Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises

(2003/C 299/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XS 111/02

Member State: Italy

Region: Lombardy

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Priority 1 "Improving the competitiveness of the economic system in Lombardy" Measure 1.6 "Incentives for the development and promotion of tourism"

Legal basis: Docup Obiettivo 2 2000-2006 Lombardia Approvato con decisione C(2878) del 10.12.2001

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

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Maximum aid intensity: Small firms: gross intensity of 15 % of eligible costs. Medium-sized firms: gross intensity of 7,5 % of eligible costs. In the areas qualifying for exemption under Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, the intensity is increased by 10 percentage points gross. Total assistance must not exceed 30 % of costs

Date of implementation: 28 August 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: To develop the capacity for promoting tourism, preferably in the local area. Support is given to the development of promotional campaigns which encourage out-of-season and specialised tourism and measures aimed at providing on-line services

Economic sector(s) concerned: Tourism

Name and address of the granting authority: Region Lombardy

Aid No: XS 24/03

Member State: Germany

Region: Lower Saxony (city of Celle)

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Rules (/Richtlinie) on the approval of grants to individual SMEs in the city of Celle

Legal basis: Niedersächsische Gemeindeordnung (NGO) in der Fassung vom 22. August 1996 (Niedersächsisches Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt S. 382)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 150000

Maximum aid intensity: The scheme is restricted to those parts of the city of Celle that lie within the national assisted areas map approved by the Commission, with an approved gross aid intensity for SMEs of 28 %

The aid amounts

- in the case of small enterprises, to no more than 25 %.

- and in the case of medium-sized enterprises, to no more than 17,5 %

of eligible investment expenditure.

The rules on the cumulation of aid are complied with

Date of implementation: As from 1 March 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 1 March 2003 to 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: The aid is intended to promote the competitiveness and adaptability of small and medium-sized enterprises in the city of Celle area, to encourage the creation of new jobs and help safeguard existing ones, thus bringing about structural improvements.

Rescue and restructuring aid for firms in difficulty (within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty: OJ C 288, 9.10.1999) is not covered by the measure.

Aid may be granted for the following types of investment project:

- setting-up of an establishment,

- extension of an establishment if the number of long-term jobs is increased by 15 % as compared with the situation before the start of the investment,

- conversion and adjustment/restructuring investment in so far as it has an impact on employment,

- acquisition of an establishment that has been closed or is threatened with closure, provided that this is done under market conditions.

The aid takes the form of investment grants

Economic sector(s) concerned: Eligibility extends to companies in the industrial, commercial, craft, construction, transport and accommodation sectors with their headquarters in the city of Celle and entrepreneurs and companies which intend to start up a business in Celle.

Aid may not be granted to firms in sensitive sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Stadt Celle Helmut-Hörstmann-Weg 1 D - 29221 Celle

Other information: Mr Graap Tel. 05 141-122 26 Fax 05 141-12 76 31 E-mail: wolfgang.graap@celle.de

Aid No: XS 27/03

Member State: Spain

Region: Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Aid to small and medium-sized enterprises for projects helping groups of workers experiencing difficulties in gaining access to the labour market join the information society

Legal basis: - Orden de 10 de enero de 2003, de la Consejería de Ciencia, Tecnología, Industria y Comercio, reguladora de las bases y convocatoria de las ayudas para la incorporación de colectivos con dificultades de acceso al mercado laboral, para el ejercicio 2003 (BORM n° 12 de 16.1.2003). Corrección de errores de esta orden en el BORM n° 40 de 18.2.2003,

- Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Aid allocated to private enterprises (SMEs): EUR 150000

Maximum aid intensity: The gross aid intensity may not exceed 50 % of the eligible project costs. Where there is an overlap of different types of aid, gross intensity of all aid may not exceed 50 % of the eligible project costs

Date of implementation: The order came into force on 17 January 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Aid may be granted until December 2003

Objective of aid: Aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in the Murcia Region for projects helping groups of workers experiencing difficulties in gaining access to the labour market join the information society

Economic sector(s) concerned: Private firms (SMEs) in any sector of activity other than those engaged in the production, processing or marketing of products listed in Annex I to the EC Treaty, and activities which encourage the use of domestic products as opposed to imported products

Name and address of the granting authority: D. Patricio Valverde Megías Consejería de Ciencia, Tecnología, Industria y Comercio C/ San Cristóbal, 6 E - 30071 Murcia

Aid No: XS 30/03

Member State: Spain

Region: Catalonia

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Provision of industrial investment incentives

Legal basis: Orden TIC/49/2003, de 28 de enero, por la que se abre la convocatoria y se aprueban las bases para el otorgamiento de incentivos a la inversión industrial (DOGC número 3821 de 13.2.2003)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 30 million

Maximum aid intensity: 15 % for small firms and 7,5 % for medium-sized firms

Date of implementation: 14 January 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Four years (2003 to 2006)

Objective of aid: To promote industrial investment projects to encourage growth, modernisation and innovation in the industrial fabric of areas with declining populations

Economic sector(s) concerned: Industrial sector

Name and address of the granting authority: Antoni Gurguí i Ferrer

Director general d'Indústria

C/ Provença, 339 4a planta E - 08037 Barcelona

Other information: This covers aid for small and medium-sized firms in the agricultural sector provided under aid scheme N 197/02 ("Aid to the agriculture/food sector"), which was notified to the Commission on 13 March and approved by it by Decision of 17 June 2002 (C(2002) 2618 final). The text authorising this scheme was published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities, No 207, on 31 August 2002.

This scheme was notified to enable aid to be granted, with the same aim of providing incentives to industrial investment in areas with declining populations to small and medium-sized firms in the agricultural sector as well, these being explicitly excluded from the scope of the exempting Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The order lays down the specific provisions set out in the approved scheme of aid to the agricultural sector

Aid No: XS 31/03

Member State: Spain

Region: Catalonia

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Aid to family firms in drawing up succession plans

Legal basis: Resolución ICT/3085/2002, de 16 de octubre (DOGC núm. 3751, de 30.10.2002) modificada por la Resolución TIC/3542/2002, de 27 de noviembre (DOGC número 3779 de 11.12.2002)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 400000

Maximum aid intensity: 50 % of the cost of advisory services up to a maximum of EUR 4000 per firm

Date of implementation: 16 October 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: From 16 October 2002 to 31 December 2002

Objective of aid: To help small and medium-sized family firms to plan the transition from one generation to another by drawing up a succession plan

Economic sector(s) concerned: All sectors apart from those excluded by Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 on State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises

Name and address of the granting authority: Antoni Gurguí i Ferrer Centro de Innovación y Desarrollo Empresarial (CIDEM) ( Departamento de Trabajo, Indústria, Comercio y Turismo de la Generalitat de Catalunya ) C/ Provença, 339 E - 08037 Barcelona

Aid No: XS 61/03

Member State: Spain

Region: Extremadura

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: CARDs aid scheme within Extremadura

Legal basis: Decreto 40/2003, de 8 de abril, por el que se regula la convocatoria de concesión de subvenciones para la construcción de Centros Autorizados de Recepción y Descontaminación para vehículos fuera de uso en la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura (D.O.E. n° 45, de 15 de abril)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The aid scheme will take the form of a single call for a total amount of EUR 1000000

Maximum aid intensity: Maximum intensity is 50 % of the investment considered eligible with the following ceiling:

- EUR 150000 generally.

- EUR 180000 where the project promoter is a social-economy business (employee-owned public limited company (SAL), employee-owned limited company (SLL) or shareholders' cooperative (Cooperativa de Trabajo Asociado))

Date of implementation: As soon as the call is closed, which will be 15 June 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: It will take the form of a single call for projects to be put forward from its entry into force (16 April 2003) until the date on which the call is closed (15 June 2003). The aid scheme will be competitive

Objective of aid: The purpose of the aid scheme is to promote the establishment within the Autonomous Community of Extremadura of authorised treatment facilities for end-of-life vehicles, either by building new centres or by turning existing scrapyards into treatment facilities. The purpose of all of this is to adapt Extremadura's infrastructures to Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council which states that the Member States will take the necessary measures to ensure that all end-of-life vehicles are transferred to authorised treatment facilities, and to Royal Decree 1383/2002 on the management of end-of-life vehicles issued by central government

Economic sector(s) concerned: The scheme is confined to a sector that currently does not exist in the region, namely recycling and decontamination of vehicles at the end of their useful life, by turning traditional scrapyards into treatment facilities as laid down in Directive 2000/53/EC and Royal Decree 1383/2002

Name and address of the granting authority: Consejería de Economía, Industria y Comercio Dirección General de Promoción Empresarial e Industrial Junta de Extremadura dgpei@eic.juntaex.es Tel. 924 00 54 75 Paseo de Roma s/n E - 06800 Merida

Aid No: XS 77/03

Member State: Italy

Region: Veneto

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Grant of subsidised loans, equity loans and subsidised leasing contracts from a revolving fund to craft businesses, whether individually, in groupings or in joint ventures

Legal basis: DOCUP Ob. 2 (2000/2006): misura 1.2 - bandi (dgr n. 1063/2003) pubblicati su Bollettino ufficiale della regione Veneto n. 44 del 2.5.2003

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: As specified in the financial plan

Maximum aid intensity: - 20 % of the total eligible cost for operations in municipalities located in areas qualifying for exemption under Article 87(c) of the EC Treaty

- 15 % of the total eligible cost for operations in municipalities located in Objective 2 and phasing-out areas

Date of implementation: 3 May 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 31 October 2006 for operations in Objective 2 areas;

31 October 2005 for operations in phasing-out areas

Objective of aid: Reducing the financing costs borne by beneficiary firms

Economic sector(s) concerned: Firms producing goods and services enrolled in the provincial registers of craft busineses operating in Veneto

Name and address of the granting authority: Regione Veneto - Giunta regionale Palazzo Balbi

Dorsoduro 3901

I - 30100 Venezia

Other information: Measure 1.2 is managed by an intermediary body, in this case the regional finance company Veneto Sviluppo SpA, already identified in the programming complement

Aid No: XS 78/02

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: Wales

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Development of non-Annex I food and drink SMEs in Wales

Legal basis: Welsh Development Agency Act 1975 (as amended)

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

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Maximum aid intensity:

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Date of implementation: 1 September 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The scheme will run until 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: The purpose of this aid is to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in the production of non-Annex 1 food and drink products in Wales, to encourage new methods of production, to increase the efficiency of such enterprises and to help them identify and enter new markets.

In support of these objectives, the WDA will provide aid for investments in tangible and intangible assets, aid for services provided by outside consultants and aid for participation in fairs and exhibitions. In accordance with Article 5 of the Regulation, the aid for consultancy will not exceed 50 % of the costs of such services and the gross aid for participation in fairs and exhibitions will not exceed 50 % of the additional costs incurred for renting, setting up and running the stand. The maximum grant level which can be awarded to an enterprise for any single project is GBP 200000

Economic sector(s) concerned: Other manufacturing - non-Annex 1 food and drink production, without prejudice to special rules in regulations and directives concerning State aid in certain sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Welsh Development Agency, known as WDA (a non-departmental, statutory public body)

Contact: Paul O'Donovan, Programme Development Manager Welsh Development Agency - ( Food Directorate ) Plas Glyndwr

Kingsway

Cardiff CF10 3AH Wales United Kingdom Tel. (44) 29 20 82 89 94 Fax (44) 29 20 82 89 98

Other information: Separate notifications have been submitted to the Commission covering investment, technical support and skills for Annex I food and drink producers (N 440/02) and aid for the participation of Annex I food and drink producers in fairs and exhibitions (N 439/02)