BERLIN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Following a summit meeting held here late on Tuesday, the prospects have improved for Germany's regions affected by the country's withdrawal from coal-fired power generation to receive long-term financial support.

Structural support over many years would be necessary and "substantial funds" would have to be made available, said Reiner Haseloff, minister president of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.

According to participants in the meeting of Germany's federal states, government ministers and Chancellor Angela Merkel, the prospects of an agreement have improved, with Finance Minister Olaf Scholz assuring "long-term financial commitment" to this purpose, Haseloff said.

The ministers of the federal states that are particularly affected by Germany's planned phase-out of coal power had demanded significantly more money for structural change than the 1.5 billion euros (1.7 billion U.S. dollars) which were already included in Germany's federal budget up to 2021.

Haseloff said that the so-called coal commission, which is discussing the timing and conditions for opting out of coal power, must first set "guardrails" before finalizing details.

The phase-out of coal energy and the transition to renewable energy sources present a huge challenge to Germany's energy sector. To manage the requisite structural changes, the German government established the coal commission in 2018. It brings together politicians, industry figures, economic experts as well as environmental associations and regional representatives.

Haseloff said that the next meeting of the coal commission, on Jan. 25. will be hugely important. Should the commission fail to reach a conclusion by then, the ministers of the coal states would have to meet again with Merkel and federal ministers on Jan. 31, said Haseloff. Enditem

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