No 52.  Weekly. 30 May 2003  

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Commission authorises the United Kingdom to grant aid in respect of the closure of coal mines

The European Commission has decided on 27 May not to raise any objections to the aid amounting to GBP 10 million which the United Kingdom is proposing to grant to UK Coal until March 2004. This aid will guarantee proper social conditions for miners losing their jobs after the closure of this undertaking's Selby Complex. The aid is considered compatible with the proper functioning of the internal market. 

Commission expresses doubts about aid granted to Greek airlines following 11 September

Today the European Commission expressed on 27 May doubts about some of the compensation (approximately € 5 million) granted to Olympic Airways and Aegean Cronus by the Greek government following the attacks on 11 September 2001 in the USA. The Commission considers that the compensation for flights cancelled after 14 September 2001 and for losses in areas not closed to air traffic seems to be incompatible with the European legislation on State aid. 

The Commission takes stock of the "designated driver" road safety campaigns

The European Commission is organising a conference in Brussels on Tuesday, 27 May to review the awareness building campaigns on "designated drivers." This scheme is about groups of friends designating one of their number, who gives an undertaking not to consume any alcohol, to drive them home safely from festivities. The Commission has supported road safety campaigns to the tune of some €2.2 million in eight Member States in 2001 and 2002: Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. 

Industrial conference on the Odessa-Brody-Plock Oil Transportation Project

Loyola de Palacio del Valle-Lersundi, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Transport and Energy, attended on 27th May the industrial conference on the Odessa-Brody-Plock Oil Transportation Project: Enhancing EU Energy Security and Integrity, that took place in Brussels. After the conference she signed a joint declaration with Marek Pol, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Vitaliy Haidux, Deputy Prime Minister of the Ukraine. In the declaration the governments of Poland and Ukraine agreed with the Europan Commission to co-operate to stimulate the the interest of organisations to make this project a reality while providing Technical Assistance porgrammes and promoting safe transportation around the European continent.  

EP: Compromise on internal energy market

As part of the joint debate on energy, Bernhard RAPKAY (PES, D), Claude TURMES (Greens/EFA, L) and Peter Michael MOMBAUR (EPP-ED, D), for the Industry Committee, will be putting forward three draft legislative resolutions on the completion of the single market in energy. The draft resolutions support a series of compromise amendments agreed with Council toll. The vote of this resolution will be debated on 2 June, and voted on second reading on 4 June.

EP: Amendments to the Guidelines for Trans-European energy Networks

Nick CLEGG (ELDR, East Midlands) will be presenting a legislative resolution for the Industry Committee on the guidelines for trans-European energy networks. The committee is proposing an amendment relating to the financial aid for the constructions phase of the projects, stating that EU funding should remain ”exceptional” and require special justification. Where projects receive increased financial support of up to 20%, MEPs in the committee believe that the increase should be justified as being in the interests of the European economy, in the general public interest and not result in distortion of competition. As to the actual projects chosen for the Trans European energy networks, the committee is of the opinion that the Commission should not have the power to alter the actual projects concerned, but rather only alter a particular part of the specified route. The proposal will be debated on second reading on 2 June.

European Commission
Energy and Transport Directorate-General
Information & Communication Unit
B-1049 Brussels
Fax : (32-2) 295.61.18

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The contents of this digest are prepared by officials of the Energy and Transport DG and represent their personal views on the subject matters. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the European Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission or the Energy and Transport DG.

(c) European Communities, 2003

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