EN Official Journal of the European Union C 138/4

Summary information communicated by Member States on State aid granted in conformity with 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

(2005/C 138/03)

Aid No: XA 16/05

Member State: France

Region: Centre

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Aid for the creation of ‘maisons de cultures’ (growing sheds) for agricultural production.

A growing shed is a building in which agricultural production is carried out. It allows production to be carried out independently of weather conditions, while facilitating the harvest and guaranteeing the health of the crop. The building has thermal insulation and a controlled internal temperature, humidity and air flow. A group of buildings may also be equipped with a picking line.

Legal basis:

— Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 laying down derogations;

— Code général des collectivités (partie législative) articles L1511-1 et L1511-2

— Décision du Conseil Régional du Centre du 21 janvier 2005

Objectives of aid: to make holdings more competitive, improve product quality and reduce production costs.

Economic sectors concerned: all agricultural production sectors except for horticultural and market garden greenhouses receiving financial assistance under schemes already notified (N 572/2001 and N 523/2001).

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company:

Forecasts 2005 2006 Grants €1 180 000 €500 000 Aided investments €3 200 000 €100 000 Number of holdings 4 1

These amounts relate to the agricultural sector for the Centre region only.

Aid may be provided for investments to create growing sheds in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003, i.e.:

A. the construction, acquisition or improvement of immovable property;

B. the purchase or lease-purchase of new machinery and equipment (including computer software);

C. general costs relating to the project (architects', engineers' and consultation fees, feasibility studies, etc.), up to 12 % of the expenditure referred to in points A and B.

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum amount for which aid may be granted is EUR 150 000 per labour unit. A maximum of two labour units will be covered per holding. However, the limit is six labour units for holdings using labour-intensive production systems.

The gross aid intensity increases as the total investment increases:

The Region is responsible for half of the gross aid intensity. The other half is left to the discretion of each department.

Date of implementation: on receipt of an acknowledgement of receipt from the European Commission.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: the aid scheme will run until 31 December 2006, the date until which Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 applies.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Conseil Régional du Centre 9 rue St Pierre Lentin 45 041 Orléans cedex 1 France Tel. 02 38 70 30 30 Fax: 02 38 70 31 18 E-mail: Amanda.Tibble@regioncentre.fr Contact person: Amanda Tibble Miché

Aid No: XA 19/05

Member State: Federal Republic of Germany

Region: Free State of Saxony

Title of aid scheme: Aid for the costs of mandatory official TSE/BSE tests on cattle, sheep and goats under the TSE/BSE monitoring programme

Legal basis: § 25 (Kostenanteil des Landes) Nr. 2 des Sächsischen Ausführungsgesetzes zum Tierseuchengesetz — Landestierseuchengesetz — (SächsAGTierSG) vom 22. Januar 1992 (SächsGVBl. 1992, S. 29) in der zur Zeit geltenden Fassung

Annual expenditure under the scheme: Budgetary resources: EUR 500 000

Aid amount: EUR 500 000

Maximum aid intensity: 100 %

Date of implementation: Immediately

Note: Notification is late because in 2004 an attempt was made to submit a joint aid request for the whole of Germany (aid No N 373/2003). Since that proved unsuccessful and the German Government therefore withdrew the notification in accordance with its communication of 22 February 2005 to the Commission (ref.: 421-1256-9/0003) and, in addition, 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 (OJ L 1, 3.1.2004, p. 1) — the exemption Regulation — has since entered into force, a separate request for exemption is hereby being made for the Free State of Saxony.

Duration of the scheme: This is geared to the duration of the TSE/BSE monitoring programme under Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1), in the currently applicable version.

Objective of the aid: The applicable provision is Article 15(d) read in conjunction with Article 16(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004.

The aim of the measure is to grant state aid for rapid tests for TSE/BSE on

— in the event of BSE being officially detected in one bovine animal,

— in order to control other animal diseases, with the exception of epidemic diseases;

— culled as part of a disease eradication campaign

— or slaughtered for human consumption; and

Explanatory note: The aid measures described do not relate to BSE examination of slaughter cattle. Attention is drawn in this connection to the guidelines issued by the Saxony State Ministry of Social Affairs on granting support under the special programme on the effects of BSE of 15 October 2004 (Saxony Official Gazette 2005, p. 127; aid No N 558/2004, notification of changes to aid scheme No N 371/2003). According to its letter of 27 January 2005, the Commission did not raise any objections to that aid scheme.

Under the aid scheme described here, the livestock keepers in question are to be regarded as small or medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 and are therefore subject to the Commission's exemption procedure.

BSE/TSE tests entail the costs of purchasing test kits, taking and transporting samples, carrying out analyses, and storing and disposing of samples.

In Saxony, the costs of taking samples are borne by the local authorities. Under the Saxony State Ministry of Finance's sixth Ordinance on setting administrative fees and expenses of 24 October 2003 (Saxony Act and Ordinance Gazette, p. 706), the local authorities are able to charge livestock keepers fees of around EUR 0.80-8.00 for this work.

The remaining costs in respect of the mandatory rapid tests are financed through state aid (maximum EUR 35 per test). Less the EU's part-financing portion, this aid is paid by the Land Saxony.

The aid granted is passed on in full to the livestock keepers. In order to simplify administration, the aid is paid out to the Land Saxony's Health and Veterinary Research Institute, which acts as a state research laboratory and is a subordinate authority of the Saxony State Ministry of Social Affairs. The full amount is passed on to market operators because livestock keepers do not have to bear the costs of the BSE/TSE tests (with the possible exception of fees for taking samples, as referred to above).

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agriculture, animal production and processing/marketing (cattle, sheep, goats).

Name and address of the granting authority:

Website: http://www.saxonia-verlag.de/recht-sachsen/634_2bs.pdf