L 324/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 2.12.98 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 10 June 1998 on German aid to the coal industry for 1997 (notified under document number C(1998) 2046) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (98/687/ECSC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, Having regard to Commission Decision No 3632/93/ ECSC of 28 December 1993 establishing Community rules for State aid to the coal industry ('), and in particular Article 2(1) and Article 9 thereof, Whereas: By letter of 30 September 1996, Germany notified the Commission, in accordance with Article 9(1) of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, of the aid it intended to grant to the coal industry in 1997. By letters of 15 October 1996, 5 June 1997, 22 October 1997, 27 January 1998 and 4 March 1998, Germany submitted the additional informa- tion requested by the Commission. In accordance with Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, the Commission gives its opinion on the following financial measures: (a) operating aid within the meaning of Article 3 of the Decision totalling DEM 6 364 million; (b) for the reduction of activity within the meaning of Article 4 of the Decision totalling DEM 3 217 million; (c) within the meaning of Article 3 of the Decision total- ling DEM 87 million to maintain an underground labour force (‘Bergmannsprimie’); () OJ L 329, 30. 12. 1993, p. 12. (d) within the meaning of Article 5 of the Decision total- ling DEM 200 million to assist the undertakings Ruhrkohle AG, Saarbergwerke AG, Preussag Anthrazit GmbH and Sophia Jacoba GmbH to cover excep- tional costs; (e) within the meaning of Article 5 of the Decision total- ling DEM 609,2 million to assist the undertakings Ruhrkohle AG, Saarbergwerke AG and Sophia Jacoba GmbH to cover exceptional costs to enable the under- takings to cover the costs arising from or having arisen from the restructuring of the coal industry which are not related to current production. The financial measures proposed by Germany for the coal industry comply with the provisions of Article 1(1) of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC. In accordance with Article 9(4), the Commission is therefore required to give an opinion on those measures. For this purpose, it checks whether those measures conform to the general objectives and criteria defined in Article 2 and the specific criteria defined in Articles 3 and 4 of the Decision and whether they are compatible with the functioning of the common market. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 9(6) of the Decision, the Commission has to decide whether the measures are compatible with the modernisation, ration- alisation and restructuring plan which the Commission approved by Decision No 94/1070/ECSC (3) on aid to the coal industry in 1994. By letter of 5 May 1998, the coal producer RJB Mining plc, an undertaking within the meaning of Article 80 of () OJ L 385, 31. 12. 1994, p. 18.