L 58/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 28.2.2001 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 13 December 2000 on the granting by Spain of aid to the coal industry in 2000 (notified under document number C(2000) 4190) (Only the Spanish text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2001/162/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 Articles 2(1) and 9 thereof, Whereas: By letter of 5 October 1999, Spain notified the Commis- sion, pursuant to Article 9(1) of Decision No 3632/93/ ECSC, of the financial support it intended to grant to the coal industry in 2000. Following Commission requests in letters dated 11 November 1999 and 7 September 2000, Spain provided additional information in letters dated 24 July 2000 and 8 November 2000, respectively. Spain also notified the Commission, by letter dated 7 October 1999, of the production costs per undertaking for 1998. In a second letter dated 24 July 2000, Spain notified the Commission, pursuant to Article 9(2) of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, of the amount of aid actually paid during the 1999 coal production year. Pursuant to Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, the Commis- sion must rule on the following financial measures relating to 2000: (a) aid of ESP 116 180 million (EUR 698 255 862,87) to cover operating losses by coal undertakings; () O] L 329, 30.12.1993, p. 12. (b) aid of ESP 55209 million (EUR 331812 772,71) to cover exceptional welfare aid paid to workers who lose their jobs as a result of the measures to modernise, rationalise, restructure and reduce the activity of the coal industry; (c) aid of ESP 15 152 million (EUR 91 065 354,06) to cover the technical costs of closing down mining installations as a result of the measures to moder- nise, rationalise, restructure and reduce the activity of the coal industry. The financial measures proposed by Spain for the coal industry fall within the provisions of Article 1 of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC. The Commission must therefore take a decision on such measures in accord- ance with Article 9(4) of the Decision. The Commis- sion's assessment will depend on the compliance of the measures with the general criteria and objectives laid down in Article 2 and the specific criteria established by Articles 3 and 4 of the Decision, and on their compati- bility with the proper functioning of the common market. Additionally, in accordance with Article 9(6) of the Decision, the Commission when conducting its assessment must check whether the measures conform with the modernisation, rationalisation, restructuring and activity-reduction plan which the Commission approved in its Decision No 98/637/ECSC (). By Decision 98/637/ECSC the Commission gave an opinion as to the conformity of the 1998 to 2002 phase of the plan notified by Spain for the modernisation, rationalisation, restructuring and activity reduction of the coal industry with the general and specific objectives of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC. () OJ L 303, 13.11.1998, p. 57.