EU calls time on loss-making coal mines (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Loss-making coal mines across the EU will have to close over the next four years, the European Commission says.

State subsidies for such mines will only be allowed if a closure plan is in place. Production subsidies are to be replaced by social and environmental aid for affected areas.

The new regulation targets hard coal - not lignite (brown coal).

Most subsidies go to mines in Germany's Ruhr region, north-west Spain and Romania's Jiu Valley.

The Commission says the sector employs around 100,000 people in Europe: 42,000 in the coal sector itself and more than 55,000 in related industries.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10713164




OK, now do lignite.