EN Official Journal of the European Union C 228/8

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 Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001

(2008/C 228/08)

Aid No: XA 180/08

Member State: Republic of Slovenia

Region: Območje občine Idrija

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Program razvoja podeželja v občini Idrija 2008–2013

Legal basis: Pravilnik o dodeljevanju državnih pomoči za ohranjanje in razvoj kmetijstva ter podeželja v občini Idrija

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

2008: EUR 38 000

2009: EUR 40 000

2010: EUR 40 000

2011: EUR 43 000

2012: EUR 47 000

2013: EUR 47 000

Maximum aid intensity:

1. Investment in agricultural holdings for primary production:

— up to 40 % of eligible costs, and up to 50 % in less-favoured areas.

The support is to be granted for the modernization of agricultural holdings for primary production and the management of pastures and farmland.

2. Conservation of traditional landscapes and buildings:

— up to 100 % of actual costs of investment to conserve non-productive heritage features,

— up to 60 % of actual costs, or up to 75 % in less-favoured areas, for investments to conserve the cultural heritage of productive assets, provided that the investment does not entail any increase in the production capacity of the farm,

— up to 100 % of extra costs incurred by using traditional materials.

3. Relocation of farm buildings in the public interest:

— up to 100 % of actual costs, where the relocation simply consists of the dismantling, removal and re-erection of existing facilities and does not involve modernization of facilities or entail any increase in production capacity; municipal aid amounts to up to 40 % of actual costs, or 50 % in less-favoured areas, if the relocation results in the farmer benefiting from more modern facilities or an increase in production capacity.

4. Aid towards the payment of insurance premiums:

— the amount of municipal support is the difference between the amount of co-financing of insurance premiums from the national budget and up to 50 % of eligible costs of insurance premiums for insuring crops and fruit and for insuring livestock against disease.

5. Aid for land reparcelling:

— up to 100 % of actual legal and administrative costs incurred.

6. Aid to encourage the production of quality agricultural products:

— up to 100 % of eligible costs. The aid is to be granted in the form of subsidised services and does not involve direct payments of money to producers.

7. Provision of technical support in the agricultural sector:

— up to 100 % of eligible costs for education and training, consultancy services, the organization of forums, and publications and websites. The aid is to be granted in the form of subsidized services and must not involve direct payments of money to producers

Date of implementation: May 2008 (the aid will not be granted until a summary has been published on the European Commission's website)

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

Objective of the aid: To support SMEs

Reference to Articles in Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 and eligible costs: Chapter II of the Rules on granting State aid for preserving and developing agriculture and rural areas in the municipality of Idrija includes measures constituting State aid in accordance with the following Articles of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 (OJ L 358, 16.12.2006, p. 3):

Article 4: Investment in agricultural holdings,

Article 5: Conservation of traditional landscapes and buildings,

Article 6: Relocation of farm buildings in the public interest,

Article 12: Aid towards the payment of insurance premiums,

Article 13: Aid for land reparcelling,

Article 14: Aid to encourage the production of quality agricultural products,

Article 15: Provision of technical support in the agricultural sector

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority:

Website: http://www.uradni-list.si/1/content?id=85569

Other information: The measure for the payment of insurance premiums to insure crops and fruit includes the following adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disasters: spring frost, hail, lightning, fire caused by lightning, storm and floods.

The municipality's Rules meet the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 concerning the measures to be adopted by the municipality and the general provisions applicable (steps preceding grant of aid, cumulation, transparency and monitoring of aid)

Marjan RUPNIK

Aid No: XA 185/08

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: England

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: England Catchment Sensitive Farming Capital Grant Scheme 2008 to 201 (XA 149/08 Revised)

Legal basis: This is a non-statutory service, participation in which is voluntary. The Agriculture Act 1986 (section 1c) provides the legal basis for the provision by Government of services in connection with any agricultural activity

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

1 April 2008-31 March 2009 GBP 5 million 1 April 2009-31 March 2010 GBP 5 million 1 April 2010-31 March 2011 GBP 5 million 1 April 2011-31 March 2012 GBP 5 million 1 April 2012-31 March 2013 GBP 5 million 1 April 2013-31 March 2014 GBP 5 million 1 April 2014-31 March 2015 GBP 5 million Total GBP 35 million

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum aid intensity is 60 % in line with Article 4(2)(e) of the Regulation. The maximum amount of aid granted to a individual enterprise will not exceed EUR 400 000 over any three year fiscal period in accordance with Article 4(9) of the Regulation

Date of implementation: The scheme will start on 6 May 2008

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The scheme will begin on 6 May 2008. It will close to all new applications on 28 February 2015 and the last date of payment will be on 31 March 2015

Objective of aid: Environmental protection. The aim of the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Capital Grant Scheme is to encourage early voluntary action by farmers to tackle diffuse water pollution from agriculture (DWPA) in priority catchments by giving aid towards the cost of items which will reduce DWPA. It will contribute to the achievement of domestic and international environmental targets, in particular the Water Framework Directive. The scheme will be run in line with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 and the eligible costs will be investments in agricultural holdings.

Note: There are currently 40 priority catchments; These catchments are subject to change and, over the life of the Initiative, new catchments may be added and some removed as a result of further technical assessment

Sector(s) concerned: The beneficiaries of the grant scheme will be involved in the production of agricultural products only. All subsectors will be eligible

Name and address of the granting authority: The statutory body responsible for the scheme is:

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Defra

Water Quality Division

Ergon House

Horseferry Road

London SW1P 2AL

United Kingdom

The organisation operating the scheme is:

Natural England

Integrated Services & Partnerships Team

John Dower House

Crescent Place

Cheltenham

Gloucestershire GL50 3RA

United Kingdom

Website: More information on the England CSF Capital Grant Scheme and the wider ECSFDI, together with the full text of this document can be found at:

http://defrawebd/farm/environment/water/csf/pdf/state-aid-capitalgrantsscheme2008.pdf

Alternatively, you can go to the UK's central website for exempted agricultural State aids:

www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/state-aid/setup/exist-exempt.htm

Click on the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative: Capital Grant Scheme 2008-2015

Other information: Further and more detailed information relating to eligibility and rules for the scheme can be found via the web link above.

This scheme will replace XA 149/08 which will close to new applicants when this scheme comes into force. We are re-notifying this scheme to increase the maximum aid intensity to EUR 400 000 in accordance with Article 4(9) of the Regulation, in XA 149/08 we had limited the aid intensity to a maximum of GBP 10 000 per beneficiary

Signed and dated on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (UK Competent Authority)

Aid No: XA 186/08

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: Scotland

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: The Scottish Farm Business Advice and Skills Service 2008

Legal basis: Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (Section2)

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

1 April 2008-31 March 2009 GBP 1,5 million 1 April 2009-31 March 2010 GBP 1,5 million 1 April 2010-31 March 2011 GBP 2,0 million 1 April 2011-31 March 2012 GBP 2,5 million 1 April 2012-31 March 2013 GBP 2,5 million Total expenditure GBP 10 million

Maximum aid intensity: This scheme will comply with the European State aid Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of Article 15 as all payments connected to the scheme will be paid direct by the Scottish Government to the provider of the relevant service up to a maximum of 100 % of the costs listed in paragraph 2 of the above article.

Aid will be granted to cover the following eligible costs:

2(a) concerning education and training of farmers and farm workers:

(i) costs of organising the training programme,

2(c) concerning consultancy services provided by third parties, the fees for services which do not constitute a continuous or periodic activity nor relate to the enterprise's usual operating expenditure, such as routine tax consultancy services, regular legal services, or advertising

Date of implementation: The scheme will open on 7 May 2008

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The scheme will open on 7 May 2008 (for re-launch of revised WFRS), and will run until 31 March 2013

Objective of aid: The objective of the Whole Farm Review Scheme (supported by FBAASS to ensure the service is provided only by accredited advisers) is to encourage farmers and crofters faced with fundamental changes in their market place and industry to think like business people and take strategic decisions about the future development of their businesses, leading to more financially and environmentally sustainable businesses.

This will:

foster an improvement in the economic and environmental performance of the agriculture industry,

achieve sustainable economic growth, and

encourage use of and sharing best practice and dissemination of information to improve performance within the sector.

The Farm Business Adviser Accreditation Scheme for Scotland

This scheme has been established to set standards for and encourage continuous professional development of advisers. Only accredited advisers will be able to deliver the Whole Farm Review service. Accreditation is open to advisers based in any Member State and based on objective standards of competence. This part of the Scheme will be administered under contract by an external body (currently Lantra). When contract is up for renewal, the body will be chosen on market principles in a non-discriminatory way. If necessary, tendering procedures which are in accordance with Community law and in particular with case law will be used, using a degree of advertising sufficient to enable the services market to be opened up to competition and the impartiality of procurement rules to be reviewed.

The aid will be provided in line with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 and the eligible costs will be consultancy services.

It should also be noted that there will be no direct payment to producers this in line with Article 15

Sector(s) concerned: Agriculture sector, individual farm businesses

Name and address of the granting authority:

The Scottish Government Agricultural and Rural Development Division Rural Directorate 47 Robb's Loan Edinburgh Scotland EH14 1TY United Kingdom

Contact: Ronald E Vass

Head of Rural Business Development Branch — Agriculture and Rural Development Division

Tel. (44-13) 12 44 31 59

Website: WFRS: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/915/0059413.pdf

Lantra (FBAASS): www.lantra.co.uk/scotland

Other information: Farm BASS was first confirmed as a notified State aid under aid N 363/03 dated 4 February 2004. An extension to that decision was granted up to 31 March 2009 under aid N 439/05 dated 17 October 2005. This notified scheme N 439/05 will close to new applications on the 2 May 2008 to be replaced by this exempt scheme which will open to new applicants on the 7 May 2008. This scheme will increase the maximum cost (net of VAT) of consultancy/training provision per applicant from GBP 1 850 to GBP 2 400.

Further and more detailed information relating to eligibility and rules for the scheme can be found at the web links above

Aid No: XA 187/08

Member State: France

Regions: Département des Bouches-du-Rhône

Title of aid scheme: Programme départemental d'aide à l'installation des jeunes agriculteurs — complément à la Dotation Jeune Agriculteur (DJA)

Legal basis:

— Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006

— Articles L 1511-2 à L 1511-5 du Code Général des Collectivités Territoriales

— Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005

— Plan de développement rural hexagonal 2007-2013

— Projet de délibération du Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône en date du 30.4.2008

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: EUR 300 000 per year

Maximum aid intensity:

— rural areas (1): national level: EUR 12 650/Departmental Council: EUR 4 650,

— urban and suburban areas (1): national level: EUR 17 300/Departmental Council: EUR 5 000 (standard rate) or EUR 7 700 (higher rate of Departmental Council supplementary aid for young farmers setting up on farms with which they have no family connection, or for those within the family taking over small farms in need of financial support).

This aid supplements the support available at national level (EUR 12 650 for rural areas; EUR 17 300 in urban and suburban areas). Under no circumstances may the total setting-up aid for any beneficiary exceed the EUR 55 000 ceiling in Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005.

The Departmental Council undertakes to respect the aid ceiling in the rural development regulation. It has only decided not to make use of aid scheme N 110/07 (PIDIL) on management circuit issues

Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the registration number of the exemption request on the website of the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

Duration of scheme: Until 31 December 2013

Objective of aid: Given current economic and property market conditions in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the setting-up of young farmers remains a priority aim for the Departmental Council.

In addition to economic difficulties that do not always hold out any real prospects, there are also problems in gaining access to a property market where prices are so high (an average of EUR 17 400/ha in 2006, according to SAFER) — they have risen on average by 50 % between 2000 and 2007 in this Department — as to be out of all proportion to farm profitability; especially hard hit are young farmers who want to set up, in particular in urban or suburban areas, and have to contend with heavy start-up investment costs.

The Departmental Council is proposing to pay this aid on top of the central government's Dotation Jeune Agriculteur (DJA) in order to support young farmers' efforts to get started in agriculture.

Beneficiaries will have to comply with the conditions regarding nationality, age, professional abilities and economic viability laid down in the relevant legislation; they must:

be a national of France, another European Union Member State or a state with which the EU has a reciprocity agreement,

be under the age of 40 at the date of setting-up,

be setting up for the first time as an independent farmer,

have a holding of at least 0,5 SMI,

undertake to join the MSA in either a primary or secondary capacity as a farmer (2),

fulfil the requirements in terms of qualifications or professional abilities,

draw up a 5-year Farm Development Plan,

compile a departmental aid application file

Sector(s) concerned: All agricultural holdings in Bouches-du-Rhône (aid for young farmers)

Name and address of the granting authority:

Monsieur le Président du Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône Direction de l'agriculture et du tourisme Hôtel du Département 52, avenue de Saint-Just F-13256 Marseille Cedex 20

Website: http://www.cg13.fr/amenagements/agriculture/aides.html

Aid No: XA 188/08

Member State: Spain

Region: Principado de Asturias

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Laboratorio Interprofesional Lechero y Agroalimentario de Asturias (L.I.L.A.)

Legal basis: Convenio de colaboración con el Laboratorio Interprofesional Lechero y Agroalimentario de Asturias (L.I.L.A.) para la realización de los análisis de control lechero oficial

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 395 000 in the 2008 financial year

Maximum aid intensity: Up to 70 % of the cost of this activity

Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the registration number for the request for exemption on the website of the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until December 2008

Objective of aid: Carrying out official milk control analyses in the Principality of Asturias, as a basic tool for the genetic evaluation of breeding animals of dairy species and breeds and, therefore, a basic element of any livestock improvement programme.

The applicable Article of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 is:

Article 16: Support for the livestock sector. Eligible costs: expenditure connected with carrying out tests to determine the genetic quality and yield of livestock

Sector(s) concerned: The breeding of dairy cattle

Name and address of the granting authority:

Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Rural del Principado de Asturias C/ Coronel Aranda, s/n, 4a planta E-33071 Oviedo (Asturias)

Website: The text of the cooperation agreement can be consulted on the www.asturias.es website by following the links to temáticas/ganadería/ayudas at the following address:

http://www.asturias.es/portal/site/Asturias/menuitem.fe57bf7c5fd38046e44f5310bb30a0a0/?vgnextoid=959f4749be187110VgnVCM10000097030a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d2907989c258f010VgnVCM100000b0030a0aRCRD&i18n.http.lang=es

(1) INSEE definition: 1999 zoning.

(2) For beneficiaries working as farmers in a secondary capacity, total aid is reduced to 50 % of the amounts under the scheme.