On Monday, the European Commission launched the EU's new coal platform. European Commission Vice-president for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič informed that it should facilitate the drawing up of projects and long-term strategies for the EU's coal regions, including Slovakia's. The new platform aims at launching the process of a transition to other energy sources whilst reacting to environmental and social challenges. The Commission noted that 41 regions in 12 EU-member countries are actively involved in coal mining, providing jobs to 185,000 people. Nonetheless, coal production and consumption in the EU have been declining in recent decades, with the EU executive now introducing a plan to help these regions in their transition to a new economic future. A pilot project concerns three countries - Slovakia, Poland and Greece. "We mainly want to deal with the Upper Nitra region," said Šefčovič, adding that in Belgium, for example, a mining area had been transformed into a scientific centre.
