L 184/40 Official Journal of the European Communities 13.7.2002 COMMISSION DECISION of 22 May 2002 on the granting by Spain of aid to the undertaking Hunosa in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 (notified under document number C(2002) 1895) (Only the Spanish text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2002/583ECSC) 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: () ) 0] 0] By letters of 19 and 21 March 2001, Spain notified the Commission, pursuant to Article 9(1) of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, of the financial support which it intended to grant to the undertaking Hulleras del Norte SA (Hunosa) in 2001. By letter of 30 March 2001, the Commission invited Spain, pursuant to Article 88 of the ECSC Treaty, to submit its comments about the situation as regards the installations of the former undertaking Minas de Lieres SA and their operating results from 1998 to 2000. The installations in question had been covered by closure measures financed by State aid and were subsequently reopened by Hunosa as the ‘Pozo Siero’ production unit. Spain replied by letters of 14 May and 14 August 2001. The Commission requested further information by letters of 13 September 2001, 14 December 2001 and 13 February 2002. Spain replied to the Commission by letters of 9 January and 8 March 2002. By Decision No 2002/241/ECSC of 11 December 2001 on the granting by Spain of aid to the coal industry in 2001 (), the Commission authorised part of the aid which Spain was planning to grant to Hunosa produc- tion units other than the Pozo Siero installations taken over from Minas de Lieres SA. Pursuant to Decision No 3632/93/ECSC, the Commission must rule on the following remaining measures: (a) aid of EUR 36 060 726,26 (ESP 6 000 million) to cover operating losses by Hunosa production units; L 329, 30.12.1993, p. 12. L 82,26.3.2002, p. 11. (b) aid of EUR 28 818 530,41 (ESP 4 795 million) to cover the technical costs of closing down mining installations as a result of the measures to reduce the activity of the coal industry. The financial measures proposed by Spain for Hunosa fall within the provisions of Article 1 of Decision No 3632/93/ECSC. The Commission must therefore take a decision on these measures in accordance with Article 9(4) of the Decision. The Commission’s assessment will be based on the compliance of the measures with the general criteria and objectives laid down in Article 2 and with the specific criteria established by Article 4 of the Decision, and on their compatibility 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 activity-reduc- tion plan which the Commission approved for Hunosa in its Decision 98/637[ECSC (°). II By Decisions No 94/1072[/ECSC () and 98/637[ECSC, the Commission gave an opinion as to the conformity of the 1994-1997 and 1998-2001 phases of the activity- reduction plan for Hunosa notified by Spain with the general and specific objectives of Decision No 3632/93/ ECSC. The Commission found that its request to Spain in Deci- sion No 98/637/ECSC that ‘the mines taken over by Hunosa from Minas de Lieres SA will have to close down definitively by 31 December 1999’ had not been complied with by the date set. By letter dated 30 March 2001, the Commission started a pre-litigation procedure before a letter of formal notice in order to examine whether failure to comply with this closure date was the reason for paying aid to cover production costs between 1 January 1998 and the closure date. () OJ L 303, 13.11.1998, p. 57. () OJ L 385,31.12.1994, p. 31.