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            COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1595/2004

of 8 September 2004         

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 fisheries products

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty establishing the European Community to certain categories of horizontal State aid (1), and in particular Article 1(1)(a)(i) thereof,

Having published a draft of this Regulation,

Having consulted the Advisory Committee on State Aid,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER 1

SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND CONDITIONS

Article 1

Scope

1.   This Regulation shall apply to aid granted to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing or marketing of fisheries products.

2.   This Regulation shall not apply to:

3.   This Regulation shall not apply to aid for individual projects with eligible expenses in excess of EUR 2 million, or where the amount of aid exceeds EUR 1 million per beneficiary per year.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

Article 3

Conditions for exemption

1.   Individual aid outside any scheme, fulfilling all the conditions of this Regulation, shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that the summary information provided for in Article 16(1) of this Regulation has been submitted and that it contains an express reference to this Regulation, by citing its title and publication reference in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.   Aid schemes fulfilling all the conditions set out in this Regulation shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

3.   Aid granted under the schemes referred to in paragraph 2 shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that the aid granted directly fulfils all the conditions of this Regulation.

4.   Before granting any aid under this Regulation, Member States shall verify that the measures financed and their effects comply with Community law. During the grant period, Member States shall verify that the beneficiaries of the aid comply with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.

CHAPTER 2

CATEGORIES OF AID

Article 4

Aid for producer groups or associations or members of the trade

Aid for the constitution and for the operation of producer groups or producer associations, and aid for measures implemented by such groups or associations or by members of the trade, shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 5

Aid for investments in the protection and development of aquatic resources

Aid for investments in the protection and development of aquatic resources shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 6

Aid for investments for innovative measures and technical assistance

1.   Aid for investments for innovative measures and technical assistance shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

2.   Aid for investments for innovative measures and technical assistance shall be excluded from the scope of paragraph 1 if they relate to the usual operating expenditure of the beneficiary.

Article 7

Aid for investments for promotion and advertising of fisheries products

Aid for investments for promotion and advertising of fisheries products shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 8

Aid for investments in processing and marketing

Aid for investments in the processing and marketing of fisheries products shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 9

Aid for investments in fishing port facilities

Aid for investments in fishing port facilities intended to assist landing operations and the provision of supplies to fishing vessels shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 10

Aid for the permanent cessation of fishing activities through the scrapping of a fishing vessel or its reassignment for a non profitable purpose other than fishing

Aid for the scrapping of fishing vessels or aid for the permanent reassignment of fishing vessels for non profitable purposes other than fishing shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 11

Aid for investments in the aquaculture and inland fishing sectors

Aid for investments in the aquaculture and inland fishing sectors shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Article 12

Socio-economic measures

Early retirement aid for fishermen and individual flat-rate premiums in compliance with the provisions of Article 12(1) and (2), Article 12(3)(a), (b) and (c), and Article 12(4)(a) to (e) of, and Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of national and Community subsidies fixed by Annex IV to that Regulation for such aid.

Article 13

Tax exemptions in accordance with Directives 77/388/EEC and 2003/96/EC

Tax exemptions applicable to the whole of the fisheries sector which Member States introduce pursuant to Article 15 of Directive 77/388/EEC or pursuant to Article 14 or Article 15(1) of Directive 2003/96/EC, shall, to the extent that they constitute State aid, be compatible with the common market and exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty.

CHAPTER 3

COMMON AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

Steps preceding grant of aid

1.   In order to qualify for exemption under this Regulation, aid under an aid scheme shall only be granted in respect of activities undertaken or services received after the aid scheme has been set up and published in accordance with this Regulation.

If the aid scheme creates an automatic right to receive the aid, requiring no further action at administrative level, the aid itself may only be granted after the aid scheme has been set up and published in accordance with this Regulation.

If the aid scheme requires an application to be submitted to the competent authority concerned, the aid itself may only be granted after the following conditions have been fulfilled:

2.   In order to qualify for exemption under this Regulation, individual aid outside any aid scheme shall only be granted in respect of activities undertaken or services received after the conditions in points (b) and (c) of the third subparagraph of paragraph 1 have been satisfied.

Article 15

Cumulation

Aid exempted by this Regulation shall not be cumulated with any other State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the Treaty in relation to the same eligible costs, if such cumulation would result in an aid intensity or aid amount exceeding the ceilings laid down in this Regulation.

Article 16

Transparency and monitoring

1.   At the latest 10 working days before the entry into force of an aid scheme, or the granting of individual aid outside any scheme, exempted by this Regulation, Member States shall forward to the Commission, with a view to its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, a summary of the information regarding such aid scheme or individual aid in computerised form and as laid down in Annex I. Within five working days from receiving that summary, the Commission shall send a notice of receipt with an identification number and publish the summary on the internet.

2.   Member States shall maintain detailed records regarding the aid schemes exempted by this Regulation, the individual aid granted under those schemes, and the individual aid exempted by this Regulation that is granted outside any existing aid scheme. Such records shall contain all information necessary to establish that the conditions for exemption, as laid down in this Regulation, are fulfilled, including information on the status of the company as an SME.

Member States shall keep a record regarding an individual aid for 10 years from the date on which it was granted and, regarding an aid scheme, for 10 years from the date on which the last individual aid was granted under such scheme.

On written request, the Member State concerned shall provide the Commission, within a period of 20 working days or such longer period as may be fixed in the request, with all the information which the Commission considers necessary to assess whether the conditions of this Regulation have been complied with.

3.   Member States shall make sure that no aid exempted under this Regulation is granted if it results in an aid intensity or aid amount exceeding the ceilings laid down in this Regulation. For that purpose, Member States shall either obtain from the enterprise concerned full information about other similar aid received or operate a monitoring system which makes it possible to calculate the total amount of aid received by a beneficiary of aid exempted by this Regulation, including any aid paid at different levels of the Member State concerned, and any Community support the beneficiary may receive.

4.   Member States shall compile a report on the application of this Regulation in respect of each whole or part calendar year during which this Regulation applies, in computerised form and as laid down in Annex II. This report may be integrated into the annual report to be submitted by Member States pursuant to Article 21(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 (9), and shall be submitted by 30 March of the year following the calendar year covered by the report.

5.   As soon as an aid scheme enters into force, or an individual aid is granted outside an aid scheme exempted by this Regulation, Member States shall publish on the internet the full text of such aid scheme, or the criteria and conditions under which such individual aid is granted. The address of the websites shall be communicated to the Commission together with the summary of the information regarding the aid required pursuant to paragraph 1. It shall also be contained in the annual report submitted pursuant to paragraph 4.

Article 17

Transitional Provisions

1.   Notifications pending at the time of entry into force of this Regulation shall be assessed in accordance with its provisions. Where the conditions of this Regulation are not fulfilled, the Commission shall examine such pending notifications under the Guidelines for the examination of state aid to fisheries and aquaculture.

Individual aid and aid schemes implemented before the date of entry into force of this Regulation and aid granted under these schemes in the absence of a Commission authorisation and in breach of the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt if they fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 3 of this Regulation, except the requirements in paragraph 1 and paragraph 2(b) and (c) of that Article that express reference be made to this Regulation and that the summary information has been provided. Any aid which does not fulfil those conditions shall be assessed by the Commission in accordance with the relevant frameworks, guidelines, communications and notices.

2.   Aid schemes exempted under this Regulation shall remain exempt during an adjustment period of six months following the date provided for in the second paragraph of Article 18.

Article 18

Entry into force and applicability

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 November 2004.

It shall apply until 31 December 2006.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 8 September 2004.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER            

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1.

(2)OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 (OJ L 63, 28.2.2004, p. 22).

(3)OJ C 229, 14.9.2004, p. 5.

(4)OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1421/2004 (OJ L 260, 6.8.2004, p. 1).

(5)OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/66/EC (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 35).

(6)OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51. (Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/75/EC (OJ L 157, 30.4.2004, p. 100).

(7)OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22.

(8)OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 57.

(9)OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.

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ANNEX I

Form of summary information to be provided whenever an aid scheme exempted by this Regulation is implemented and whenever an individual aid exempted by this Regulation is granted outside any aid scheme

Summary information on State aid granted in conformity with Commission Regulation (EC) No .../2004.

Summary information to be filled in.

Explanatory remarks.

Member State.

Region (indicate the name of the region if the aid is granted by a subcentral authority).

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid (indicate the name of the aid scheme or in the case of individual aid, the name of the beneficiary).

Legal basis (indicate the precise national legal reference for the aid scheme or for the individual aid).

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company (amounts are to be given in euro or, if applicable, national currency). In the case of an aid scheme, indicate the annual overall amount of the budget appropriation(s) or the estimated tax loss per year for all aid instruments contained in the scheme. In the case of an individual aid award: indicate the overall aid amount/tax loss. If appropriate, indicate also for how many years the aid will be paid in instalments or over how many years tax losses will be incurred. For guarantees in both cases, indicate the (maximum) amount of loans guaranteed).

Maximum aid intensity (indicate the maximum aid intensity or the maximum aid amount per eligible item).

Date of implementation (indicate the date from which aid may be granted under the scheme or when the individual aid is granted).

Duration of scheme or individual aid award (indicate the date (year and month) until which aid may be granted under the scheme or in the case of an individual aid and if appropriate the expected date (year and month) of the last instalment to be paid).

Objective of aid (it is understood that the primary objective is aid to SME. Indicate the further (secondary) objectives pursued).

Indicate which one of Articles 4 to 12 is used and the eligible costs covered by the scheme or individual aid.

Sector(s) concerned (indicate whether the scheme applies to the sea fishing sector, and/or to the aquaculture sector, and/or to the processing and/or marketing sector). Indicate the subsectors where appropriate.

Name and address of the granting authority.

Web address (indicate the internet address where the full text of the scheme or the criteria and conditions under which individual aid is granted outside of an aid scheme can be found).

Other information.

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ANNEX II

Form of the periodic report to be provided to the Commission

Annual reporting format on aid schemes exempted under a group exemption regulation adopted pursuant to Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98.

Member States are required to use the format below for their reporting obligations to the Commission under group exemption regulations adopted on the basis of Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98.

The reports shall also be provided in computerised form.

Information required for all aid schemes exempted under group exemption regulations adopted pursuant to Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98:

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