CELEX: 31983D0159
Language: en
Date: 1983-04-07 00:00:00
Title: 83/159/ECSC: Commission Decision of 7 April 1983 approving aids from the Kingdom of Belgium to the coal- mining industry during 1982

No L 100/ 12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               19 . 4 . 83
                                                  COMMISSION DECISION
                                                        of 7 April 1983
              approving aids from the Kingdom of Belgium to the coal-mining industry
                                                            during 1982
                                       (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic)
                                                          (83/ 159/ECSC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                      nery properly ; whereas the aid therefore complies
COMMUNITIES,                                                        with Article 8 of the Decision ;
Having regard to Commission Decision 528/76/ECSC                    Whereas the aid totalling Bfrs 4 199 300 000 to cover
of 25 February 1976 regarding the Community system                  operating losses is paid to the two Belgian coalfields
of measures taken by the Member States to assist the                for different reasons ; whereas the aid paid to the
coal-mining industry ('),                                           Campine coalfield will almost make up the difference
                                                                    between costs and returns ; whereas this almost
Having consulted the Council,                                       complete covering of the difference between costs and
                                                                    returns is necessary because the coalfield is intended
                                                                    to supply the Belgian steel industry with coking coal
                                                                    and must therefore maintain its output ;
                               I
                                                                    Whereas the purpose and amount of aid granted to
Whereas the Belgian Government has informed the                     cover losses in respect of the Campine coalfield there­
Commission, pursuant to Article 2 of the above Deci­                fore comply with the second subparagraph of Article
sion, of the financial measures which it intends to take             12 ( 1 ) and Article 12 (3) of the Decision ;
during 1982 in order to give direct or indirect support
to the coal-mining industry ; whereas, of these                     Whereas, on the other hand, the Southern coalfield
measures, the following aids qualify for approval                   should be granted aid in respect of pit operating losses
pursuant to that Decision :                                         to cover part of the difference between costs and
                                                                    returns ; whereas the intention is to ensure that only
                                             (million Bfrs)         essentials are maintained and the pits remain viable
                                                                    until the coalfield can be closed down without friction,
— Investment aid :                              510,0               so that serious economic and social upheaval is
— Recruitment of skilled workers :               20,0               avoided ;
— Aid to cover losses :                      4 199,3
                                                                    Whereas the purpose and type of the aids to cover pit
Whereas these aids meet the criteria laid down in the
                                                                    operating losses of the Southern coalfield are therefore
                                                                    compatible with the first subparagraph of Article 12 ( 1 )
Decision for the admissibility of such State assistance ;           and Article 12 (2) of the Decision ;
Whereas, of the investment aid, a sum of Bfrs
510 000 000 will go to the Campine coalfield so that
the coalfield can maintain the production of coking                                              II
coal, which is important for the Belgian steel industry ;
                                                                    Whereas, pursuant to Article 3 (2) of the Decision, all
Whereas the Belgian investment aid is therefore                     other measures to assist current production in 1982
compatible with the provisions of Article 7 (2) of the              must be taken into consideration for an examination
Decision ;                                                          of the compatibility of the proposed aids with the
                                                                    proper functioning of the common market ;
Whereas the aid (Bfrs 20 000 000) for recruiting and
training skilled workers has proved necessary in order              Whereas, on this basis of assessment, the total amount
to attract suitably qualified labour into Belgian coal­             of aid proposed is 199 400 000 ECU, i.e. 31,68 ECU
mining capable of operating modern plant and machi                  per tonne ; whereas this figure compared with 1981
                                                                    (281 600 000 ECU) shows that there is a reduction of
(') OJ No L 63 , 11 . 3 . 1976, p. 1 .                              nearly 30 % ;
 ---pagebreak--- 19 . 4. 83                        Official Journal of the European Communities                        No L 100/ 13
Whereas the following observations can be made on           The amount of Bfrs 4 729 300 000 provided in respect
the compatibility of the proposed current production        of the calendar year 1982 is divided as follows :
aids with the proper functioning of the common
market :                                                    1 . Grant of investment aid of Bfrs 510 000 000 ;
— there were no supply difficulties in 1982,                2. Grant of aid for recruiting and training skilled
— rationalization of production in 1982 was achieved            workers not exceeding Bfrs 20 000 000 ;
     by investment,
— industrial consumers of coal did not receive aid in       3 . Grant of aid to cover losses of Bfrs 4 199 300 000
     1982 as a result of the prices of Belgian coking           apportioned between the two coalfields as follows :
     coal and steam coal ;
                                                                — to the Campine coalfield, an amount not
Whereas it may be concluded that the aid granted to                exceeding Bfrs 3 624 100 000,
the Belgian coal-mining industry in 1982 is compat­             — to the Southern coalfield, an amount not
ible with the proper functioning of the common                     exceeding Bfrs 575 200 000 .
market ;
Whereas this applies even when account is taken of
                                                                                   Article 2
aids to the coal mines under Decision 73/287/ECSC ;
                                                            The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium shall
                           III                              notify the Commission by 30 April 1983 of details of
                                                            the aids granted pursuant to this Decision, and in
Whereas, pursuant to Article 14 (1 ) of the Decision,       particular of the amount of the payments made and
the Commission must ensure that any aid it approves         the manner in which they are apportioned.
is used exclusively for the purposes set out in Articles
7 to 12 thereof ; whereas the Commission must there­
fore be informed in particular of the amounts of the                               Article 3
payments and the manner in which they are appor­
tioned,                                                     This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of
                                                            Belgium.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
                                                            Done at Brussels, 7 April 1983.
                        Article 1
The Kingdom of Belgium is hereby authorized in                                       For the Commission
respect of the 1982 calendar year to grant aid totalling                              Étienne DAVIGNON
Bfrs 4 729 300 000      to the    Belgian coal-mining
industry.                                                                                 Vice-President