EN Official Journal of the European Union C 199/11

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

2009/C 199/07

Aid No: XA 172/09

Member State: Spain

Region: Cataluña

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Ayudas en forma de préstamos para la adquisición de maquinaria agrícola que incorpore nuevas tecnologías

Legal basis: Proyecto de Orden AAR/xxx/2009, por la que se aprueban las bases reguladoras de la línea de préstamos para la adquisición de maquinaria agrícola que incorpore nuevas tecnologías, y se convoca la línea correspondiente al año 2009

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 5 million for each year of the aid scheme

Maximum aid intensity: As provided for in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006, the gross aid intensity must not exceed 50 % in less-favoured areas or 40 % elsewhere.

In addition, the maximum amount of aid for any given undertaking over a period of three financial years is EUR 400 000. This may rise to EUR 500 000 if the investment is made in a less-favoured area

Date of implementation: Expected date: 15 June 2009 and, in any event, once the Commission has given the scheme an identification number and published the summary on the internet, in accordance with Article 20 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2012

Objective of the aid: To provide loans to farmers for the purpose of purchasing agricultural machinery that incorporates new technologies, in order to:

Eligible expenditure: Of the expenses provided for in Article 4(4) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006, the only ones eligible under this aid scheme are the costs of purchasing technologically advanced machinery.

Simple replacement investment is not eligible under the scheme

Beneficiaries: Natural or legal persons who are owners or holders of farms in Cataluña and are engaged in the primary production of agricultural products in any agricultural sector may apply for this aid provided they meet the requirement of being a small or medium-sized enterprise

Form of aid: Interest subsidy of 100 %

Sector(s) concerned: NACE Code A.01 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities

Name and address of granting authority:

Departamento de Agricultura, Alimentación y Acción Rural Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes, 612-614 08007 Barcelona ESPAÑA

Website: http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/DAR/DE_Departament/DE03_Normativa/DE03_03_Projectes_disposicions/2009/Documents/Fitxers_estatics/2009_adquisicio_maquinaria_prestecs.pdf

Other information: —

Aid No: XA 173/09

Member State: France

Region: Région Limousin

Title of aid scheme: Aides en assistance technique de la région Limousin aux agriculteurs pour créer ou développer des ateliers de finition de bovins-viande

Legal basis: Code Général des Collectivités Territoriales, en particulier articles L 1511-1 à L 1511-3

Délibération no SP7-01-0006 du Conseil régional du Limousin du 18 janvier 2007 portant approbation du Rapport d’orientation de la politique agricole régionale

Délibération no CP9-03-0201 de la Commission permanente du Conseil régional du Limousin approuvant le lancement de l’appel à projets «Développement de la finition des produits bovins en Limousin».

Annual expenditure planned under the aid scheme: EUR 250 000 per annum for 3 years

Maximum aid intensity: 80 %

Date of implementation: June 2009, depending on the prior publication of the exemption request on the website of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

Duration of the aid scheme: 3 years, i.e. until 31 December 2011

Objective of aid: The objective of the aid is to improve and increase the technical support needed for the qualitative and quantitative development of the finishing of bovine meat products in Limousin bearing the official quality mark, and thereby achieve the following objectives:

encourage breeders to undertake a project to establish or develop a fattening house for cattle within a low-risk framework,

develop and improve the quality of the technical support provided as part of this by producer organisations, by integrating quality and market supply requirements into this support.

The regional council will contribute by paying part of the costs of the technical support to be provided by producer organisations to breeders in order to begin establishing or developing bovine finishing houses on their holdings.

Fattening in the bovine sector requires expert skills and knowledge. Breeding animals is a traditional activity in the region of Limousin, which is why the appropriate technical support by qualified advisors must be given during any project to set up or develop a fattening house on a farm holding. The success of the fattening process and the first animals fattened is all the more important because unsuccessful fattening may jeopardise the financial viability of the holding.

Through this aid measure the regional council will require producer organisations to provide quality technical support for the initial three years of the project to set up and develop the farmer’s bovine finishing house. In this context, the technical support proposed by producer organisations must be geared towards the project as a whole and be cross-discipline, allowing the breeder to assess all the effects (economic and technical, but also the impact on work organisation and material investments, etc.) which the development of fattening may have on the holding. It must also include stages for defining, with the breeder, the quality of the target product in market terms (compliance, weight, colour, etc.) and the scope for improvement, as well as a final assessment once the animals have been sold. Lastly, this technical support should link in with the agricultural policies co-financed by the regional council and the government and/or the European Union as part of the Plan de Développement Rural Hexagonal.

Producer organisations wishing to take advantage of this measure should therefore propose much broader and more cross-discipline technical support than they usually offer.

The expenditure relating to the cost of the technical support provided by producer organisations to farmers will be eligible for this aid, with the exception of the organisation’s administrative costs.

Producer organisations must make this subsidised technical support available to all farmers in the region who request it, irrespective of whether they are a member of the organisation, from the moment when the farmer decides to establish or develop a finishing house for bovine products and commits to increase the number of animals finished on the farm under the official quality mark.

Aid will be granted annually and paid out in instalments (over no more than 3 years) as the beneficiaries fulfil their commitments

Sector(s) concerned: Bovine meat production

Name and address of the granting authority:

Monsieur le Président de la Région Limousin 27 boulevard de la Corderie 87031 Limoges Cedex FRANCE

Website: http://www.region-limousin.fr/article.php3?id_article=2371

Other information: —

Aid No: XA 174/09

Member State: Spain

Region: Principado de Asturias

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Subvenciones para los servicios de sustitución en las pequeñas y medianas explotaciones agrarias del Principado de Asturias dedicadas a la producción primaria de productos agrícolas

Legal basis: Bases reguladoras que regirán la concesión de subvenciones para los servicios de sustitución en las pequeñas y medianas explotaciones agrarias del Principado de Asturias dedicadas a la producción primaria de productos agrícolas

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: In 2009 the maximum amount of aid will be EUR 250 000

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum aid intensity will be 100 %

Date of implementation: From the date on which the identification number of the exemption request is published on the website of the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until December 2013

Objective of the aid: To cover expenditure by agricultural cooperatives and agricultural processing companies on setting up services to replace farmers, farmers’ partners or farm workers during illness and holidays, in small and medium-sized enterprises in Asturias engaged in the primary production of agricultural products.

Article 15(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 applies.

In accordance with Article 15(3) of the Regulation, the aid will be granted in kind in the form of subsidised services provided by third parties and will not involve any direct payments to producers.

As provided for in Article 15(4) of the Regulation, the replacement service provided by agricultural cooperatives and agricultural processing companies will be accessible to all small and medium-sized agricultural holdings in Asturias engaged in the primary production of agricultural products; membership of such groups or organisations will not be a precondition for using the service

Sector(s) concerned: Primary production of agricultural products

Name and address of the granting authority:

Consejería de Medio Rural y Pesca del Principado de Asturias C/ Coronel Aranda, s/n, 4a planta 33071 Oviedo ESPAÑA

Website: The text of the general rules governing the aid can be found at http://www.asturias.es, on the following page:

http://www.asturias.es/Asturias/descargas/PDF%20DE%20TEMAS/Ganadería/servicios_de_sustitucion.pdf

Other information: —