ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(76)667
Vol.1976/0200

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(76)667final
Brussels,9December1976
S
TirePOSITION OFTHECOMMUNITY'SCOALINDUSTRY
(Communication fromtheCommissiontotheCouncil)
oom(7*>)fifilfinal

THE POSITION OFTHE COMMUNITY 'SCOAL INDUSTRY
(Communication from the Commission tothe Council )
TheCommission must draw theCouncil 'sattention totheprogressive
deterioration intheposition oftheCommunity 'scoal industry .Inits
communication "Medium-term guidelines for coal 1975 to1985 "(1)the
Commission developed economic policy guidelines forCommunity coal while atthe
same time describing theproblems facing the industry .The Commission recalls
that theCommunity set itself theobjective ofmaintaining coal production at
alevel ofaround 250m.t.c.e .under economically satisfactory conditions .
Theachievement ofthis objective isendangered because theproblems ofthe
coal industry have not yet been resolved .
Thedevelopment ofcoal consumption .production and imports from third count
into theCommunity inthe 4years from 1973 tothe end of1976 has been as
follows (inm.t.c.e .):
1973 1974 1975 1976 (estimates )
Power stations 112.4 102.9 100.6 119.3
Steel industry (2) 89.0 94.5 73.5 77.5
Others 79.7 76.1 65.8 57.8
Total consumption 281.1 273.5 239.9 254.6
Product ion 250.0 223.7 237.0 232.0
Imports 29.9 38.0 41.1 41.5
Ascanbeseen ,while consumption hasbeen falling inthetwoyears
following 1973 andrecovered only slightly in1976 ,imports from third
countries have been rising steadily .During the same period ,Community
production and intra-Community trade have followed adownward trend and coal
and coke stocks areestimated at47m.t .(t=t)(2)bytheendof1976 .
(1)0JNo.C22of30th January ,1975
(2)coke reconverted tocoal forcalculation purposes

-2-
Incontrast tothedevelopment ofcoal consumption ,imports from third |
countries have remained atahigh level since theoilcrisis .According '
tonational forecasts ,these could reach 45m.t .in1977 ,anincrease of
over 50%over their 1973 volume andclose totheir earlier estimate for
1985 .
Itisevident ,therefore ,that thecurrent cyclical contraction ofthecoal
market isbeing borne exclusively bytheCommunity 'scoal industry which -
forwell known reasons -islimited initsflexibility .Thefinancial
situation ofundertakings inthe industry ischaracterised byincreased costs
toinflation andby receipts which inmany instances nolonger cover costs in
spite ofstate aid .
TheCommission isconscious ofthefact that theabove global picture forthe
Community does nottake into account different regional developments requirin
individual examination .Nevertheless ,itconsiders ititsduty tjodraw
attention tothefact that acontinuation ofcurrent trends could produce j
I
asituation inwhich themaintenance oftheproductive capacity even of j
currently profitable pits might beendangered .
This would beallthemore regrettable astheCommunity hasmade no
substantial progress sofarinimproving itslong-term energy supply situatio
andisonce again exposed tonewdemands bytheoilexporting countries , j
Areversal tothecoal policy ofthe1960s with large-scale pitclosures woul .
notonly have adverse psychological effects butwould also increase the
difficulty ofrealizing animportant part oftheCommunity 'senergy policy
programme .Inthis connection theCommission would draw attention tothe
fact that vast newcoal deposits have been discovered within theCommunity .
_Jltiswithdeepconcern thattheCommission obsvr sthat sofarithasnot
been possible tostabilize sales ofCommunity coal ,which isessential for
long-term decisions bythecoal industry .
TheCommission therefore reminds theinstitutions oftheCommunities of
their joint responsibility fortheattainment oftheenergy political goals
formulated in1974 -aresponsibility shared also bycoal producers ,miners
andenergy consumers .Ittherefore requests theCouncil toexamine the
position oftheCommunity 'scoal industry ontheoccasion ofthenextmeeting
concerning energy .Inthelight ofthisdiscussion andintheshortest possi
bletime ,theCommission will submit fresh proposals totheCouncil with avi
toconsolidating common objectives .