Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid

(2001/C 339/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XT/02/2001

Member State: Germany

Region: Land of Lower Saxony

Title: Grants for measures to assist employees in areas subject to economic and social change financed out of resources from the Land of Lower Saxony and the European Social Fund in connection with Objective 2

Legal basis: § 44 Landeshaushaltsordnung Niedersachsen (LHO)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: Assistance totalling DEM 5,2 million (EUR 2,66 million) per year

Maximum aid intensity: The grants (national co-financing plus ESF funds) must not exceed 75 % of overall eligible expenditure in the case of SMEs. The corresponding figure for large enterprises is 55 %. The grants out of ESF resources must not exceed 50 % of eligible expenditure within the assessment ceiling

Date of implementation: 1 April 2001

Duration of scheme: 1 April 2001 to 31 December 2005

Objective: To promote measures which focus on locally or regionally identified requirements and are based on a bottom-up approach. The assisted measures must be linked to activities supported from the other structural funds

The identification of requirements in the areas of education and the acquisition of skills must be accompanied by the setting of targets for the development and conversion of undertakings. This may include, for example, specific measures in the following areas, in so far as they supplement general measures in connection with Objective 3:

- development of appropriate training and integration initiatives and adaptation of the further training available to the changing requirements of local and regional firms against the background of adjustments or in preparation for restructuring,

- acquisition of further skills by employees, establishment of new activities for the development of new products or processes or tapping market potential, with account also being taken of requirements in the technology and environmental area,

- identification and formulation of firms' requirements and promotion of adjustment of the training and employment systems to requirements at local and regional level,

- formation of regional and local networks of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to develop structures and systems in relation to new types of work model and new forms of organising work, with account also being taken of the need to reconcile family and job (e.g. teleworking)

Measures to promote the acquisition of vocational skills, guidance and advisory services should receive priority assistance. These include:

- skills acquisition by way of innovative concepts and methods, particularly in the area of information technologies,

- skills acquisition for employees in tourism and the hotel/catering industry and in the commercial and cultural area with the aim of improving quality,

- promotion of training, further training and advisory services for skilled and unskilled workers or workers threatened with unemployment,

- advisory services and further training for skilled employees and management in research, development, production and the service sector, with special attention being paid to environmental protection,

- advisory services and skills acquisition for individuals setting up in business on their own or taking over a firm,

- specific measures in favour of women and their participation in the labour market, including vocational advancement,

- aquisition by workers aged 45 or over of skills in the new technologies sector with a view to preserving, developing further and expanding vocational skills and thereby ensuring employability

Economic sectors concerned: All economic sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Frauen, Arbeit und Soziales Hinrich-Wilhelm-Kopf-Platz 2 D - 30159 Hannover

Other information: Mr Gosling, tel. (49-511) 120 30 43; Mr Franz, tel. (49-511) 120 30 47

Aid No: XT/03/2001

Member State: Germany

Region: Land of Lower Saxony

Title: Grants for measures to assist employees in adapting to economic and social change financed out of resources from the Land of Lower Saxony and the European Social Fund in connection with Objective 3

Legal basis: § 44 Landeshaushaltsordnung Niedersachsen (LHO)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: Assistance totalling DEM 16,5 million (EUR 8,43 million) per year

Maximum aid intensity: The grants (national co-financing plus ESF funds) must not exceed 70 % of overall eligible expenditure in the case of SMEs. The corresponding figure for large enterprises is 50 %. The grants out of ESF resources must not exceed 45 % of eligible expenditure within the assessment ceiling

Date of implementation: 1 April 2001

Duration of scheme: 1 April 2001 to 31 December 2006

Objective: To promote general training measures in support of structural change in the form of skills training, guidance and advisory services for employees in SMEs:

(a) skills acquisition by way of innovative concepts and methods, particularly in the area of social skills and group work;

(b) promotion of training, further training, and advisory services for skilled and unskilled workers or workers threatened with unemployment; promotion of further training and skills acquisition by skilled female workers;

(c) advisory services and further training for skilled employees and management in research, development, production and the service sector, with special attention being paid to environmental protection;

(d) advisory services and skills acquisition for individuals setting up in business on their own or taking over a firm;

(e) specific measures in favour of women and their participation in the labour market, including vocational advancement,

(f) acquisition by workers aged 45 or over of skills in the new technologies sector with a view to preserving, developing further and expanding vocational skills and thereby ensuring employability;

(g) skills acquisition for workers alongside recruitment of an unemployed person on a job-rotation basis;

(h) conduct of studies to predict developments on the labour market and in the need for vocational skills, to be followed by practical implementation of the findings;

(i) studies on extending structures and systems to take in new work models and testing of new forms of work organisation, having regard to the need to combine family and work (e.g. teleworking)

Economic sectors concerned: All economic sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Frauen, Arbeit und Soziales Hinrich-Wilhelm-Kopf-Platz 2 D - 30159 Hannover

Other information: Mr Gosling, tel. (49-511) 120 30 43; Mr Franz, tel. (49-511) 120 30 47

Aid No: XT/22/2001

Member State: Italy

Region: Autonomous Province of Trento

Title: Funding for company, sectoral and regional training schemes

Legal basis: Deliberazione della Giunta provinciale n. 277 d.d. 9 febbraio 2001 avente ad oggetto "Procedure e criteri di attuazione delle azioni formative aziendali riferibili alla gestione dei fondi di cui all'articolo 9, comma 3, della Legge 19 luglio 1993, n. 236 - Circolare del ministero del Lavoro e della Previdenza sociale n. 92/2000", in attuazione della Circolare del ministero del Lavoro della Previdenza sozial n. 92 d.d. 29 dicembre 2000 che ripartisce tra le regioni italiane le risorse di cui all'articolo 9, comma 5, del decreto-legge n. 148 d.d. 20 maggio 1993 (convertito dalla legge n. 236 d.d. 19 luglio 1993)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: ITL 3780998446 (EUR 1952722,73) for the Autonomous Province of Trento

Maximum aid intensity: Specific training for large enterprises:

Intensity not exceeding 25 %

Specific training for SMEs:

Intensity not exceeding 35 %

General training for large enterprises:

Intensity not exceeding 50 %

General training for SMEs:

Intensity not exceeding 70 %

Date of implementation: 23 March 2001

Duration of scheme: Indefinite

Objective: The aid is intended for general and special training. General training within the meaning of aforementioned Deliberazione of G.P. No 277 of 9 February 2001 involves tuition which is not applicable only or principally to the employee's present or future position in the assisted firm but which provides qualifications that are largely transferable to other firms or fields of work and thereby substantially improve the employability of the employee

Economic sectors concerned: All sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Provinzia Autonoma di Trento Servizio Addestramento e Formazione Professionale Via Diaz 15 I - 38100 Trento

Other information: The Exemption Regulation expires on 31 December 2006, followed by a six-month transitional period