDS
INFINANCIAL AIDTOTHECOALINDUSTRY
Thesituation onthecommonmarketforooal
ThisMemorandum describes onlythemostsignificant featuresofenergyand
coalmarketdevelopments in1981,specifically thosewhiohaffeotaidmeasures
andthecompetitivity ofCommunity coal.Thefiguresrefqrtoestimates
availableatthetimeofwriting(August1931).
»
In1981therewillbeafurtherslowingdowningeneraleconomic expansion in
theCommunity compared withtheprevious year.RealGDPwillproblably drop
slightly(-0,6$)withacorresponding effectontotalprimaryenergyconsumption !
thisisexpeotedtobe1to2%lowerthanin1980.Asregardsindividual energy
sources,oilconsumption isexpeotedtofallsignificantly buttheconsumption
ofnuclearenergywillriseslightlyj ooalconsumption willprobably remain
atthesamelevelordropslightly.
Theseotoralpatternofoverallooalconsumption willprobably changeonly
slightlyin1981.Powerstationdemandforcoalwillincreasemarginally and
household demandforooalwillhardlychangeatall,while"otherindustries "
willprobably oonsuipethesameamountasin1980.Thisconsumption trendwill,
however,beoffesetbyadropintheamountofooalusedincoke-ovens
'(-3milliontonnes),cokesaleshavingstifferedbecauseofthecrisisinthe
steelindustry.
Community ooalsupplieswillfallin1981andproduction isexpeotedto
dropbysomemilliontonnes)importswillprobablyremainattheir1980
level.
» - ■<.
•./••

PitheadstocksofCommunity coalwillriseagainin1981bysome5million
tonnestoover44milliontonnes^"\Ifookestocks-whichwillalsorisein
1981by2,4milliontonnes-areincluded ,totalooalandookestooksheld
byCommunity producers willreach58milliontonnesbytheendoftheyear.
Thistrendshowsthatthereisanupwardtrendinconsumption ontheCommunity
coalmarketbutthatinthefaceofcompetition fromimported ooal,Community
ooalisfindingitdifficult toexpanditsmarketswhichwouldavoidafurther
inorease inpitheadstocks.
«
Iftheregional andgeographical differences *inconditions ofcompetition which
affectCommunity ooalthroughtransport costsandinfluence firms!salespolicies
arediscounted ,therewasageneralincreaseinpricesin1980ontheworldcoal
market 1thisisboundtohaveabeneficial effectonthecompetitive positionin1981.
ofCommunity ooal/Thefollowing trendsemergefromthainformation obtained
bytheCommission onworldmarketpricesforooali
TableA
1»Importai coalprices
(Community average) US3pertonne
Quarterly
avérais
I1980
II1980
III1980
IV1980
I1981
II1981Powerstation ooal
Jfree^-at-frontier
CIFprices)
46.43
48.52
51.46
54.44
60.21
63.54Asat
1.1.1980
1.4.1980
Î.7.1980
1.10.1980
1.1.1981
1.4.1981
1.7.1981Cokin,?coal
(ARA.CIFpri"
oes)
68.50
69.00
69.20
69.55
75.70
80.05
84.35
Inoluding strategio stooksintheFederalRepublioofGermany

-6-
2.Exchange ratesa/jainsttheUSDollar
1USD-
Quarterly
averages M FFEES;UKL
I-.1980 1.77 4.I4 29.-0.44
II1980 1.81 4.21 29.-0.44
in1980 1.77 4.12 28.- O.42
IV1980 N1.91■4.4I 31.-0.42
I1981 2.08 4.85 34.-0.43
II1981 2.27 5.41 37.-0.48
Thefiguresinthesetwotablesshowthattherehas"beenarapidrisenotonly
inworldmarketcoalprioes "butalsoinexchangeratessince1980.Inpurely -
arithmetical terms,thepriceincrease andexchangerateohangesactedtogether
inraisingworldmarketprioesinnational currencies forpowerstationandooking
coalbetweenthelastquarteroflastyearandthesecondquarterofthisyear•
j TableB
Worldmarketprioesforcoalinnational currencies
(POWERSTATION COAL)
Community Quarter s IV1980 II1981Percentage in-
average orease
Expressed inUSDpertonne 54.44 63.54+16-7
η ItDMpertonne 104·– 144.-+38.5
It »»FFpertonne 240.- 344.-+43«3
ft ηHFRpertonne 1688.- 2351**+39*3
η ι»UKLpertonne 22.86 30.50+33.4
COKING COAL
Community Asat1 1.10.1980•¡i 1.4.1981
average
Expressed inUSDpertonne · 69.55 80.05 +15.I
ff ItDMpertonne 133.- 182.-+36.8
?» itFFpertonne 307.- 433.-+41.0
ff itBFRpertonne 2156.- 2962.-+37.4
ft ItUKLpertonne 29.21 38.42 +31.5
Thelevelofpricesin1981oomparedwiththatattheendof1980hasanimportant
influence ontheadjustment ofprioesforCommunity ooalandthecalculation of
aidin1981.

Price increases expressed innational currencies were slightly higher for
power station coal than forcoking eoalj over aperiod ofsixmonths ,they
were oftheorder of30and Ifthecoal producers intheCommunity hadbeen
inaposition totake advantage ofthis andincrease their returns accordingly ,
theamount ofsubsidy needed in1981 would have been leas than in1980 ,asmining
costs didnotincrease by30~40^C «However ,such anincrease inreturns from
Community coal was impossible for tworeasons ;First ,theterms oftrade asbetween
national currencies andtheUSdollar swung back inthedollar 'sfavour inautumn
1981 ,bywhich time thedollar haddropped Vy$>from thepeak ithadreached in
summer 198l 0Theworld market prices expressed innational currencies dropped
correspondingly astheworld market price forcoal indollars hashardly changed®
Secondly ,under thecontracts toonoladed with purchasers ,theproducers cannot
make price changes (alignments )continually }3–6months 'notice normally has
tobegiven *Astherise iathedollar covered ashort period ofonly 3-4months ,
theproducers were able toianprove their returns only slightly ,ifatall*They
war® therefor® unable tostand siptocompetitive pressure fr-o® imported coal oa
their ownin1981 andaidishsnoe required ifthey aretosurvive financially *
Thefinancial situation ofthecoal industry intheGoni^un itj
Complete calculations farcosts andreturns in1930 have been obtained from
undertakings ,thus making itpossible to0© !spare trends with theprevious year ,

-8-
Financial situation oftheundertakingTable C
Production costs'**' Returns Difference"^'
ECU/t increase EOU/t increase ECU/t
1979 19S0 1" 1979 .1980 Ί, 1979 1980
Federal Republic
ofGermany66.- 74.- +12.1 59,- 66,- +11.9 -7.- –8.-
Belgium 93.-j
;100.- +7.5 43.- 47.- +9.3 -50.- -53,-
France
United Kingdom **^68.- 76.- +11.8 43.- 53.- +23.3 -25.- -23.-
43.- 63.- +31.3 41.- 53.- +29.3 -7.- -10.-
1)Total costs including capital service anddepreciation
2)Including opencast mining
3)Thelosses pertonne arenotfully comparable with thesubsidies pertonne shown
inTable 2intheAnnex ,which were calculated inaccordance with themethod
laid down inDecision 528/76,because ofthewayinwhich subsidies areentered
incompany accounts .
Itcanbeseen that production costs have risen -exoept intheUnited Kingdom -byaround
8to12^,Generally speaking ,thefactors determining this trend have been theeffects of
inflation andthediscrepancy between therise inoutput permanshift (aCommunity average
of1.2j£ compared with 1979 )andthewage increases .IntheUnited Kingdom there wasamuch
higher rise incoats which wasduetoparticular circumstances caused byvarious factors .
including theeffects ofhigh inflation .
Although thepattern ofreturns varied from onecovintrytoanother ,thegeneral trend was
forearnings fltmCommunity coal tofollow world market prices in1980 ,Ascanbeseen from
Table Aonpage 5,coking coal prices ontheworld market remained virtually static between
thefirst andlast quarter of1980 ,butsteam ooal prices hadalready risen appreciably by
thethird andfourth quarters .
With theexception ofFrance ,thediscrepancy between costs andreturns hasledtoa
deterioration inearnings .Price movements ontheworld market thus failed toimprove
Community firms •earnings in1980 .This confirms theconclusiccs reached inthe1980 Memo­
randum ,

-9-
Atthetimeofwriting,noexactfiguresforproduction costsandreturns
in1981wereavailable .Afurtherincreaseinproduction costsonthesame
scaleasinprevious yearscanbeexpected asthefactors whichcausedproduction
coststorise(increaseinmaterials costs,wagesandinterest )willcontinue
unchanged in1981.Itisdifficult topredictthetrendinreturnsforCoamunity
coalfor19Sl.Thereienowacompletely newsituation® Therelatively continuous ,,
butmoderate increase inprioesontheworldcoalmarketinrecentyearsgaveway
toarapidincrea.seinprices,especially iath*>firstsixmonthsof1981,and
thiswasconsiderably accentuated bychangesintheexchangerates.Thetrendhas
beenreversedinthesecond ,halfof3,981asthedollarhasproppedinvSiue,As
alreadystatedabove,theproducers arefindingitdifficult toa-djuatquicklyto
suchdevelopments® S&tiajatiag thereturns,lossesandaidsfortb©Beoondhalfofthe
yearisalsomoredifficult aaa-result# X:o.g«ts.eral (itmaybeaasuiaedthat,compared ,
with1980,thes&raingysituaiioa ia1981hasiroprovnd .slightlyin.afewcse^sonly*
3®Financialaidgrant-sibyMeraberSta!;"^.jojthec_oal_indus ,'sr2'-in»91
AidsgrantedunderArticles 4and5ofXtecieion528/76arecompatible withthecom­
monmarket,provided theydonotesoeedcertainlicnits*Airf.p Article4
forsocialsecuritybenefitsaidthosewe&erArticle 5tohelpcoverinherited
1liabilitieso Therelevant explanations aretohefooadiatheAbe®x©apagas A1to
17®Theyshowthatpermissible aidlimitswerenotexceeded.
••

-10-
ThefiguresareinTable1oftheAnnex)theyshowthatin1981,incomparison
with1980,thereweresomeincreases .Asregardssocialmeasureswithinthe
meaningofArticle4»"theincreases (+4«3$)aretheresultoftheconstantly
deteriorating ratio "betweenthetotalnumberofmenemployed aadthosereceiving
unemployment benefits andincreases inpensions®
Theriseinthecostofooveringinheritedliabilities Kith.inthemeaningof
Article5(+4»7$)istheresultpartlyoffurtherpitclosuresandrationali­
zationmeasures andpartlyofincreased pricesandoostsinsomecategories of
inheritedliability (oostsforclosures,drainage,pensions,concessionary
coal,etc), '
1
Aidstocurrentproduction arethosedirectandindirect measures whichare
definedinArtioles ^to12ofDecision528/76andwhiohprovidethecriteria
forjudgingtheproperfunctioning ofthecommonmarket.Detailsofthese
measuresandwhattheyoostareavailableintheAnnex(pageA7etseq*and
Table2),
» »
I•
TableDbelowprovides anoverallviewofthetrendsinaidsenvisaged in1981
vis-4-vis1980, 1

-11-
TableD
Breakdown ofaids
Totalsum Amountspertonne
million ECU ECU
Í980 ,1981 1980 1931
FederalRepublic of
Germany
Belgium .Prance '
UnitedKingdom1.098.7
298.2
461.4
287.41.162.3
281.6
404.2
845.711.75(1)
47.33
25,64
2.Λ212.42(1)
46.16
23.10
6.77
Community 2.145.7 2.693.8 8.87 11.12
ofthetotalBumsthefollowing
wereallocated tos1.
directmeasures
aidstoookingcoal
indireot measures24.4
844.9
I.276.440.0
844.2
1.809.60.10
3.49
5.280.17
3.49
7.47
breakdown
Art.7(investments )
Art.8(Personnel )
Art.9IStocks)
Art.10(strategicreserves)
Art.11(Powerstationcoal)
Art.12(Losscoverage)399.1
82.3
20.3
54.3
19.2
762.1309.2
98.7 ·
25.O
50.6
25.O
1.301.1I.40
0.34
0.08
0.22
0.08
3.161.28
O.4I
0.10
0.21 ·
0.10
5.37
(l)Whilethesumof11.75SGUpertonne(l9ß0)and12.42ECUpertonne
(1931)fortheFederalRepublicofGermanyinthisinternational
comparison following theprovisions ofDecision 528/76iscorrect
statistically andaccording tothedefinition ,itisonlypartlyvalid
foragenuinecomparison withtheotherCommunity countries .This
isduetothethirdelectricity -from-coallaw,whichlaysdownthat
Germanpowerstations mustbuysteamcoalfromthecoalindustryat
break-even prices.Theadditional costincurred bytheelectricity |
companies usingCommunity coal(mainlyGermancoal)isoffsetbyin­
creasingelectricity prices.In1990,thi3offsetlevyamountedto !
someCM2100million (8.90ECUpertonne).AfigureofDM1800million )
(7.54ECUpertonne)isestimatedfor1981.ThissumiBnot,however,
includedinthelistofaids,sinceitisnotastateaid.
Thetableshows,fortheCommunity asawhole,thataidplannedfor1981willexceed
thatfor1980.lieincreaseisappreciable withtotalaidfor1981(almost2700million
ECU)amountingto25.5$morethaninthepreviousyear}theincreasepertonneisof
thesamemagnitude (25.4^).

Thecoimtr-y--by~countrycomparison showsthatthemcreass inoverall Community
aidandtheamountpertonne1balmostsolelyattributable totheincrease
inUnitedKingdomaidtocovertheNGB'soperating losses.Aidhaseitherbeen
reduced (BelgiumandFrance)orremainedattheearnslevel(FederalRepublic
ofGermany)intheothercountries#
United Kingdom
TheUnitedKingdomcoalindustry wasinaparticularly difficult situation
inthespringofthisyear#Theeffectsofthegeneral economic recession on
theccalmarket,pricesandstookshavecausedseriouscashproblemsforthe
NGB.Suchproblems areparticularly acuteinanindustry whichinvestsheavily#
Sincetherearele,galrestrictions onincurring furtherlargedebtsbyborr*owing ?
specialmeasures havehadtobeconsidered#
1981.
InFebruaryJtheNGBsubmittedtotheemployees 5representatives (NationalUnion
ofMineworkers orNUM)aplantoincreasesalesandproductivity andkeepinvest­
mentincheck.TheNCB'sintention in"presenting theplanwastoreducethe
capacity ofpitsinwhichthegenuinely workable coalreserves hadbeenexhausted
orwhichcouldnolongerbeexpeoted tomakeanycontribution tothelong-terra
supplyowingtotheirdifficult geological miningconditions andooncomitant
highproduction costs#TheNUMcountered theNGB'splanswiththethreatofa
strikewiththeresultthattheUnitedKingdomGovernment agreedtorelievethe
NCB'sfinancial plight# TheNGBsubse<iuently withdrewitsplanstocloseunecono­
micalpits.

-13-
Theoutcome ofthese negotiations wasthat aidtotheNCBhad tobefixed at
amuoh higher level for1981 than for1980 owing toa)thecontinued operation
ofpits making heavy losses ,b)wage increases ando)higher prioes formining
materials andequipment oaused byinflation *
Belgium
InBelgium there will beaslight reduction inaidmeasures for1981 asthere has
been animprovement inreturns ;thepits intheSouthern coalfield which were
making heavy losses have been closed .Bespite this reduction inaid ,theBelgian
Government hasbeen unable in1981 tofind alltherequisite funds from itB
budget owing toitsserious publio finance problems .Afinanoing company
(Societe Nationals pour leFinancement deaCharbonnages orSNFC )washence
setup*tofindfunds tocover theBelgian ooalindustry ?alosses t>yraising
loans guaranteed bytheBelgian Government .This hastemporarily relieved the
Belgian national budget without affecting thegranting ofaidtothecoal in­
dustry . ''
TheBelgian coking coal subsidies planned for1981 have been included inthe
Memorandum forthesake ofcompleteness ,asthey arecovered "bythecriteria
ofDecision 73/287#Atthetime ofdrawing upthis Memorandum ,theCommission .
department responsible hadnotyetcompleted itsstudy ofthese aids toBee
whether they donotexceed thepermissible level *
France
Aidmeasures planned inFrance for1981 aresome 10$lower than those for1980 .
Theolosure ofuneconomical pits andrelatively larger increases inprioes
Boyal Deoree of30Maroh 1981 ,Moniteur Beige of16April 1981 ,p*4711 *

r14-
thaninproduction costshadalreadyhelpedtoreducelossesin]930$this
trendisexpectedtooontinue in1931.
Itshouldbenoted,asregardsFrenchaidfor1931,thatalargeproportion
ofookingcoalsubsidies underDecision 73/237isincludedinaidtocover
lossesunderArticle12ofDecision5-8/76.TheCommission ise+tllexamining
thecokingcoalaids.
Federal Republic ofGermany
Themeasureaplannedfor1981intheFederalRepublic ofGermanyunderArticles 7
to12ofDecision 528/76arelowerthanthosein1930.Investment aidforall
firms-withtheexception oftheEschweiler Bergwerksverein whichhadtobe
givenspecialaidtofinanceurgentrestructuring measures-hasbeenreduced 9
Inthecaseofthe"miner'spremiura' ,thereistobeginwith,amathematical in­
crease,becausetheraisingofthispremium fromDM5toDM10pershiftin
April1930onlyappliedfor8monthsin1980butmustbecalculated for12months
in1981®The5*6%increaseinthetotalamountofaidawardedtotheGermancoal
industryincomparison with1980issolelyduetothefactthatcokingcoal
aidhasbeenincluded intheMemorandum forthesakeofcompleteness butis
infactsubjecttothespecificrulesofDecison73/237.Itisimpossible tosay
atpresentwhethertheDM1800millionincokingcoalaid(seepageA/10inthe
Annex)willactuallybepaid.Negotiations/^'urrently beingheldbetweenthe
Germancoalindustry andtheFederal Government .Thereisapossibility that
alowersummaybefixed.TheFederalGovernment hasmadeitknownthatcoking
coalaidwillbeheavilycutin1982forbudgetary reasons.
••/•♦

-15-
Thereasonsforandciroumstances surrounding theaidmeasures ineaoh
countryin1981havebeenexplained above.IntheAnnex(seeChapterIIfpage
A/7)thesemeasuresarediscussed fromtheviewpoint oftheircompatibility
withthevariouscriterialaiddowninDeoision 528/76*However,allaids
mustnow"beexaminedforcompatibility withtheproperfunctioning ofthe
commonmarketassetoutinArticle3(l)ofDecision 528/76.
4.Onmnritihi1itvnfthefinancial aids .plannedfor1981withtheproper
functioning ofthecommonmarket
(a)Generalaspects
a(l)Theamountsofaidpertonnefor1981citedinTableDonpage11
showthattheUnitedKingdomamountisfairlysmall,andthatthereis
alargegapparticularly betweenitandthosegrantedbyBelgiumand
Prance 5theGermanamountliesroughlyinthemiddle.Thisdifference
inamountisnottoberegarded asindicating adistortion ofthe
competition betweenooalproducers .Essentially ,thecommonmarketin
coalconsistsofnational marketswhichrarelygiveris«tocom­
petition fromseveral Community producers .Thereaxeonlyafew
"centestedwareasinwhichseveralproducers offertheirproduots atthe
sametime,butthequantities ofooalsoldintheseareasarerelatively
small.Alignment byCommunity producers onthepricesofotherCommunity
producers onlyappliedto0.1milliontonnesin1980,Inviewofthis,
itmaygenerally beassumedthatcompetition willnotbedisrupted in
1981becauseofthedifferences intheamountofaidgranted.
%
4(2)SuppliesofcoalandooketotheCommunity in1981canbeassured
atalltimes.Pitclosuresin1981aspart >ofrationalisation measures
willhavenoeffectonsupplies *.Pitheadstooks,ourrentproduction

-16-
and.importsenabledthedemandtobemet.Itistherefore clearthataids
willnotjeopardize suppliesin1981.
a(3)Aocordingtoresultssofaravailable ,therewillbeaslightdropinintra-
Community coaltradingin1981.Thetotalfor1981willbesome15million
tonnes.
TableE
Coaldeliveries to
1.000t
FederalRepublic
ofGermany
1980
198110969
10340Belgium
421
455France
HHTIWT IM
341
410United Total
3723
3765(1)15454
14970
l)Cautiousestimate-theactualtotalwillprobably behigher.
TheTableshowsthatBelgianandFrenchdeliveries tootherCommunity countries are
extremely lowandconsequently ha^elittleimpactoncompetition betweenCommunity
producers .
m
Deliveries ofGermancoal,whiohaccountfor70%oftotaldeliveries/intra-Community
trade,mainlyconcerncokingcoalforcoke-ovens inotherCommunity countries .Inthe
pastfewyearsthesedeliveries havesteadilydeclined-in1978theystillstood
at15.5milliontonnes-havingbeenaffeoted bythecrisisinthesteelindustry }
therealcompetitive problems arehencenotbetween Community producers butinre­
lationtoookingcoalimported fromnon-member countries .
UnitedKingdomdeliveries inintra-Community trade,whichincreased sharplyin1980
(in1979theywereonly2milliontonnes)becausetheNOBhadtocontaintherise
inpitheadstocksandimproveitscashposition,competevirtually solelywithim­
portedsteamcoalfromnon-Community countries.TheNCBismakingparticular efforts
thisyeartoincreaseitssales.

-17-
Itcanbeconcluded fromtheforegoing thataidmeasures havelittlein­
fluenceonintra-Community tradeandcompetition betweenproducers .
a(4)Outputisbeingfurtherrationalized in1981.Twounprofitable pitainthe
Frenchcoalfields oftheNord/Paa-de-CalaisandCentre-Midi ,arebeingolosed,
thepaceoftheolosures beingsoarrangedthatregional andsocialproblems
willbeavoided )thesameappliestotheolosure .ofapitinBelgium'sSouthern
ooalfield .Forreasonsofrationalization ,threepitsarebeingclosedin
theUnitedKingdom,j
I
Theaimofinvestment aidandsubsidies grantedunderArticle 5ofDecision
528/76istorationalize Community coalproduction ,removetheburden
resulting frompitclosures andmaintainthecoropetitivity ofthosepits
selected toensurefuturesupplies.
(b)Particular aspectsaffectin ,?thetrendsincoalprices
Changesincoalpricesinanumberofselected Community coalfields canbe
seeninthefollowing Table,
TableF
Trendincoallistprices
(innationalcurrencypertonne)
Steamcoal Cokingcoal
Date1.10,80 1.4.81 1.10.81 1.10.80
Federal Republic
of5--.r~.ny
RAG
Saar
AachenDM
DM
DM230.50(1)245.50(1)257.00(1)217 .-232.50244.50
230.-(2)240.-(2)271.00(2)227 .- 237.-267.00- 227.- 238.-259.001.4.31 1.10.81
3el<riun 3FR3250(1)3250(1)3600.-3020 30483280.- j
I
France
Lorraine FF419.-(1)486.-(1)486·–(1)385.- 436.-1
436.-
UnitedKinrioni
Scotland
SouthYorkshireUKL
UKL44.90(1)
41.10(1)50.10(1)48.40(1)5O.IO
48.40(1)47.50
(1)42.9O•·
··1
1
•· I
•· ι
High-volatile ,nuts5
2High-volatile ,nuts2

\
-18-
Ascanbeseen from theTable ,list prices forCommunity coal have risen ,but
the extent oftheprioe increases seems tobeless than indicated inTable B
(seepage 6),Until thesummer of1981 list prices inBelgium hadhardly risen
andhadincreased byaround 10to15/6intheother countries compared with
October 1980 ,whereas world market prices innational currencies (Table B)rose
bybetween 20and^Ofofrom thefourth quarter of1980 tothesecond quarter of1981 .
This comparison doe3 notallow oftheconclusion that theproper functioning of
*
thecommon market hasbeen disrupted cryartificially lewprices forCommunity
coal which would constitute indirect aids toindustrial coal consumers ,which are
forbidden byArticle 3(l),subsection 3,ofDecision 528/76.
Thelist prices inTable Fare ,inallcases ,higher than theworld market prices
innational currencies shown inTable BeDespite their relatively rapid rise ,
1980/81world market prices have notovertaken list prices ,buttheprice advantage
enjoyed byCommunity coal in1980 hasbeen reduced .Itshould benoted that list
prices cannot beimmediately adjusted tochanges inproduction costs ormarket
data *,Administrative problems ,price clauses incurrent supply contracts andthe
publication ofprices caus# delay® which penult inati>8e lagofatl©aat six
months between theavailability ofnewmarket data ari«i.Mg andaction onitby
Community producers .
This applies only toacomparison oflist prioes andworld market prices .In
practice theactual prices calculated ,byCommunity producers arelower than thelist
prices .Itisonly onthis realistic basis that theproper functioning ofthe
common coal market can beassessed#

-19-
TheCommission iskeeping awatch onthecurrent trends inprices ofsteam coal
andcoking coal both ontheworld market and onthecommon market forcoal .As
stated above (page 7)»there were price increases ontheworld coal market in
1981 which were accentuated inthefirst half oftheyear bychanges inthe
terms oftrade asbetween thedollar andthenational currencies ,only tobe
offset again inthesecond half oftheyear .TheCommission assumes that the
producers have done allthey can toaligh their actual earnings onthis trend
andthat industrial users ofcoal have notreceived anyindirect aids which would
notbepermitted under theprovisions ofArticle 3(l)ofDecision 528/76.
G.Conclusions about the proper functioning ofthe common market
Onthe basis ofthe above considerations ,the Commission concludes that there is
. *
unlikely tobeanydisturbance oftheproper functioning ofthecommon market
asaresult ofthe aid.s gra&ted bytheMember States .
••/••

-20-
CHAPTER III
Conclusions
1.TheCommission hasexamined whether themeasures proposed byeach Member
State for1981 comply with theprovisions ofDecision 528/76.Itconcludes
that theaids proposed bytheMember States relating toourrent production in
1981 docomply with theprovisions ofDecision 528/76.
2.Initsanalysis ofcoal market trendy ,theCommission hasestablished that
there will belittle change 1inthequantity ofcoal consumed intheCommunity
in1981 .Thecompetitive position ofCommunity coal hasimproved slightly as
aresult ofthesteep rise incoal prices ontheworld market .Aids have there­
fore diminished inBelgium andFrance andstabilized intheFederal Republic
ofGermany .Only intheUnited Kingdom wasaconsiderable increase inaid
necessary asaresult ofspecial circumstances .
FortheCommunity asawhole ,aidhasrisen bysome 25«5$ from 2145*7 million
ECU (1980 )to2693.8 million ECU (1981 )jtheaverage amount ofaidpertonne
intheCommunity hasrisen from 8.87 ECUto11.12 ECU.Thedifferences between
theamounts ofaidpertonne ineach coal-producing country have lessened .

I
I
ANNEX
Survey offinanoial aidawarded "bytheMember States tothe
coal indus trvin1981
Examination ofthecompatibility ofthemeasures envisaged with the
provisions ofDecision No,528/76/ECSC
Tables

i
i
Aids notrelated tocurrent production [
t
These aids arerelated tosocial measures andtheoovering ofinherited i
liabilities deriving from earlier pitolosures , ;
> ι
F
A.Description andassessment offinancial measures inthe social security
field 1
Artiole 4ofDecision No.528/76/ECSC states that contributions byMember
States tothefinancing ofsocial seourity benefits shall beconsidered
compatible with theCommon Market ,provided that ,forundertakings inthe
coal mining industry ,they bring theratio between theburden perminer in
employment andthebenefits perperson inreceipt ofbenefit into line
with thecorresponding ratio inother sectors .
Thefollowing section isoonc $rnfid solely with theamount offinancial
aidgiven inthesooial sector and,where appropriate ,with oases where
thelimits setoutinArtiole 4ofDecision No.528/76/ECSC have been
• *
exceeded .
A.l)GERMANT ,FRANCE .BELGIUM
InGermany DM8 ,550million areenvisaged in1981 tocover thedeficit in
thesurviviig dependents pension scheme ofthemining industry asawhole ,
some 80#-IM6 .84Omillion -ofwhich goes totheooal industry .
1
Information provided bythe French Government shows that state aid tothe–––– t
French ooal industry inthesooial sector in1981 will amount toF!F8 .520.9 million
Thefollowing table gives details !
i
!■
i-
ι
ίA/1
••/•t

A/2
SouroeExpenditure
finmillion PP) Purpose
State
General
System
General
systera
General
System
State
General4143.0
507.0
1345.0
935.0
843.9
747.0Disability and old-age pensions insurance
Regular contribution amounting to22%of
wages subject tocontribution ,andadditional
State adjustment
Disability andold-ag epensions insurance
Regular contribution tocover part of
"exoeptional expenditure "(amount fixed bylaw)
Insurance against industrial accidents and
occupational diseases
Regular repayment ofinherited liabilities
Sickness insurance -
Treatment benefits
Disability and old-age pensions insurance
"Exceptional expenditure "incoal mining industry
within themeaning ofArticle 4ofDecision No.
528/76
system sions
TOTAL 8520.9.1
State contribution tothefinancing ofsocial security benefits
fortheBelgian mining industry maybeestimated atBfrs ,29.229*1
MioBfrs for1981 .Thefollowing table gives details
Source Amount of
State subsidies
finmillion BFRS )Purpose
State
State
State
State
TOTAL13743.4 (1)
2074.0
5243.3
8I68.4
29229.1
(l)Commission estimateOld-age pension and insurance ofsurviving
dependants <1
Old-age pension and insurance ofsurviving
dependants
Contribution tocover the déficit
disability pensions insurance
Disability pensions
Occupational diseases
50$oftheexpenditure arising from miners 1
I
I

A/3
Calculations by "theCommission reveal "that Germany ,France andBelgium .
have notexceeded thelimits setinArticle 4ofDecision No.528/76?
-InGermany theundertakings 'actual welfare expenditure isDM328million
(6,0$ )higher than thenormal expenditure defined inArticle 4®
-InPrance theState subsidy toCharbonnages deFranoe (VP843«9 million )
causes actual social expenditure andnormal n.-ijo.
-InBelgium theundertakings *actual sooial expenditure isBfre 292*6 million
higher than thenormal expenditure defined inArticle 4<>
A.2)BRITAIN
Apart from thegeneral ^Social security system -into which thecoal industry
isintegrated ~almost allbranohes ofindustry inBritain have insurance
systems oftheir ownfrom which pensions arepaid toretired workers .The
British coal industry also hassuch asupplementary system intheform ofa
pension fund ,into which theBritish Government will pay 49»3million inthe
198l/82ooal marketing year® However ,this sumisonly tobalance outtheratio
between working andretired miners ,sothat thelimits setout inArticle 4
ofDecision No«528/76arenotexoeeded 0
A.l)Summary offinancial measures inthesooial security sector
AsTable 1intheAnnex reveals ,State intervention inthesooial security
sector ofthecoal industry in1981 will be4*3% higher than in1980 andwill
total 4996million ECU .

A/4
B«Description andassessment ofthefinancial measures tocoverinherited
liabilities
PursuanttoArtiols5ofDecision 528/76measurestakenbyMemberStates
toassisttheundertakings tocoverthecostsarisingfrompitclosures
whicharenotrelatedtocurrentproduction andthesaleofcoalshall
becompatible withtheCommonMarketprovided thattheamountsinvolved
insuchmeasures donotexceedtheamountofsuchcosts,i.e.theinherited
liabilities .Sumsinexcessthereofrepresent directaidtocurrentproduction
andaretoberegarded ,asaidspursuant toArticle 7to12ofDecision
No,528/76.
B»l)GERMANf
For1981theFederal Government hasplannedthefollowing measures to
coverinherited liabilities 1
-closurepremium 3°<>0
-dispensation fromobligations arisingunder 0o3
theEqualization ofBurdens Law
Sub-total 38.3
~aiaforwater–control costs 150.0
-aid.tocoverexpenditure resulting from
contraction 75*0
-aidtocoverinherited liabilities 168,0
-aidtocoverRuhrkohle AG'sclosure £8*0
write-offs TOTAL 479.3
(»188,0MioECU)
Alltheaboveitem represent liabilities inherited bytheunder­
takings,i.e.thoseresulting fromtheclosureofpitsin.previousyears,
andtherefore donotrelatetocurrentproduction .
Thesemeasures areaidsalreadygrantedinprevious years.
ThroughtheAktionsgeraeinsohaftDeutsoher Steinkohlenbergbau (AotionAssociation
ofGermajiCoalMiningUndertakings ),theFederalGovernment paystheunder­
takingsconcerned apremiumof20DM/tofannualoapaoityforallclosures.
Theseclosures aremadetorationalise produetioss Theaidcoversonlyasmall
fraction ,oftheactualcoststhathavstobebornebytheundertakings in
connectionwiththeclosures®
«99/êl

A/5
Thepublicauthorities willpayDM0,3million totheegua]izationofbudenrs
fundasaidtocovertheequalization ofburdenspayments ,andtherebyrelease
closedpitsfromtheirobligation .Theleveloftheaidisequivalent tothe
costscharged#
ThesumofDM150,0millionforwatercontrolcostswillbepaidtotheRuhrfwinimuiV -UWTHtt -B,--; !!■■■'IIiigmirti
miningindustryspecifically tocoverthefinancial burdenrisingfromclosures
since31December 1966,Asaresultofpitclosures,theRuhrcoalminingindustry
boreaheavyburdenintheformofconstantly-rising oontribu.tio.ns towateroon-
trolassociations andthePumpgemeinschaftRuhr(Ruhrpumpingassociation ).
Theaiddoesnobexceedtheactualadditional coststobebornebytheunder­
takings.
ThesumofDM75®0milliontocoverexpenditure resulting fromcontraction
isadditional totheclosurepremiums which(asmentioned above)donot
coveractualcostsofclosures 0Thismeasureconcernsliabilities arisingout
ofpitclosuressinca31Decraeber 19?2»Theaidisspreadoveraperiodoffive
yearsintheformofaflat-rate paymentofDM30foreverybonnebywhichannual
capacityisreduced,butnot'exceeding actualcostsbornebytheundertakings
asaresultoftheclosvix-es «
ThesumofDMl68o0millionisaidfor-coveringinheritedliabilities concerning
thoseinherited liabilities arisingfrompitclosures before1January 1973#
Therelevant Germanlawsensurethat,theaiddoesnotexceedactualliabilities
bornebyundertakings e
ThesumofDM4800millionasaidtowardsclosurewrita-offs onlyconcerns
Ruhrkohle AG0InpreviousyearstheRanrkohle AGliaahadtoincludedepreciation
forassetslostasaresultofpitclosures whichcouldnotghowever,bein­
cludedinth8profitand.lossaccountsincethiswouldhavebankrupted theunder­
taking.Aspecialitemwastherefore introduced ontheaasestssideofthebalanoe#

A/6
Taking into consideration thefinancial position oftheundertakings ,the
public authority hastherefore agreed totake over DM480million ofthe
total sum–payable in10equal annual instalments –DM48million *
Alltheabove measures olearly meet therequirements ofArticle 5(l)of
Decision No528/76#Thetotal suminvolved inthemeasures is188,0 MioECU
in1981 and isincluded inTable 1oftheAnnex .
B.2)FRANCE ,UNITED KINGDOM I
I
)For1981 ,theFrench Government hasallocated asumofFF577*6 (a96.1 MioECU)
asaidtowards covering inherited liabilities borne byCharbonnages deFrance .
This suminaidisintended tocover thefollowing inherited liabilities :
–contribution toearly retirement pensions
–premiums ,lump sums forretrained personnel
cost ofhousing forthose retiring early
-finanoial liabilities inrespect ofthose
retiring early
-concessionary allowances forthose retiring
early
Broken down between ooalfields asfollows s
I
Nord/Pas -de-Calais '
Lorraine
Centre-Midi
TheCommission estimates that theaotual liabilities borne bytheCharbonnages j
deFranoe arethesame asthesumgranted inaid.
1
1
1
{
Γ
ί
I
Imillion FF •
29.8
65.4
463.7
IM
TOTAL 577.6
(-96.1 million ECU)
384.1
52,7
140.8

A/7
In1981 theBritish Government plans tointroduce thefollowing measures
under Artiole 5ofDecision No.528/76 j
million £
-redundancy payments tominers affeoted "bypit 10.6
closures
-early retirement payments
-aidinrespeot ofoonoessionary coal for2.1
pensioners 10.5
TOTAL 23.2
(=43*0 million ECU )
TheUnited Kingdom measures cover inherited liabilities arising outofpit
closures |these liabilities arethe same asthesumgranted inaid .
Tosumiaarize gitcarbesaid that French andUnited Kingdom measures
listed above meet thecriteria ofArticle 5(l)ofDecision No.528/76.
B.3)Summary ofthemeasures tocover inherited liabilities
Ascanbeseen from Table 1oftheAnnex ,theplanned state aids tocover
inherited liabilities in1981 will total 32?million ECUfortheCommunity
asawhole jan -increase of4*6%over 1980 .
II.Financial aidrelating tocurrent production
Allaids that are notsocial measures within themeaning ofArtiole 4of
Decision No.528/76,oraids tocover inherited liabilities within themeaning
ofArticle 5areaids tocurrent production .
Aidtocurrent production maybegranted directly orindirectly toundertakings .

A/8
Indirect financial aidtocurrentproduction intheooalminingindustry
Indirect financial aidcoversallmeasures whiohMemberGovernments announce
inaccordance withthefirstparagraphofArticle2(l)ofDecision No.528/76
butwhiohdonotcomeintotheoategory ofthedireotmeasures definedin
Articles ^to12oftheDeoision.Indirect measures arereported totheCommission
underDecision No528/76andassessedaooordingtotheprovisions oftheECSC
Treaty.
OnlyGermany,RranceandBelgiumhaveannounced indirect measurestoaidcurrent
production intheooalindustryfor1981.Thefollowing measures weretakenin
previous years.
A.l)Description oftheGerman,BelgianandFrenchmeasures
For1981theFederalGovernment hasprovidedforspecialdepreciation
facilities inrespectofexpansion andrationalization measures inthe
underground sectoroftheooalindustry.Thesumofthesespecialdepreci­
ationsamountstoDM53*7*million(»21.2million ECU).Themeasureis.based
I
onparagraph $1oftheIncomeTaxLawandonparagraph 81oftheIncomeTax
Regulation andwillgivetheGermancoalindustry nocoijipetitiveadvantages
vis-a-visotherCommunity coalproducers ,sincethebalanoesheetsofGerman
coalminingundertakings inanycaseshowlosseswhicharepartially reduced
bydireotaids.
Theindirectfinancial measures plannedbytieBelgian Government involve
thefollowing sectors s
million Bfrs
-expenditure onseasonticketsoroheap ^
holidayticketsforminers,pneumoconiosis sufferers 14*5
-subsidies totheWiners 1National Pensions Fundto
compensate fornewexpenditure onwelfarearisingfrom
theincreaseintheminers'annualholidayallowance ,the
introduction ofnewsicknessbenefits andlongerannual
holiday(Artioles32.12and32.14inthebudgetofthe
EoonomicAffairsMinistry) 458.9
TOTAL 473.4
(-11.4MioECU)

A/9
Plai13 astate subsidy ofJF45.0million (-7.5million ECU)
for "til©research piogi*amine ofthe''Centre d'Etudes etdeReoherobes desChar–
bonnages deFrance (CERCHAR )"in1981 .
2^Assessment ofindirect financial aidtothecoalindustry
TheCommission hasexamined theabove-mentioned measures ,which havealready
been inforoe forseveral years anddoes notconsider that theyviolate theban
onsubsidies setoutinArtiole 4ofthaECSC Treaty .
3)Summary ofindiract measures
Table 2ofthestatistical annex gives therelevant figures under A/2.
In1981direct aidtothecoalindustry roes to40.0MioECUasagainst
24„4 MioECU in1980 ^
B®Direct finan ciala* ■r>,n„,, ,1,8.CQa^-raining industry
1)Federal Republic ofGermany
a)Th.eextent towhich direct financial aidtocurrent production inthe
German coal mining Industry iscompatiblo with the provig lens of
Artic les7-12 ofDecision No^*528/76
TheFederal Government proposes tocontinue in1981 -thedirect aids
already granted in1930®
Legai basis
under Doo
No528/76
Art.7(1)
+(2)
Art.7(3)
sub .s.3
Art .8
Art .10
f»H1H ■Measures Amount ofaid
Total Par tproduction
Mio DM Mio ECU EM ECU
In\astment aid 687»0(l ) 269.4 7*34 2*38
Promotion ofin­
novation 74°0 29.0 0,79 0.31
Mineworkers *
bonuses 220.0 86.3 2,35 0o92
Aidtoseourity
stocks 129»0 5096 1»3o Oc54
TOTAL 1110.0 435.3 11.86 4.65
(l)Including thesubsidy granted tothaEaohweiler Bergwarksvarsia amounting
to115c0MioECUtofinance therestructuring ofinvestment *

A/10
»
Inadditiontotheaidsmentioned above,theFederalGovernment andthe
Regional Governments aretograntcokingooalaidtothevalueof
DM1800million 705*9million ECU)in1981,anaidtoproduction
pursuanttoDecision No287/73»
Theinvestment aidof269a4million ECUisintendedforinvestment projects
inpits,cokingplants,briquettingplantsandpitheadpowerstations.In
1981,totalinvestment intheGermancoalindustrywillcometosome450million
ECU,Investment aidwillrepresent 5oftotalinvestments .
Theinvestment aidistoberegarded asbeneficial sinceitwillpromote
thelong-term stabilization ofproduction intheGermancoalfields .Theaid
complieswiththeprovisions ofArticle7(l)»ofDecision No.528/76.
Thesumof29.0millioii ECUtopromoteinnovation isintendedtoensurethat
researchresultsareappliedtoproduction asquicklyaspossible.Theaid
islowerthanthecostsbornebytheundertakings andisgrantedinrespect
ofindividual projects whioh,when oompleted ,arelikelytoprovetheir
economic worthtoooalmininginthemedium-term .Thepurposeandamountof
Ithisaidshowthatitiscompatible withArticle7(3),subsection 3ofDeoision
No.528/76.
Mineworkers'bonuses,amounting to86,3million ECU,haveappliedsince1956#
AbonusofDM10ispaidforeveryshiftworkedunderground .Thisbonusensures
thatqualified mineworkers requiredfortheGermanooalindustrytoincrease
itsoutputstayinooalmining.Themeasuretherefore meetstheprovisions
ofArticle8ofDecision No528/76.
1

A/11
Thesumof50<>6million ECUa.saidtowardsbuilding uplong-term security -
stocksisameasureintroduced bytheFederal Government inordertoincrease
thelong-term security ofenergysupplies.Forthispurpose,theNotgemeinschaft-
Deufcscher Steinkohlenbergbau (Emergency Association ofGermanCoalMiningUnder­
takings)broughtup10milliontonnesofcoalandcoke®TheFederalGovernment
coversonlypartoftheactualcurrentcostofmaintaining thesestocksin1931,
bygranting anaidofDM129„Qmillion ,,Trieaimandsuminvolved showthatthe
measuremeetstherequirements ofArticle10ofDecision No®528/76*
Theforegoing remarks showthatthefinancial measures planned bytheFederal
Government for1981infavouroftheGermancoalminingindustry complywith
theprovisions ofArticles Yf8and10ofDecision No.528/76,
Theextenttowhichdirectfinancial measures infavourofcurrentproduction
intheGermancoalminingindustry arecompatible withtheproperfunctioning
oftheCommonMarket
Anassessment oftheextenttowhichGermanaidsarecompatible withtheproper
functioning oftheCommonMarketrequires consideration ofalldirectandin­
directaidsforcurrentproduction in1981(Article3(2)ofDecision No,528/76),
Therelevantfiguresaregiveninasummarytable(seeStatistical Annex,Table2)
f$ythismethodofcalculation ,thetotalproposedaidundertheGermanmeasures
amountsto1162,3MioECU,i.e.12,42ECU/t.Incomparison with1980aidsper
tonnehaverisenby6%o
Asregardsthecompatibility ofGermanaidswiththeproperfunotipning ofthe
CommonKarket,referenoe ismadetotheoommentsinthemainbodyofthis
document (seepage <4^onwards).
1

À/12
B,2)FRANCE
a)Theextenttowhichdirectfinancial aidtocurrentproduction in/the
Frenchcoalminingindustry iscompatible withtheprovisions of
Articles 7-12ofDecision No.528/76
TheFrenchGovernment didnotprovideforanymeasuresin198k,butcon­
tinuedwithaidsinstituted inprevious years)thisinvolves onlyloss-
covering aid:
Légalbasis
underDeoi-
cion
No528/76Measures AmountofAid
Total Pertproduction
MFF MECU FF ECU
Article12(a)Coverforthelosses
bythecentralad-374»0
ministration ofChar-
bonnages deFrance
(b;Coverfortheooal-
fields'operating 2000,2'
losses62.2
332.821.37
114»303.55
19.02
TOTAL 2374*2 395.0 135o67 22.57
(l)Including aportionoftheookingcoalaid
Inadditiontotheabove-mentioned aids,anaidforookingcoalofFF10.3MioECU
(»1.7MioECU)istobegrantedin1981.Thisfigureislow,sincepartofthe
cokingcoalaidiscoveredbyArtiole 12.
Inassessing thefiguresgivenintheabovetable,itmustbepointedoutthat,
althoughtheFrenchGovernment continued in1981theagreement concluded withthe
Charbonnages deFrancein1978onthegrantingofaflat-rate ceiling,asthe
lossessustained bypitsincreased beyondtheexpeotedfigures.
Asregardstheassessment oftheaidgrantedin1981withinthelimitsof
Decision No528/76,tkeaidstunofFF2374*2millionisexpeotedtobelessthan
thetotallossesoftheCharbonnages deFrance.Theamountoftheaidistherefore
inlinewiththeprovisions ofArticle12oftheDeoision.
• *

A/13
Thefollowing pointsarerelevant inconnection withaidtotheindividual
coalfields :
-In1981,aidtotheNord/Pas-de-CalaisandCentre-Midi coalfields willbe
calculated insuchawaythat,asaresultoftheolosureoffurtherpits,
therewillbeareduction inproduction ,whichwillmeanthatsom6500fewer
personswillbeemployed inthecoalindustry ,,Theaidswillpreventsevere
economic andsooialdisruption inareaswheretherearenotyetadecpiate
opportunities forre-employment 0Theaidstothesecoal-fields therefore oomply
withtheprovisions ofArticleI2(l)subsection 1andArticle12(2)ofthe
Decision ,,
-Theoutputplanning .afjtheCharhonnages dePranceintheLorraine coal­
fieldaimsatlong-term stabilization ,sinoethecokingcoalproduced
inthiscoalfield isimportant forsupplying thesteelindustry ,,Theaid
grantedforthispurposecomplieswithArticle12(l)subseotion 2and
Article12(3)oftheDeoision 0
b)Theextenttowhichdirectaidtocurrentproduction intheFrenchcoal
miningindustry iscompatible withtheproperfunctioning oftheCommon
Market
Totalandindirectaidtocurrentproduction amountsto404<>2million ECU
(=23dOSCU/t;seeAnnex,Table2)„Incomparison to1980aslight
reduction isnotedfor1981.
Asregardsthecompatibility ofFrenchaidswiththeproperfunctioning
oftheCommonMarket(Article3(l)ofDecision No0528/76,referenoeismade
tothecommentsinthemainbodyofthisdocument (seep.4Sonwards).
•0/·9

A/14
B.3)Belgium
a)Theextenttowhichdirectfinancial aidtocurrentproduction inthe
Belgiancoalminingindustry iscompatible withtheprovisions of
Articles 7-12ofDecision Wo528/76
In1981>,theBelgianGovernment intendstoprovideinvestment aidand
aidtoooveroperating losses
i
6?a-n35^8-! Measures AmountofaidnvtHa-n TiaAierl aw underDeoision
No528/76 Total Pertproduction
MBfrs MECU Bfrs ECU
Art.7(2) Investment aid 448.010,8 731.77
amcs
Art.12 Aidtocoverlosses
Campine 4460.7^'107.5 75618.22
Southern 635.3 15.3 317676.53Goal1Campine 4460.7^\07.575618.22
Sub-total 5096,0122.8 83520.13
MSHMasMwsaMMMnnnaMtnaHBnMBaBanBHMMHHa
TOTAL 5544.0133.6 90921.90
(l)Including 28.0MioBfrsfortrainingschemes
Inadditiontotheaboveaids,theBelgianGovernment intendstograntacokingooal
aid(Deoision No.73/287)ofBfrs5.6693million(»136.6millionECU)-for"the
currentproduction oftheCampinecoalfield .TotaldirectBelgianaidamountsto
Bfrs11.213.3million }itisdividedbetweenthetwocoalfields asfollows t
Campine 1Bfrs10.578.0million «1793.-Bfrs/t
Southern :Bfrs 635.3million ■3176.-Bfrs/t
TOTAL sBfrs11.213,3million -I838.-Bfrs/t
Cf.theinvestment aid,asumofBfrs448.0millionwillgototheCampinecoal­
field.IntheCampinecoalfield ,specialinvestments areenvisaged onbehalfofthe
Eisdencolliery (Bfrs100million)andtheremainder ooversinvestments inother
pits,sothatthecoalfield canmaintainthesupplyofcokingooalfortheBelgian
steelindustry.
••/••

A/15
Belgianinvestment aidistherefore compatible withtheprovisions of
Article7(2)ofDecision No528/76,
Aidtotalling Bfrs5096,0milliontocoveroperating lossesispaidtothe
twoBelgianooalfields fordifferent reasons.TheaidpaidtotheCampine
coalfield willalmostmakeupthedifference "betweenoostsandreturns.This
almostcomplete covering ofthedifference betweencostsandreturnsis
necessary ,becausetheooalfield ismeanttosupplytheBelgiansteelindustry
withcokingcoalandmusttherefore maintainitsoutput# Thepurposeand
amountofaidgrantedtocoverlossesinrespectoftheCampineooalfield there­
forecomplywiththeprovisions ofArticle12(l),subsection 2,andArticle12(3)
ofDecision No,528/76,
TheSoutherncoalfield ,however,reoeivesaidcovering onlypartofthedifference
betweencostsandreturns.Heretheintention istoensurethatonlyessentials
aremaintained andthepitsremainviableintheshort-term onlysothatthe
coalfield canbecloseddownasplanned(byOctober1982);whichwillensurethat
serious economio andsocialdisturbances overthere-employment ofredundant
minersareavoided.OnepitintheSouthernooalfield willbeclosedin1981,
affecting approximately 800miners.Promallthisitcanbeseenthattheaid
tocoverlossesintheSouthernooalfieldiscompatible withArticle12(l),
subseotion 1,andArticle12(2),
b)Theextenttowhichdirectmeasuresinfavourofcurrentproduction inthe
Belgiancoalminingindustry arecompatible withtheproperfunctioning of
theCommonMarket
IntheBelgiancoalminingindustry,aidstocurrentproduction total
281,6millionECU(«46.16ECU/t)for1981(seeAnnex,Table2),Comparison
withthe1980figure(298,2MioECU)showsthattheirisareduction of
5,65S.
••/••

Α/1β
Asregardsthecompatibility ofBelgianaidstocurrentproduction
withtheproperfunctioning oftheCommonMarket,reference ismadetothe
commentsinthemainbodyofthisdocument (seep.onwards).
B.4)UnitedKingdom
a)Theextenttowhichdirectfinancial aidtocurrentproduction inthe
Britishcoalminingindustry iscompatible withtheprovisions of
Articles 7-12ofDeoision No.528/76
Forthecoalmarketingyear198l/82theBritishGovernment plansthe
following directaidstocurrentproduction t
Légalbasis
underDécision
No.528/76
Art.8Measures
Art.9
Art.11Aidtoattractskilled
workers
AidtosteamcoalAmountofaid
Total Pertproduction
M£ MECU
6.7
Aidtoproducers *stocks 13.5
13.512.4 0.05
25.0 0.11
25.0 0.11ECU
0.10
0.20
0.20
Art.12 Aidtoooverlosses
TOTAL423.0,783.3 3.38 6.27
456.7 845.7 3.65 6.77
Theaidforattracting andkeepingskilledworkers(£607million)isintended
tooffsetinparttheNCB'scostsarisingfromrationalisation andthetransfer
ofproduction totheirbestpits.Thisresultsinoutgoings onremovals,trans­
port,eto.Theaidiscompatible withArticle8ofDeoision No.528/76.
Whenassessing theaidtocoveroostsforproducers *stocksofcoalandooke
(£13.5million),itmustberemembered thattotalpitheadstocksandadditional
distributed stocksdirectlyorindirectly financed bytheproducerstotal
about30milliontonnes.Givenamonthlyproduction of.
••/»•
»

A/17
some 10.0 million tonnes ,thevolume ofpithead stooks qualifying foraid
under Article 9ofDecision No.528/76is2Qmillion tonnes .This means
that theper-tonne grant inaidis£0.7.Theaotual oosts ofmaintaining
producers' stocks (including depreciation andinterest )areconsiderably -
higher than thesumgranted .(Theaidtherefore oomplies with theprovisions
ofArtiole 9ofDeoision No.528/76.
Theaidgranted tosteam coal (£13«5 million )isasumfordeliveries of
power station ooal toScotland .Prom theinformation provided bytheBritish
Government ,theamount andpurposes oftheaidgranted canbeawarded as
compatible with Artiole 11ofDeoision No.528/76.
Theaidgiven tocover losses (£423»0 million )will largely cover the
losses sustained byNCBpits in1981/82.Theaidisgiven toavoid serious
economic and social disturbances inthose coalfields where -inthe event of
pitclosure -there arenot'yet adequate re-employment opportunities for
redundant miners andtomaintain existing production capacities soasto
safeguard energy supplies .Theaid istherefore compatible with Artiole 12
ofthe Decision .
b)Theextent towhich financial measures infavour ofcurrent production in
the British coal mining industry are compatible with theproper functioning
ofthe Common Market .
Inthecoal marketing year 1981/82,aidtocurrent production intheUnited
Kingdom will total 845*7 .million ECU (*»6*77 ECU/t)(seeAnnex ,Table 2).
Comparison with the1980 figure (287»4 million ECU)shows that theamount
hasalmost trebled„in 1981
Asregards thecompatibility ofBritish aids tocurrent production with the
proper functioning oftheCommon Market ,referenoe ismade tothecomments
inthemain body ofthis document (seepage *onwards ).

Table1
Aid.notrelating ;tocurrentproduction
(million ECU)
'' ■ ι. ι 1 1 .... .1.
Socialsecurity measures pursuanttoArticle4
ofDecision No.528/76– ¡ _
Aidstocoverinherited liabilities pursuant to
Article 5ofDecision No,528/76
■- Total Infringements
ofArt.4Total Infringements of
Art.5
1980(1981)
1981 1980(1981)
1981
FederalRepublic
ofGermany 2650.8 2682.4 186.6 188.0
Belgium 636.4 704.3 0.3 -
Prance
UnitedKingdom1340.9
67.4^1417.8
91.3^97.5
28.496.1
43.0
Totalforthe
Community_4695.5 4.895.8 312.8 327.1
(l)TheUnitedKingdomhasanintegratedsocialsecuritysystem.Thefigureshowninthiscolumncoversonly
thespecialminers'pensionfund,whichexistsside-by-sidewiththegeneralsocialsecuritysystem.

Aidforcurrentproductionin1981^Table2
Unit Federal Repub-
licofGerfflanyFranceUnited
Kin^omBelgium Community
Â·AidsunderDecision No,528/76
1,Infringement ofArticle 4
ofArticle 5MioECU
MioECU–
-–
- –
Total
pertonneofproduc­
tionMioECU
ECU- -
■(Λ-.-
2,Directmeasures
pertonneofproductionMioECU
ECU21.1
0,237.5
0.43- 11.4
1.874O.O
0.17
3·Indirect measures
Article 7
Article 8
Article 9
Artide 10
Article 11
Article 12MioECU
MioECU
MioECU
MioECU
MioECU
MioECU298.4
86.3
50.6
395.012.4
25.0
25.0
783.3-10.8
122.8309.2
98.7
25.O
5O.6*
25.O
1301.1
Total
pertonneproductionMioECU
ECU435.3'
4o65395.0
22.57845.7
6.77133.6
21.901809.6
7.47
B.Cokingcoalaid(Decision
No«73/287
pertonneproductionMioECU
ECU705.9
7β541.7
0.10- 136.6
22.39844.2
3.49
C.Total(A+3)
Totals
pertonneproductionMioECU
ECU1162ο3,0s
12.42 *'404.2
23.10845.7
6.77281.6
46.162693.8
11.12
fl)Plannedfigures
(2)Excluding aidunderthe3rdelectricity -from-coallaw