28. 8. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 237/13 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 30 April 1997 authorizing the grant by the United Kingdom of aid to the coal industry (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (97/577/ECSC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty esiab]ishing 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 Atticle 9 (4) thereof, Whereas: By letter of 29 January 1997, the United Kingdom noti- fied the Commission, pursuant to Article 9 (1) of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, of the total residual aid which it intends to grant in respect of the coal industry by way of budgetary provisions for the financial year 1998/99 to be disbursed over the period until the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in July 2002. In accordance with Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, the Commission must give a ruling on the following financial measures: () OJ No L 329, 30. 12. 1993, p. 12. — a provision of £ 92 million for contributions to pension schemes for former workers of the British Coal Corporation and their dependants, — a provision of £ 24 million for the exceptional social welfare benefits for workers who lost their jobs as a result of the restructuring process of the United Kingdom coal industry, — a provision of £ 365 million for concessionary supplies of coal, smokeless fuel or, in some cases, payment in kind for former workers of the British Coal Corporation and their dependants, — a provision of £ 177 million for compensation for industrial injury and damage to health for former workers of the British Coal Corporation and their dependants, — a provision of £ 15 million to cover the costs arising from residual activities prior to dissolution of the British Coal Corporation following privatization, — a provision of £ 218 million to cover the environ- mental damage caused by mining activities before privatization. The financial measures which the United Kingdom intends to take in respect of the coal industry fall within the scope of Article 1 (1) of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC. The Commission must therefore give a ruling pursuant to Article 9 (4) of that Decision on whether they comply with the objectives and criteria set out in that Decision and are compatible with the proper functioning of the common market.