G/SCM/Q2/EU/25  
27 February 2013  
(13-1056)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Subsidy and Countervailing Measures  Original: English/Spanish  
 
  SUBSIDIES 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY ARGENTINA1 REGARDING THE NEW AND FULL 
NOTIFICATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION2 
 The following communication, dated 18 February 2013, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the European Union.  
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  SPAIN (document G/SCM/N/220/EEC/Add.25) 
 
 With regard to programme 1.A "R estructuring of Aquaculture": 
 
1. Would the EU please specify the type of  environmental investment that is to be 
subsidized.  
Reply 
 
 The type of environmental investment that ca n be subsidized is set out in Article 30.2 of 
Council Regulation 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006. 
 
Article 30 Aqua-environmental measures: 
 
2. The purpose of the support is to promote:  
(a) forms of aquaculture comprising protec tion and enhancement of the environment, 
natural resources, genetic diversity, and management of the landscape and traditional features of aquaculture zones;  
 With regard to programme 1.B "Reorganization of the Fishing Fleet. Permanent 
Cessation":  
2. Would the EU please specify the requirem ents that the owners of fishing vessels 
must meet in order to be nefit from this subsidy. 
 
Reply 
 
 The requirements to be met in order to ob tain support for permanent cessation are as 
follows: 
 
 The vessel must be included in a national fishing effort adjustment plan;  
 The vessel must be more than ten years old; 
  The vessel has to have been active 90 days during each one of the two years preceding the 
application for permanent cession for 120 days during the last year prior to the application. 
                                               
1 G/SCM/Q2/EU/19. 
2 G/SCM/N/220/EEC/Add.25 and G/SCM/N/220/EEC/Add.27. G/SCM/Q2/EU/25 
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3. How are the funds received and when must the vessel permanently cease its fishing activities?  
Reply 
 
 The owner of the fishing vessel receives aid in the form of funds from the EU and 
from the Member State according to the co-financing percentages established in Council 
Regulation (EC) 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006.   The decision granting the aid provides th e owner with a deadline for submitting the 
application for payment. In order to be able to make the application for payment, the vessel has to 
have been scrapped, and the scrapping of the vessel certified by the maritime authorities. 
 
 The deadline provided in the decision varies according to the difficulties involved in the 
scrapping the vessel depending on its tonnage.  
With regard to programme 1.C "Reorganization of the Fishing Fleet. Investments 
on Board Fishing Vessels and Selectivity":  4. Would the EU please provide further de tails of the types of project aimed at 
improving product quality and energy efficiency that have been financed by this subsidy. 
 Reply 
  Examples of projects aimed at improving product quality:  
 Cold storage of catches; 
Fish classifiers Conveyor belts to avoid handling 
 
Examples of projects aimed at  improving energy efficiency: 
  Modification of trawl doors 
 New propeller design 
 Stabilization systems  Replacement of engines 
 Econometers 
 Improvement of the insulation of re frigerators and refrigerating equipment 
 
With regard to programme II.A "Aid to Jo b Creation Projects in Mining Areas": 
 
5. Would the EU please specify the requirem ents that companies must meet in order 
to benefit from this subsidy. What type s of project have received this subsidy?  
 
Reply 
 
 These requirements are described in ORDE R ITC/1044/2007 of 12 April establishing the 
regulatory basis for aid for job creation business projects that promote alternative development in mining areas, for the period 2007-2012, Article (6).  
 6. Requirements for the projects. 
  1. The requirements for projects for which aid is requested are as follows: 
 
(a) Degree of realization of the investment. As a general rule, project investment must 
not be initiated prior to the submission of the application for aid and, once that has 
been done, before the Institute for the Restructuring of Coal Mining and Alternative 
Development of Mining Regions has confirmed to the applicant in writing that in principle, pending a detailed verification, the project meets the requirements for subsidization. If the work begins before the conditions laid down in this paragraph 
have been met, the entire project will no longer be eligible for aid. G/SCM/Q2/EU/25 
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This condition will be fully reviewed during the verification of the realization of the 
eligible investment approved by the Institute. The presentation and justification of investment items prior to the required confirmation by the Institute for the investment 
to be initiated will result in the loss of the total aid approved on the grounds that this 
requirement was not met. 
 
In no case shall the applicant receive written confirmation that the project complies, in 
principle, with the requirements for subsidization before the Institute has received all of the documentation required for the application to be examined. 
 
(b) Minimum investment. For projects submitted by companies with their own legal 
personality, the minimum subsidizable investment is €240,000. 
 
 For projects involving co-ownership, self-employed persons or any other type of 
economic unit or separate property without its own legal personality, the minimum subsidizable investment is €120,000. For the purposes of this order, self-employed 
projects are defined as those in which the promoter or promoters provide proof of 
their self-employed status. 
 
 The minimum required investment may be reduced, exceptionally, in the case of 
applications for the financing of projects that can be located in the municipalities listed 
in Annex I referred to in paragraph 4.1 of this Order, in particular projects relating to rural tourism and micro-projects or projects of self-employed individuals. 
 
(c) Job creation. All of the projects for which aid is granted must create at least three 
work posts between the date of notification of the authorization to initiate the 
investment and the deadline set forth in the decision granting the aid, and those work 
posts must be maintained for a minimum period of three years. The different kinds of recruitment provided for in the labour laws are acceptable for the purposes of job creation. 
 
 Recruitment projects without investment or transformation of the legal forms of 
recruitment are not eligible for the aid regulated hereunder. 
 
 Permanent seasonal contracts and part-time contracts are calculated on a pro rata  
basis to the duration of service. However, employment calculated on that basis must 
in no case exceed 35% of the new em ployment generated by each project. 
The number of workers shall correspond to the number of work units/year, i.e. the number of full-time dependent employees em ployed for a year, with part-time and 
seasonal work counting as fractions of the work units/year. The minimum job creation 
requirement may be reduced, exceptionally, in the case of applications for the 
financing of projects that could be located in municipalities included in Annex I referred to in paragraph 4.1 of this Order, in particular projects relating to rural 
tourism and projects and micro-projects of self-employed individuals. 
 
In enterprise-creating projects that are clearly linked through the shareholders or 
owners of the enterprises to the prior winding up or liquidation of other enterprises or 
companies with a similar business name or production activity and located within the area covered by the aid regulated by this Order, the new jobs generated will be calculated as the difference between the employment generated by the investment 
project and the jobs previously destroyed as a result of the liquidation or winding up 
of enterprises or companies. 
 
(d) Commencement of the project. For all of th e projects receiving aid, investment must 
commence during the year in which the application is submitted. 
 
Moreover, at least 10% of the investment considered to be subsidizable has to have 
been carried out and paid within three calendar months following the date of receipt of the final approval of the aid requested for the project. Investments and expenditures that may be deemed necessary for the prepar ation of the project, such as design and G/SCM/Q2/EU/25 
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  development expenses, and expenditure on applications for licences and/or 
administrative authorizations, are not included in the calculation. 
 UNITED KINGDOM (document G/SCM/N/220/EEC/Add.27) 
 
With regard to programme XI "Invest NI  - Buying Time Assistance Scheme": 
 
6. Would the EU please specify the requ irements that the "manufacturing and 
internationally traded service companies" mu st meet in order to benefit from this 
subsidy.  
Reply 
 
Manufacturing and internationally traded service companies must be small and medium 
enterprises in difficulty. 
 
(a) Small and medium-sized companies are companies which: 
 
 - have fewer than 250 employees;   - which have an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million, and/or an annual 
balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million; and 
  - are autonomous enterprises. 
 
(b) Enterprises are regarded as being in difficulty if one of the following conditions 
is satisfied: 
 
 - in the case of a limited company, where more than half of its registered capital 
has disappeared and more than one quarte r of that capital has been lost over 
the preceding 12 months; 
 
- in the case of an unlimited company, where more than half of its capital as 
shown in the company accounts has disappeared and more than one quarter of 
that capital has been lost over the preceding 12 months; 
 
- the company fulfils the criteria under the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) 
Order 1989 for the making of an Administration Order, or the appointment of a 
Receiver, or the appointment of a liquidator other than via a members voluntary winding up. 
 
(c)  Newly created firms are not eligible for aid under the present scheme. 
 
Invest NI must also be satisfied that there is  a good chance of there being a viable core 
business which can be restructured and survive in the medium to long term. 
 7. Would the EU please indicate which sectors have received this subsidy? 
 
Reply 
 
The scheme applies to all sectors, with the exception of the steel and coal industry covered 
by the ECSC Treaty. Sectors which have received Buying Time support include: 
  food & drinks manufacturing; 
 life science services; 
 ICT & professional services; 
 precision engineering; and 
 print services 
 G/SCM/Q2/EU/25 
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  The scheme is not be available to manufacturing or service companies serving a purely local 
market and sectors such as retail, wholesale, distribution and transportation would also not be eligible.  
With regard to programme XLV "SE - Regi onal Selective Assistance Scotland": 
 8. Would the EU please indicate which se ctors have received this subsidy. What 
requirements must companies meet in order to benefit from the subsidy? 
 Reply 
 
All sectors which are eligible for regional investment aid are eligible to receive the subsidy. 
As per Regional Aid Guidelines, restricted sectors are not supported by the scheme, nor, generally are sectors which are well provided for (construction, retail etc.) 
 
In order to qualify, companies must meet th e specific criteria of the scheme, which are 
derived from the requirements set out for Regional investment in the General Block Exemption 
Regulation. Appraisal of each application to assess its need for grant on a number of levels 
(financial position of applicant, cashflow proj ections, number of jobs being created etc.) and a 
decision taken on whether a grant offer should be made on that basis.  
With regard to programme LIX "WAG - Capital Investment Aid and 
Employment Aid":  
9. Would the EU please specify the requirem ents that companies must meet in order 
to benefit from this subsidy.  
Reply 
 
The scheme is open to all companies located in Wales. In order to qualify, companies must 
meet the requirements set out for Regional investment and employment aid, or SME investment 
and employment aid in the General Block Exemptio n Regulation, and other criteria as set out by 
the Welsh Government. The scheme allows the Welsh Government to: assist with the development of the most disadvantaged regions in Wales by supporting sustainable investment, job creation 
and safeguarding employment; help address regional imbalances within Wales and between Wales 
and the rest of the UK; help address market failures such as commercial property investment; and help to offset the difficulty that SMEs have ob taining capital investment and employment aid given 
the risk-averse nature of certain financial markets and the limited collateral that SMEs may be able 
to offer.  
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