31 Amendments of Lena KOLARSKA-BOBIŃSKA related to 2010/0220(NLE)
Amendment 29 #
Recital 1
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1407/20025 of 23 July 2002 on State aid to the coal industry expires on 31 December 2010 and in the absence of a new legal framework allowing for certain specific types of State aid to the coal industry, Member States can grant aid only within the limits provided for in the general State aid rules applicable to all sectors.
Amendment 31 #
Recital 2
(2) The small contribution of subsidised coal to the overall energy mix in some Member States no longer justifies the maintenance of suchignificant subsidies with a view of securing the supply of energy on a Union level.
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the operation of the production units concerned must form part of a closure plan the deadline of which does not extend beyond 1 October 2014 20;
Amendment 35 #
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) Article 194, paragraph 2, clearly states that energy measures "shall not affect a Member State's right to determine the conditions for exploiting its energy resources, its choice between different energy sources and the general structure of its energy supply, without prejudice to Article 192(2)(c)".
Amendment 36 #
Recital 2 b (new)
(2b) The expiry of Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002 will force some Member States to close their hard coal mines and cope with the social and regional consequences, possibly to the extent of a general impoverishment of entire communities, which could be significant in some regions.
Amendment 37 #
Recital 3
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) the production units concerned must have been in activity on 31 December 20098;
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) the overall amount of closure aid granted by a Member State for any particular undertaking must follow a downward trend, where the reduction between successive periods of fifteen months must not be less than 3316 percent of the aid provided in the initial fifteen -month period of the closure plan;
Amendment 40 #
Recital 3
(3) The Union's policies of encouraging renewable and lower carbon fossil fuels for power generation do not justify the iIndefinite support for uncompetitive coal mines is not justified. The categories of aid permitted by Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002 should therefore not be continued indefinitely.
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) the overall amount of closure aid to the coal industry of a Member State must not exceed, for any year after 20101, the amount of aid granted by that Member State and authorised by the Commission in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002 for the year 2010.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
Amendment 47 #
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) The Commission should allow, where necessary, the extension of hard coal subsidies in certain Member States in accordance with Union law in view of the special situation in some regions.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Funds granted from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) shall not be included in the maximum amount of and may apply in addition to the aid authorised under this Regulation.
Amendment 49 #
Recital 5
(5) Without prejudice to the general State aid rules, Member States should be able to take measures to alleviate the social and regional consequences of the possible closure of those mines, that is to say the orderly winding down of activities in the context of an irrevocable closure plan and/or the financing of exceptional costs, inherited liabilities in particular.
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex – paragraph 1 – point l a (new)
Annex – paragraph 1 – point l a (new)
(la) costs related to securing the closure site.
Amendment 51 #
Recital 6
(6) This Regulation marks an additional step in the transition of the coal sector from sector-specific rules to the general State aid rules applicable to all sectors.
Amendment 54 #
Recital 7
(7) In order to minimise the distortion of competition in the internal market resulting from aid, such aid should be degressive and strictlyfollow a downward trend and should be limited to production units that are irrevocably planned for closure.
Amendment 55 #
Recital 8
Amendment 61 #
Recital 8
(8) In order to mitigate the negative environmental impact of aid to coal, the Member State should provide a plan of appropriate measures, for example in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy or new clean coal technology including carbon capture and storage.
Amendment 63 #
Recital 8 a (new)
(8a) In coal-powered stations, indigenous coal is very likely to be replaced by imported coal. The overall impact on greenhouse gas emissions depends on the emissions from coal mining in third countries and from the transport of the coal to the Union.
Amendment 65 #
Recital 11
(11) The application of this Regulation does not exclude that aid to the coal industry may be found compatible with the internal market on other grounds nor does it exclude the eligibility of businesses or regions affected by the closure of a coal mine to benefit from other national or European funds, including the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) and cohesion policy funds;
Amendment 79 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the operation of the production units concerned must form part of a closure plan the deadline of which does not extend beyond 31 OctoDecember 2014 20;
Amendment 85 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the production units concerned must be closed definitively in accordance with the closure plan, unless, by the deadline included therein, the production unit concerned has a clear prospect of becoming competitive by 31 December 2022 independently or by a one-off injection of public funds in accordance with Union law;
Amendment 86 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the production units concerned must be closed definitively in accordance with the closure plan; unless, by the deadline included therein, the production unit concerned has a clear prospect of becoming competitive by 31 December 2022 independently or by the one-off injection of public funds inline with Union law;
Amendment 90 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) the overall amount of closure aid granted by a Member State for any particular undertaking must follow a downward trend, where the reduction between successive periods of fifteentwelve months must not be less than 3310 percent of the aid provided in the initial fifteen month periodfirst year of the closure plan;
Amendment 91 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) the overall amount of closure aid granted by a Member State for any particular undertaking must follow a downward trend, where the reduction between successive periods of fifteentwelve months must not be less than 3310 percent of the aid provided in the initial fifteenfirst twelve month period of the closure plan;
Amendment 93 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) the overall amount of closure aid granted by a Member State for any particular undertaking must follow a downward trend, where the reduction between successive periods of fifteen months must not be less than 33 percent of the aid provided in the initial fifteen month period of the closure plan;
Amendment 96 #
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
Amendment 103 #
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. If the production units to which aid is granted pursuant to paragraph 1 are not closed at the date fixed in the closure plan as authorised by the Commission, and the Commission does not agree to the revision of the closure plan, the Member State concerned shall recover all aid granted in respect of the whole period covered by the closure plan.
Amendment 107 #
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Funds granted from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) shall not be included in the maximum amount of, and may apply in addition to, the aid authorised under this Regulation.
Amendment 113 #
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
This Regulation shall expire on 31 December 202630.