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Summary information communicated by the Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products

(2006/C 258/03)

XA Number: XA 53/06 (b)

Member State: Netherlands

Region: Province of Limburg

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Litjens Nursery (compensation for excessive expenses related to archaeological research and excavations Horst/Meterik)

Legal basis: Algemene wet bestuursrecht, Article 4(23)(3)(d). Decision of the Provincial Executive of 16 May 2006

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of aid granted to the company: EUR 80 000

Maximum aid intensity: EUR 80 000

Date of implementation: 16 May 2006. Payment will be made subject to appeal under the General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht) and the date of publication of the notification in the Official Journal by the European Commission

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: An advance will be granted equal to 50 % of the subsidy. The remaining 50 % will be paid out after the project has been completed

Objective of aid: Under Article 19 of the Spatial Planning Act (Wet op de Ruimtelijke Ordening) and other national and provincial regulations, an application for planning permission was filed with a view to extending a complex of greenhouses in Horst-Meterik. During the preliminary examinations an archaeological find of such exceptional importance was made that excavations were unavoidable. The costs associated with these excavations are out of all proportion to the investment costs and the estimated profit margin of this private initiative.

Levelling and foundation works will make such big holes in the soil strata that the remaining information will become incoherent and will lose its archaeological value. The find itself is rather unique for the province of Limburg. The excavation must be commissioned by the Litjens family. Bearing this in mind, and bearing in mind the reality that conserving the find in situ is not an option (see below), the decision was made to excavate.

The preliminary estimate of the costs associated with excavation his EUR 160 000 (not including VAT). Under normal circumstances such an outlay is not insurmountable for a project developer or a municipal council, as the costs can be offset by the sales price of the land and housing. In this case however, the applicant owns a small business (a producer of bell peppers) whose profit margin is not such that the expense of the excavations can be borne by him (loss of income due to archaeological excavation). Given that the find itself is rather unique for the province of Limburg, the Limburg provincial authorities and the Horst aan de Maas Municipal Council have decided to subsidise the excavations. The cost breakdown is as follows:

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web address: http://www.limburg.nl/nl/html/socrates/PSINFO/Openbare %20besluitenlijsten %20GS2006/060323-0235.doc

Aid No: XA 73/06

Member State: Czech Republic

Region: Vysočina

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: ‘Podpora poskytování technické podpory v odvětví zemědělství’ (‘Aid for the provision of technical support in the agricultural sector’)

An agricultural entrepreneur, i.e. a natural or legal person whose income is derived from agricultural production carried out as a continuous and independent activity in his own name and under his own responsibility, and for the purpose of producing a profit.

Legal entities established for non-business purposes, i.e. civic associations, public benefit societies or interest groupings of legal persons

Legal basis: 

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Maximum annual expenditure: CZK 200 000

Maximum aid intensity: Amount of aid: up to 100 % of eligible costs.

Eligible costs which may qualify for a financial contribution range from CZK 5 000 to CZK 200 000 per individual project.

The maximum amount of a financial contribution per beneficiary/project holder is CZK 200 000.

The total amount of a financial contribution granted under this measure must not exceed EUR 100 000 per beneficiary over any three-year period

Date of implementation: From 1 September 2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: The aid is aimed at enhancing the professional competence of operators active in the agricultural sector with a view to increasing labour efficiency and productivity.

This aid is in compliance with generally applicable legislation in the Czech Republic as well as with the objectives and priorities of the Development Programme for the Vysočina Region. The aid is governed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products (Article 14 — Provision of technical support in the agricultural sector).

The following are regarded as eligible costs: expenditure on organising competitions and exhibitions aimed at the agricultural sector, including assistance with costs relating to the participation of exhibitors at such events; expenditure on organising training events aimed at the agricultural sector in the form of courses, seminars or workshops; expenditure on technological and economic consultancy for agricultural entrepreneurs

Sector(s) concerned: Agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web address: http://www.kr-vysocina.cz/

Other information: The Regional Authority of the Vysočina Region declares that the conditions laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 will be met, i.e. the aid will be targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises, and that the financial limit set in that Regulation will be adhered to

Aid Number: XA 74/06

Member State: France

Region: Département de Saône-et-Loire

Title of aid scheme: Development of an environmentally-friendly and sustainable policy

Legal basis:: 

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: Annual expenditure of EUR 100 000 (maximum)

Maximum aid intensity: 

Date of implementation: On receipt of an acknowledgement of receipt from the European Commission in 2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Seven years, subject to changes in European rules and the availability of budget appropriations

Objective of aid: To contribute to improving practices on farms to achieve better protection of the environment, by:

promoting on-farm composting, which makes it possible to exploit fermentable waste produced by farms and green waste generated in rural areas;

developing the use of biofuels produced and then consumed on farms;

encouraging farmers to make savings in the collection and management of rainwater, by setting up aid for the works and equipment necessary for the recovery and storage of rainwater and aid for distribution pumps (in order to control water consumption on farms, particularly in the cleaning of equipment).

Sector(s) concerned: All agricultural production sectors in the department

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web site address: http://www.cg71.com

Aid number: XA 75/06

Member State: France

Region: Département de Saône-et-Loire

Title of aid scheme: Acquisition of shared equipment

Legal basis: 

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: Annual aid of EUR 60 000 (maximum)

Maximum aid intensity: Eligible expenditure: new equipment

Manure spreaders — Maximum eligible expenditure: EUR 22 500

Windrow turners — Maximum eligible expenditure: EUR 36 800

Vine mowers — Maximum eligible expenditure: EUR 22 500

Hedge trimmers — Maximum eligible expenditure: EUR 22 500

Mobile wood shredders or mills — Maximum eligible expenditure: EUR 22 500

High clearance tractors — Maximum eligible expenditure: EUR 80 000

Non-eligible expenditure: equipment intended simply to replace existing equipment.

Grant Rate: 20 %, except for high clearance tractors (grant rate 15 % — overall funding cap of 40 % including other sources of financing.

5 % increase if the investment includes an Investment Plan over at least three years

Date of implementation: On receipt of an acknowledgement of receipt from the European Commission in 2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Seven years, subject to changes to European rules and the availability of budgetary appropriations

Objective of aid: Since group farming has demonstrated its efficiency during the recent crises, the department wishes to enhance the capabilities of cooperatives for the use of agricultural equipment (CUMA) by setting up equipment aid that complements aid at regional level, within the limits of the maximum rates of funding. Eligible equipment will be used to improve environmental cultivation conditions on farms.

Under Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003, expenditure on the following is eligible for aid at department level: manure spreaders, windrow turners, vine mowers, hedge trimmers, mobile wood shredders or mills, high clearance tractors

Sector(s) concerned: All agricultural production sectors in the département

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web site address: http://www.cg71.com

XA Number: XA 76/06

Member state: Slovak Republic

Region: Stredné Slovensko

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Poľnohospodárske družstvo Belá — Dulice

038 11 Belá — Dulice 1; IČO: 00196452

Legal basis: 

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: SKK 393 226 i.e. EUR 10 324,144 (exchange rate on 3.8.2006)

Maximum aid intensity: 13,85 %

Date of implementation: 2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: August — 2006

Objective of aid: SME — agriculture

Economic sector concerned: Agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web address: www.socpoist.sk

XA Number: XA 77/06

Member state: Slovak Republic

Region: Stredné Slovensko

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: AFG, s.r.o., Dĺžiny 122/40

039 18 Turčianske Teplice; IČO: 36383422

Legal basis: 

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: SKK 955 843 i.e. EUR 25 095,646 (exchange rate on 3.8.2006)

Maximum aid intensity: 35,5 %

Date of implementation: 2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: August — 2006

Objective of aid: SME — agriculture

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web address: www.socpoist.sk

XA number: XA 78/06

Member State: Poland

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Aid for owners of Thoroughbreds and Arabians for participation of their horses in horse races, which are selection events organised in order to classify the horses in terms of their speed and competitiveness resulting from a direct comparison during a competition on a racing track

Legal basis: 

Annual expenditure planned within the system or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Expenditure planned within the system amounts to PLN 2 000 000

Maximum amount of aid (in relation to entitled position): 820 PLN

Date of application: After the reception of a notification in a form of confirmation together with an identification number stating that the European Commission received this summary information on the aid granted within the system

Duration of scheme or individual aid granted: from the 3rd decade of August 2006 to December 2006

Objective of aid: In conformity with Article 14(2)(d)(i) of Commission Regulation No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State Aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products, aid is granted to cover the participation fee in 2006 in order to ensure the appropriate number of horses to perform a selection race. In the present year, due to the lack of possibility to choose the organiser of horse races in the Służewiec Racetrack in Warsaw, who would be authorised to organize lottery bets, the organisation of selection races for 970 horses was jeopardized. These races, as one of the components in the assessment of horses' value, are organised for horses belonging to a particular age group and are a basis for their qualification in the breeding process. Horses without this value assessment component would be practically lost for breeding purposes. In order to avoid this, attempts were made to organise horse races in the Służewiec Racetrack only as a selection races, i.e. without selling tickets for the public and without bets. In this case the basic revenue of the future organiser would consist of registration fees of horses registered for races. This will have a significant impact on registration fees and it may turn out that they will be too high for horse owners who registered their horses for selection races in 2006.

Therefore, in order to make sure that a sufficient number of horses will take part in the selection races and to encourage horse owners to register their horses for races, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development decided to grant aid for the participation of horses in the races in the form of subsidising the costs of registration

Sector(s) concerned: The aid is granted to beneficiaries carrying out agricultural activities in the animal production sector

Name and address of the granting authority: 

Web address: The Decree of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development defining the principles of this aid

http://isip.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/indez.html

Other information: 

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