The Commission has found Spanish plans to grant €2.13 billion for the orderly closure of 26 uncompetitive coal mines to be in line with EU state aid rules. The aid aims to alleviate the social and environmental impact of the mine closures without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market. In April 2016 Spain notified plans to grant public support to the operators of 26 coal mines that are due to be shut down until 2018. The aid aims to ease the closure process by covering production losses of the mines until closure. It will also provide financial support to those workers, who have lost or will lose their jobs due to the closures, by funding severance payments and social security benefits. Furthermore, it will finance the safety and remediation works necessary after the mine closures. The Commission concluded that the plans are in line with EU state aid rules, in particular Council Decision 2010/787/EU.
