EN Official Journal of the European Union C 268/8

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 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 of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001

(2007/C 268/09)

XA Number: XA 146/07

Member State: France

Region: Department of Vendée

Title of aid scheme: «Fonds pour les manifestations agricoles ou agroalimentaires»: aides pluriannuelles en faveur de l'agriculture vendéenne au travers de soutiens aux manifestations agricoles ou agroalimentaires (assistance technique: promotion)

Legal basis: Article L.1511-5 du Code général des collectivités territoriales

Convention cadre en cours entre l'État et le département de la Vendée

Annual expenditure planned under these two aid schemes: EUR 150 000 a year

Maximum aid intensity: The fund for agricultural or agri-food events provides for sub sidies based on the scale and geographical coverage of the event and, for minimum budgets of EUR 1 520, limited to:

EUR 750 for competitions and events,

EUR 4 500 for fairs and exhibitions,

EUR 9 000 for trade shows.

In all cases, account will be taken of actual expenditure: costs arising directly from organising or taking part in events, actual logistic costs such as buying or renting exhibition material, or setting up presentation stands.

The aid amount must not exceed the limit aid rate of 80 % of expenditure and may be duly revised if other public bodies contribute towards financing an operation.

Date of implementation: From acknowledgement of receipt by the Commission

Duration of scheme: Five years from when the Commission acknowledges receipt of the exemption sheet

Objective of aid: In accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006, aid may be granted for promotion campaigns, organising or taking part in fairs and exhibitions, public relations campaigns, market surveys and studies.

The objective is to support agricultural or agri-food events aimed at encouraging and promoting high-quality local production.

The Fund for agricultural or agri-food events will grant aid to groups of farmers, syndicates of breeders and associations of producers whose production originates from Vendée agriculture, and to initiatives involving only SMEs' products. Subject to that restriction, aid will be offered to all interested parties, without discrimination and on equal terms.

All the aid will be granted in kind, in the form of subsidised services. There will be no direct payment to recipients, in compliance with agricultural exemption under Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.

The scope of the aid will exclude all expenditure relating to tasting sessions and to the distribution of free samples, as well as all operations taking place at points of sale or which generally fall under advertising within the meaning of point 152 of the Community guidelines for State aid in the agriculture and forestry sector 2007 to 2013.

Sector(s) concerned: All agricultural and agri-food businesses with SME status within the meaning of Community law

Name and address of the granting authority:

Conseil Général de la Vendée Direction de l'Environnement et de l'Aménagement Service de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche 40, rue Maréchal Foch F-85923 La Roche sur Yon Cedex 9

Website: www.vendee.fr (the Department's general website)

Heading: www.vendee.fr/conseil-general

Sub-heading: www.vendee.fr/conseil-general/guide-subventions

The description will be made available online as soon as the Commission has registered this exemption sheet.

Other information: —

Aid No: XA 147/07

Member State: Italy

Region: Sardegna

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Misura n. 323 del PSR 2006/2013 «Tutela e riqualificazione del patrimonio rurale»

Azione 3 «Conservazione e recupero degli elementi architettonici tipici del paesaggio rurale della Sardegna»

Azione 4 «Riqualificazione delle strutture e del contesto paesaggistico nelle aziende agricole»

Legal basis: Regolamento (CE) n. 1698/2005 del Consiglio, del 20 settembre 2005, sul sostegno allo sviluppo rurale da parte del Fondo europeo agricolo per lo sviluppo rurale (FEASR), articolo 57

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 10 million from 2009

Maximum intensity of the aid: 75 % of eligible expenditure (Article 5 of the Regulation)

Date of implementation: Following receipt of the communication by the European Commission

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 1.1.2009-31.12.2013

Objective of the aid: Aid to SMEs

Sector(s) concerned: Agricultural production

Name and address of the authority granting the aid:

Regione autonoma della Sardegna Assessorato dell'Agricoltura e riforma agropastorale Via Pessagno, 4 I-09125 Cagliari

Website: http://intranet.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/misura323/

Access details: user: intrasaa — password: agripass

Other information: —

Alfonso Orefice

Director-General

XA Number: XA 148/07

Member State: Republic of Lithuania

Region: —

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Techninės paramos teikimas žemės ūkio sektoriuje

Legal basis: Lietuvos Respublikos žemės ūkio ministro 2007 m. gegužės 16 d. įsakymas Nr. 3D-237 „Dėl žemės ūkio veiklos subjektų lavinimo ir mokymo, mokslo žinių sklaidos, žemės ūkio parodų, mugių, žemės ūkio konkursų organizavimo finansavimo taisyklių patvirtinimo“ (décret ministériel no 3D-237 du 16 mai 2007)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: LTL 7 000 000, at the official euro exchange rate (EUR 2 027 340)

Maximum aid intensity:

1. Eligible expenditure related to the education and training of persons engaged in farming is reimbursed as follows: — up to 70 % of eligible expenditure on the training of persons engaged in farming under the Farming Basics Training Programme, — up to 50 % of eligible expenditure on the training of persons engaged in farming under programmes for training drivers of category TR1 and TR2 tractors and category SZ self-propelled agricultural machinery, — up to 90 % of eligible expenditure on the organisation of conferences, seminars and vocational and educational events and on publishing publications.

2. Up to 100 % of eligible expenditure related to the organisation of, and participation in, competitions, exhibitions and fairs is reimbursed.

3. Up to 90 % of eligible expenditure related to the dissemination of scientific knowledge is reimbursed.

4. Up to 90 % of eligible expenditure on catalogues, websites and other publications is reimbursed.

Date of implementation:

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2013

Objective of the aid: Aid to SMEs

To ensure the provision of technical support in the agricultural sector.

Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 applies.

Eligible expenditure:

1. Expenditure related to the education and training of persons engaged in farming (training of persons engaged in farming under the Farming Basics Training Programme and under programmes for the training of drivers of category TR1 and TR2 tractors and category SZ self-propelled agricultural machinery; organisation of conferences and seminars; organisation of vocational and educational events; publishing of publications): — remuneration of lecturers, instructors, members of panels and examination boards, event organisers and compilers of information material, — communication costs (telephone, postal services, internet), — transport costs, — mission expenses, — rental of premises and equipment, — cost of equipping of event venues, — translation costs, — cost of acquiring and compiling information and reference material, — cost of compilation, layout and publishing of publications, — cost of disseminating information (expenditure on issuing event material and publishing notifications, placing notices in the press, and preparing information and broadcasting it on radio and television), — organisational costs directly related to the education and training of persons engaged in farming.

2. Expenditure related to the organisation of, and participation in, competitions, exhibitions and fairs: — participation fees, — travel costs, — publication costs, — exhibition space rental, — symbolic prizes awarded in the framework of competitions, up to a value of EUR 250 per prize and winner.

3. Expenditure related to the dissemination of scientific knowledge, on condition that individual companies, brands or origin are not named (except for products covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1)) (organisation of conferences and seminars, organisation of vocational and educational events, publishing of publications): — remuneration of lecturers, instructors, members of panels and examination boards, event organisers and compilers of information material, — communication costs (telephone, postal services, internet), — transport costs, — mission expenses, — rental of premises and equipment, — cost of equipping event venues, — translation costs, — cost of acquiring and compiling information and reference material, — cost of compilation, layout and publishing of publications, — cost of disseminating information (expenditure on issuing event-related material, publishing notifications and placing notices in the press, and on preparing information and broadcasting it on radio and television), — organisational costs directly related to the dissemination of scientific knowledge.

4. Expenditure on catalogues, websites and other publications providing factual information on producers in the region concerned, or of the product concerned, on condition that such information and the manner in which it is provided is impartial and all producers have the same opportunities to be mentioned in such publications: — cost of compilation, layout and publishing of publications, — cost of acquiring and compiling information and reference material, — communication costs (telephone, postal services, internet), — transport costs, — mission expenses, — translation costs, — publication costs, — organisational costs directly related to the publishing of catalogues, websites and other publications.

Sector(s) concerned: Primary production of agricultural produce

Name and address of the granting authority:

Lietuvos Respublikos žemės ūkio ministerija Gedimino pr. 19 (Lelevelio g. 6) LT-01103 Vilnius

Web address: http://www.zum.lt/min/index.cfm?fuseaction=displayHTML&attributes.file=File_66.cfm&langparam=LT

Other information: —

XA Number: XA 174/07

Member State: France

Regions: All these measures can be financed by any regional authorities (regional or general councils) wishing to do so, including overseas departments.

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Aides en faveur de la sélection dans le secteur de l'élevage

Legal basis: Le code rural, en particulier le chapitre III du titre V du livre VI

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: EUR 15 million, subject to the corresponding appropriations being made available

Maximum aid intensity: In compliance with the limits set in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006, i.e. 100 % maximum for point (a), 70 % maximum for point (b) and 40 % maximum for point (c) of the measures described under the heading ‘Objective of aid’:

Date of implementation: From when the Commission registers the exemption sheet

Duration of scheme or individual aid: 2007-2013

Objective of aid: The aid is based on points Article 16(1)(a), (b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006. It is intended to improve the genetic quality of the cattle, sheep, goat and pig populations through selective breeding programmes, bearing in mind that in France numerous breeds are reared whose numerical significance varies widely.

The aid which may be granted for investment aimed at introducing at farm level innovative breeding techniques or practices will in any case cease on 31 December 2011.

For the three parts of the breeding programmes referred to above, no direct aid will be paid to livestock farmers: aid will be granted to the organisations to which the French authorities will assign responsibility for carrying out the measures concerned, subject to the conditions described in this sheet.

Sector(s) concerned: The cattle, sheep, goat and pig breeding sectors

Name and address of the granting authority:

Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche, DGPEI 3, rue Barbet de Jouy F-75349 Paris 07 SP

Office national interprofessionnel de l'élevage et de ses productions 80, avenue des Terroirs de France F-75607 Paris Cedex 12

Website: http://www.office-elevage.fr/aides-nat/aides-nat.htm

Other information: Regional authorities, when supplementing funding by the Livestock Breeding Office, must do so subject to the conditions set by the Livestock Breeding Office and ensure that the aid limits are complied with.

XA Number: XA 175/07

Member State: Hungary

Region: The entire territory of Hungary

Title of the aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: A 2007. évben tavaszi fagykárt szenvedett mezőgazdasági termelők hitelhez jutási lehetőségének támogatása

Legal basis:

— az Európai Bizottság 1860/2004/EK rendelete (2004. október 6.) az EK-Szerződés 87. és 88. cikkének csekélyösszegű (de minimis) támogatásokra való alkalmazásáról a mezőgazdasági és halászati ágazatban (HL L 325/4., 2004. 10.28.);

— 2006. évi LXXXVIII. törvény a nemzeti agrár-kárenyhítési rendszerről

— A földművelésügyi és vidékfejlesztési miniszter /2007. (…..) FVM rendelete a 2007. évben tavaszi fagykárt szenvedett mezőgazdasági termelők hitelhez jutási lehetőségéről

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Annual budget planned: HUF 250 million

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum intensity of the aid support aimed at reducing the damage and that of the loan and guarantee subsidy together is 80 % of the loss of earnings.

Date of implementation: From July 2007

Duration of aid scheme or individual aid award:

Objective of aid: The objective of the aid is to provide farmers with compensation for the frost damage suffered during spring 2007, due to unfavourable weather conditions. Farmers suffered a huge reduction of their incomes (a loss of production of 50-100 %). In order to compensate for such loss of earnings — besides providing them with compensation aimed at reducing the damage — farmers will be entitled to subsidised loans and such loans may also be accompanied by a guarantee.

Application of Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.

The maximum aid intensity (compensation aimed at reducing damage, interest subsidies, guarantee) is 80 % of the loss of earnings.

Sector(s) concerned: Plant production (grapes, fruits)

Name and address of the granting authority:

Földművelésügyi és Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium H-1055 Budapest Kossuth Lajos tér 11

Internet address: http://www.fvm.hu/main.php?folderID=1846&articleID=10748&ctag=articlelist&iid=1

Budapest, 12 July 2007.

Dr. András Máhr

Secretary of State