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Coal state Saxony’s premier, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), expects decisions on a timetable for mining region support from today’s (31 January) meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, several of her cabinet members and the heads of the coal exit commission, . Affected state premiers had proposed to agree on key infrastructure projects in a programme of measures by the end of April, he said. , Kretschmer said: “We must act quickly regarding structural economic change. For this we need reliable commitments for long-term financial support for the coal regions.” In the Dlf interview, Kretschmer added that the deal agreed by Germany’s coal exit commission to end coal-fired power generation by 2038 at the latest should be implemented now. “I don’t want to re-open the package. It is important that everyone abides by it,” he said, commenting on the criticism of the proposed exit date by environmental NGOs. Germany’s government has signalled a swift process to assess the proposal agreed by the country’s coal exit commission in order to set the law-making process in motion.