CELEX: 31976D0212
Language: en
Date: 1975-12-17 00:00:00
Title: 76/212/ECSC: Commission Decision of 17 December 1975 approving aids to be granted to the Federal Republic of Germany for the benefit of undertakings in the coal industry in respect of 1975

No L 46/ 12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                              21 . 2. 76
                                                  COMMISSION
                                                  COMMISSION DECISION
                                                     of 17 December 1975
                approving aids to be granted by the Federal Republic of Germany for the benefit of
                                      untertakings in the coal industry in respect of 1975
                                               (Only the German text is authentic)
                                                         76/212/ECSC )
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                     Aid to water supply undertakings in respect
COMMUNITIES ,                                                      of expenditure incurred in removing under­
                                                                   ground water from closed pits                       60-0
Having regard to the provisions of the Treaty
establishing the European Coal and Steel                           Subsidies in respect of expenditure resulting
Community, and in particular Articles 2, 3 , 4 and 5               from concentration in the coal-mining
thereof,                                                           industry                                            72-0
                                                                   Subsidies in respect of the residual debts of
Having regard to Commission Decision 3 /71 /ECSC of                the coal-mining industry                           157-5
22 December 1970 on Community rules for
intervention by Member States for the benefit of the               Sum discharging the Ruhrkohle AG from
coal industry (*),                                                 the liability to pay part sums towards the
                                                                   special item for depreciation following
Having regard to Decision 73/287/ECSC of 25 July                    closures                                           48-0
1973 on coking coal and coke (2), and in particular                Investment aids to individual projects under
Article 9 ( 1 ) thereof,                                            an overall investment programme                   422-5
Having consulted the Council,                                       Premiums to shift workers and piece
                                                                    workers in respect of each shift worked
Whereas the Government of the Federal Republic of                   underground                                       123-0
Germany has informed the Commission, pursuant to
Article 2 of Decision 3/71 /ECSC, of the financial                  Aid for development and testing newly­
measures which it proposes to implement directly or                 developed equipment in the coal-mining
indirectly for the benefit of the coal indutry for 1975 ;           industry                                           28-0
whereas, among these measures, the following aids                   Payment of the instalments owed by RAG
should be authorized pursuant to the aforementioneci               in respect of State-guaranted compensation
Decision :                                                          to the former mine-owning companies                63-4
                                                  million DM        Measures for the benefit of the Preussag AG        30-0
 Aids as follows to be paid through the
 'Aktionsgemeinschaft Deutsche Steinkohle­
 reviere GmbH' in respect of pit closures :                         Whereas the aforementioned aids are in accordance
                                                                    with the criteria laid down in Articles 6 to 9 of
— aid in respect of equalization of burdens                         Decision 3/71/ECSC for the admissibility of such a
     (Lastenausgleich) payments                          15-0       State assistance ;
— closure premiums                                      112-5
                                                Total   127-5       Whereas the aid to be paid through the
                                                                    'Aktionsgemeinschaft Deutsche Steinkohlenreviere'
                                                                    may be granted only on condition that it is used in
 (*) OJ No L 3, 5 . 1 . 1971 , p . 7.                               connection with 'a total or partical closure of pits'
 (2) OJ No L 259, 15 . 9. 1973, p. 36.                              (Article 6 ( 1 ) of Decision 3/71 /ECSC);
 ---pagebreak--- 21 . 2 . 76                           Official Journal of the European Communities                             No L 46/ 13
Whereas the amounts of such aids do not exceed the               premium ; whereas the residual burdens comprise
permissible level ;                                              costs for mining damage, pension obligations and
                                                                 concessionary coal obligations resulting from pit
                                                                 closures previous to 1 January 1972; whereas aid is
Whereas as regards the aid in respect of 'equalization'          granted for these burdens actually incurred by the
payments the government has taken into account the               undertakings ;
fact that the closure of a pit leads to the destruction
to a considerable degree of the original fixed assets ;
whereas the aid which consists in the remission of               Whereas the purpose and amount of aid applied for
two-thirds of the levy on assets and 'credit gains'              show that this measure is compatible with Article 6
(Vermogens- und Kreditgewinnabgabe) to the                        ( 1 ) ( 1 ) of Decision 3 /71 /ECSC;
Equalization Fund ( Lastenausgleichsfonds) is in any
case considerably lower than the amount of capital
lost as a result of the closure of the pits and is               Whereas discharging the Ruhrkohle AG from the
therefore within the limits laid down in Article 6 of            liability to pay part sums towards the special item for
Decision 3 /71/ECSC ;                                            covering depreciation following closures is a special
                                                                 measure of behalf of the RAG ;
Whereas the closure premium paid to the                          Whereas the RAG has had to make special
undertakings in the coal industry by the                         depreciation for the fixed assets lost during pit
'Aktionsgemeinschaft Deutsche Steinkohlenreviere' in             closures in past years ; whereas the RAG has the right
respect of the closures amount to a lump sum of DM               under Article 8 (2) of the 1969 tax amendment law to
20 per metric ton produced ; whereas this amount is              place a special item for the special deprecation on the
far from sufficient to cover the actual costs of
                                                                 assets side of their balance which can be paid off by
closures ; whereas, after the closure, the continuing            instalments in the following years ;
obligations of the undertakings in respect of mining
damage and social charges can be estimated at DM
30 to DM 35 per metric ton produced for 1975 ;                   Whereas          it  was    assumed   in 1969   that  the
                                                                 undertaking's profit-and-loss position in the
                                                                 following years would be so favourable that the
Whereas the lump sum aid granted does not therefore              step-by-step depreciation could actually be included
exceed the expenditure on the closure of pits and is             in the production costs or profits ; whereas, in view of
therefore compatible with Article 6 (2 ) of Decision             the unfavourable development which actually took
3/71 /ECSC;                                                      place in the following years, the RAG is no longer
                                                                 able to bear in addition the costs of this depreciation
                                                                 from earlier years ;
Whereas the payment of aid amounting to DM 60
million for the removal of underground water from
 closed pits is likewise compatible with Article 6 ( 1 ) of      Whereas the RAG is to receive aid from the public
Decision 3/71 /ECSC ;                                            authorities of DM 48 million a year over a period of
                                                                 10 years to enable it to write off part of the special
                                                                 item;
Whereas the German coal-mining undertakings —
which, as part of their programme to adapt
production to the market conditions, are undertaking             Whereas special write-offs in the event of pit closures
pit closures leading to a lasting reduction of coal              are part of closure costs ; whereas the aid serves to
 production after 1 January 1973 — receive aids                  reduce costs and its purpose and amount is therefore
towards the burdens resulting from the reduced                   compatible with Article 6 ( 1 ) of Decision 3 /71 /ECSC;
production ; whereas aid takes the form of a lump
 sum of DM 30 for each metric ton of reduction in
                                                                 Whereas the investment aid of DM 422-5 million
 annual capacity — spread over five years — without
in any case exceeding the burdens actually incurred by           consists of normal aid (DM 197-5 million) and
the undertakings ;                                               special investment aid (DM 225-0 million) granted as
                                                                 part of the measures to revive the economy as a
                                                                 whole;
Whereas the purpose and amount of aid applied for
show that this measure is compatible with Article 6
 ( 1 ) ( 1 ) of Decision 3 /71 /ECSC;                            Whereas the purpose of the investment aids is to
                                                                 increase the economic viability of the German coal
                                                                 industry ; whereas the undertakings may use the aid
Whereas the subsidies towards the residual burdens               for investments in pits, auxiliary installations and
 of the coal-mining industry complement the closure              processing plant;
 ---pagebreak--- No L 46/ 14                        Official Journal of the European Communities                               21 . 2. 76
Whereas it is not yet possible to indicate how the aid        Whereas payment by the Federal Government of
for 1975 will be apportioned among the individual             the instalments in respect of State-guaranteed
projects ; whereas this will not be possible before the       compensation is therefore compatible with the first
end of 1975 ;                                                 paragraph of Article 9 ( 1 ) of Decision 3/71/ECSC ;
Whereas the purpose and amount of the aid applied             Whereas as regards the calculation of the
for show that this measure is compatible with Article         appropriations for aid from the difference between
7 (2) of Decision 3/71 /ECSC ; whereas the Federal            production costs and revenue it is found that the aid
Government is bound to notify the Commission at               will not cover all the operating losses which can be
least once a year in the case of each project of the          expected during 1975 ;
objectives pursued, the amounts invested and the
amount of aid granted;
                                                              Whereas such aid is therefore compatible with Article
                                                              9 (2) of Decision 3 /71 /ECSC ;
Whereas the aid towards the payment of the
 coal-winning premium helps the coal industry to
achieve a stable situation as regards qualified               Whereas the Federal Government grants aid to
workers, which is absolutely imperative if its                Preussag AG's Ibbenbiiren mine, which has worked
productivity is to increase; whereas the undertakings         at a loss for years, in order to avoid temporary
are moreover involved in expenditure on the                   supply difficulties and because of the pit's importance
recruitment, training, retraining and retention of            for the Ibbenbxiren area as regards regional and
workers which greatly exceeds the amount of the               social policy ; whereas the undertaking is itself unable
contribution to this premium ;                                to finance the necessary investments so that it has to
                                                              be granted a partially repayable subsidy to cover part
                                                              of the losses ;
Whereas the purpose and amount of the premium to
coal-miners show that this measure is compatible              Whereas the purpose of the aid and the amount of
with Article 7 (3 ) of Decision 3/71 /ECSC; whereas a
                                                              DM 30 million paid show that this measure is
 rapid and lasting recovery by the coal-mining                compatible with Article 9 ( 1 ) and (2);
industry demands that research results should be
used in the production process as soon as possible
after development and initial trials ; whereas the aid is     Whereas the examination of the compatibility of the
 granted for individual projects which promise to be           German aid with the proper functioning of the
 of tangible economic benefit to the coal-mining              common market must include all direct and indirect
 industry in the medium term ;                                 measures to be taken for the benefit of the coal
                                                              industry    in   1975   (Article 3     ( 2) of Decision
                                                              3/71 /ECSC);
 Whereas the total aid of DM 28 million for 1975
 represents a subsidy towards the financial burdens
 actually arising;                                             Whereas on that basis of calculation, the total cost of
                                                               the proposed direct and indirect measures amounts to
                                                               360-8 million units of account, i.e. 3-52 units of
 Whereas the purpose and amount of the aid allow               account per metric ton produced ; whereas this means
 that this measure is compatible with Article 7 ( 1 ) of       an 11-3 % reduction in the total amount of aid
 Decision 3/71/ECSC;                                           compared to 1974; whereas the amount of aid per
                                                               metric ton will drop from 4-02 units of account to
                                                               3-52 units of account, i.e. by 12-4 % ;
 Whereas provision has been made for 1975 for the
 public authorities (in lieu of RAG) to pay an
 instalment of compensation of DM 63-4 million to              Whereas the following remarks can be made on the
 the former pit owners, who have a State-guaranteed            compatibility of the total amount of the German aids
 claim to compensation against RAG ;                           with the proper functioning of the common market :
                                                               — no adverse effect on trade in coal between the
 Whereas in 1974 RAG still sufferred losses ; whereas              Federal Republic of Germany and the other
 the payment of the instalments by the public                      Member States is expected in 1975 ;
 authorities is to be regarded as a measure aimed at
 avoiding financial difficulties at RAG as well as             — no price alignment agreements are expected in
 temporary supply difficulties on the coal market;                 1975 ;
 ---pagebreak---  21 . 2 . 76                         Official Journal of the European Communities                          No L 46/ 15
— the prices of German coking coal and boiler coal              5 . subsidies towards the residual burdens of the
      in 1975     do not amount to indirect aid to                  coal industry, up to a maximum of DM 157-5
      industrial consumers of coal ;                                million ;
— the closure of two or three unprofitable pits will            6. discharging the Ruhrkohle AG from the liability
      lead to rationalization and the concentration of              to pay instalments towards the special item to
      production in pits where productivity is highest;             cover depreciation as a result of closure, up to a
                                                                    maximum of DM 48 million ;
Whereas it may therefore be concluded that the                  7. grant of investment aid in an amount not
German aids for the benefit of the coal industry are                exceeding DM 422-5 million to undertakings in
compatible with the proper functioning of the                       the coal industry in order to encourage
common market;                                                      investment;
                                                                8 . provision of premiums to shift workers and piece
Whereas this applies even when account is taken of                  workers in respect of such shift worked
 those aids paid to the coal mines under Decision                   underground, up to a maximum of DM 123
73/287/EEC ;                                                        million ;
                                                                9. backing for development and trials at a figure
                                                                    not exceeding DM 28 million ;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 11 ( 1 ) of Decision
3/71/ECSC, the Commission must ensure that the                 10. payment of instalments owed by RAG in respect
aids authorized are used for the purposes set out in                of the former mine-owning companies, up to a
Articles 6 to 9 of that Decision ; whereas the                      maximum of DM 63-4 million;
Commission must be informed in particular of the
amount of the aids and of the manner in which they             11 . measures for the benefit of the Preussag AG's
are apportioned,                                                    Ibbenbiiren pit, up to a maximum of DM 30
                                                                    million.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :                                                           Article 2
                         Article 1                             The Federal Government shall notify the Commission
                                                               by 30 April 1976 of details of the aids granted
                                                               pursuant to this Decision, in particular as regards the
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany              amounts paid and the manner in which they are
is hereby authorized to grant the following aids for           apportioned.
1975 for the benefit of the German coal industry :
  1 . remission of two-thirds of the obligations of pits                              Article 3
       due to be closed in respect of the levy on assets
       and 'credits gains' (Vermogens- und Kredit­
      gewinnabgabe);                                           This Decision is addressed to the Federal Republic of
                                                               Germany.
  2. payment of a closure premium, at DM 20 per
      metric ton produced, through the 'Aktionsge­
      meinschaft Deutsche Steinkohlenreviere';
  3 . reimbursement of the cost of pumping out                 Done at Brussels, 17 December 1975 .
      underground water from closed pits, up to a
      maximum of DM 60 million ;                                                               For the Commission
  4. subsidies towards the cost of concentrating the                                            Henri SIMONET
      coal industry, up to a maximum of DM 72
      million;                                                                                    Vice-President