EN Official Journal of the European Union C 8/30

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 736/2008 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products

(Text with EEA relevance)

2012/C 8/07

Aid No: SA.33146 (11/XF)

Member State: France

Authority granting the aid: FranceAgriMer, établissement national des produits de l’agriculture et de la mer.

Name of company receiving ad hoc aid: Producer organisations

Legal basis:

— Article 75 de la loi no 1312/2003 du 30 décembre 2003 de finances rectificatives pour 2003.

— Article 17 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 736/2008 of 22 July 2008 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products

— Article 37(n) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund

Amount of ad hoc aid granted:

— EUR 2 million in 2012

— EUR 1,3 million in 2013

— EUR 0,7 million in 2014

Maximum aid intensity: 60 %

Date of entry into force: 2012

Duration of individual aid award (planned date of final payment): The deadline for submitting the request for payment of the balance of the aid is 31 December 2015.

Objective of aid: To support the restructuring of producer organisations

Relevant articles: Article 17 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 736/2008 of 22 July 2008 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products

Activity concerned: Fisheries and aquaculture

Name and address of the granting authority:

FranceAgriMer, établissement national des produits de l’agriculture et de la mer 12 rue Henri Rol-Tanguy TSA 20002 93555 Montreuil-sous-Bois Cedex FRANCE

Website where the conditions under which ad hoc aid is granted outside of an aid scheme can be found: http://agriculture.gouv.fr/europe-et-international

Motivation: This aid is intended to support the restructuring of producer organisations through national tax credits from fiscal charges allocated to OFIMER, the Interprofessional National Board for Sea and Fish-Farming Products (replaced since 1 April 2009 by FranceAgrimer, which has taken over all the activities of the former organisation).

Use of the Exemption regulation is justified for two reasons:

firstly, the Commission State aid Decision N 544/03 ‘Parafiscal charge allocated to OFIMER’ does not provide for this type of financing for structural actions of collective interest because participation in restructuring actions was not provided for in the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). It was added to Article 37(n) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund following the Commission Decision,

secondly, having recourse to measure 3.1 (Article 37) of the EEF Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 is not financially possible given the significant degree to which the corresponding budgetary allocation has been used up and the degrees of use and prospects for the use of financial resources under the other measures and axes of the European Fisheries Fund, which restrict the scope for the redeployment and review of the financial model.