Sweden sells its German coal mines

The Swedish government approved the state-owned enterprise plan, wanting to sell its four German coal mines and related assets to Czech investors.

In accordance with the plan announced on Saturday, the operations of Vattenfall AB, which is located in the Lausitz region of East Germany, will be sold to the Czech energy company EPH and its financial partner PPF. According to the Minister for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Mikael Damberg: "The mines should be closed and selling them would be better than operating at a loss."

“The deal is of strategic importance to the company and it is the best option financially,” Damberg said. “The selling price is higher than keeping the mine and keeping the business running,” he added.

The Swedish government’s decision to continue operating the facilities has outraged Germany’s powerful environmental lobby. They say the sale is "an unsuccessful attempt to improve environmental performance at Vattenfall."