Today, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a resolution "On approval of the Criteria for assessing the eligibility of state aid to economic entities in coal sector," which was developed jointly with the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the European Union Project "Support to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine in implementing state aid rules."

Among the key tasks of the Resolution is to create legal and organizational mechanisms for implementing the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On State Aid to Business Entities" in terms of assessing the eligibility of state aid in the coal industry.

The document defines the criteria for assessing the eligibility of state aid provided to economic entities in the coal industry for the following purposes:

• closure (liquidation) of coal mining enterprises or their separate subdivisions;
• coverage of exceptional costs;
• providing access to coal reserves;
• measures for technical re-equipment and modernization of coal mining enterprises;
• covering current expenses.

The implementation of the proposed approach to the assessment of state aid in the coal industry primarily protects the interests of the state, society and businesses from distortions of competition and inefficient functioning of commodity markets due to inefficient and uncontrolled provision of such state aid in the coal industry.

The lack of criteria for assessing the eligibility of state aid in the coal industry will lead to the loss of one of the tools for effective state intervention in the economy.