European Commission approves RON 447.8 mln in state aid for Romania to close some coal mines

The European Commission has approved a state aid worth RON 447.8 million for Romania to ease the social and environmental impact produced by the closing of two uncompetitive coal mines until 2018. The conclusion of the Commission was that the state aid doesn’t affect the competition in an unjustified manner.

The responsibility of taking the decisions of closing or maintaining the coal mines belongs to the member states. According to the EU norms regarding the state aids, the member states can support the closing of the uncompetitive coal mines.

From the Commission’s evaluation, a financial aid of RON 233.7 million will be given to the workers who will lose their jobs as a result of the mines closing. The aid will cover the financing of compensatory salaries for the fired employees, for the professional re-conversion programs for the former employees and other social incentives for the workers.

This aid will be used also for the necessary safety measures for the mining perimeter, while the rest of the state aid (RON 214.1 million) will be covered the production losses of mines until closing.

In December 2010 the European Union Council adopted the decision regarding the state aid for facilitating the closing of uncompetitive coal mines. The decision was adopted based on a EU policy of encouraging the usage of some reusable energy sources.

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Georgiana Bendre