EN Official Journal of the European Union C 233/8

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

2010/C 233/05

Aid No: XA 97/10

Member State: Italy

Region: The entire territory of Italy

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Concessione di un contributo per la partecipazione del giovane imprenditore agricolo (o di un proprio collaboratore) alla manifestazione fieristica SIAL, Parigi — 17/21 ottobre 2010.

Legal basis: Art. 2 della Legge 15 dicembre 1998, n. 441, recante «Norme per la diffusione e la valorizzazione dell’imprenditoria in agricoltura».

Article 15 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The total planned expenditure is EUR 150 000,00

Maximum aid intensity: 100 % of eligible costs

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 31 December 2010

Objective of aid: To encourage farmers and farm workers to take part in forums to share knowledge between businesses, and in competitions, exhibitions and fairs, pursuant to Article 15 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).

Exhibition participation fees and stand rental costs constitute eligible expenditure.

This State aid is provided under Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006, and is granted in kind by means of a subsidised service which will not involve direct payment of money to producers.

Sector(s) concerned: Agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority:

Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali Dipartimento delle politiche competitive del mondo rurale e della qualità Direzione generale della competitività per lo sviluppo rurale Via XX Settembre 20 00187 Roma RM ITALIA

Website: http://www.politicheagricole.gov.it/SviluppoRurale/GiovaniAgricoltura/default.htm

Other information: —

Aid No: XA 101/10

Member State: Netherlands

Region: Noord-Brabant

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Wijziging Subsidieregeling duurzame landbouw in Noord-Brabant (uitbreiding tbv de bouw van stallen conform een zgn. ALFA-ontwerp)

Legal basis: Artikel 152 van de Provinciewet, artikel 2 van de Algemene subsidieverordening Provincie Noord-Brabant.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Total available amount for implementing the relevant part of the subsidy scheme: EUR 500 000. Applications can be submitted only in 2010.

Maximum aid intensity: The scheme stipulates that subsidy can be granted for 50 % of the additional costs of constructing farm buildings designed in accordance with the method used in the ALFA project as compared with conventional construction. The total investment for building such a shed amounts to approximately EUR 1 000 000. The maximum subsidy to be granted is EUR 50 000. This is approximately 5 % of the total investment and hence the aid intensity.

Date of implementation: 1 June 2010, but not until after publication of the summary information by the European Commission

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The subsidy will be granted between 1 June and 1 December 2010 (unless the subsidy limit set is reached sooner). Subsidy can be paid out until 2012.

Objective of aid: The aim is to encourage holdings to give their farm buildings a more attractive look (while maintaining or even improving their function), thereby providing a boost to improve the quality of the Brabant countryside.

Use is being made of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.

Sector(s) concerned: All agricultural holdings

Name and address of the granting authority:

Provincie Noord-Brabant Brabantlaan 1 Postbus 90151 5200 MC Den Bosch NEDERLAND

Website: http://brabant.regelingenbank.eu/regeling/397-subsidieregeling-duurzame-landbouw-in-noord-brabant

http://www.brabant.nl/politiek-en-bestuur/bestuursinformatie/provinciale-bladen.aspx

Other information: The amendment relates to the subsidy scheme for sustainable agriculture in North Brabant, which was notified to the European Commission in 2008 and is registered under No XA 220/08. The amendment concerns an addition to the activities eligible under the scheme. To the existing list of eligible activities is added the possibility of applying for subsidy to build a so-called ALFA shed. This is a new building method aimed at optimum harmony between agricultural use, fitting in with the landscape, functional importance and architectural visual quality. Because this building method is more expensive than a conventional shed, it is now being proposed to subsidise the additional costs involved in building an ALFA shed. This project's forerunner, which developed the ALFA shed design, was notified in 2007 and registered under No XA 417/07.

Also, the 2010 subsidy limit for two parts of the scheme (for elutriators and sustainable agriculture) is being set at EUR 0 because the available budgets have been exhausted.

The other possibilities for subsidy under the scheme are not being adapted or amended. The amendment therefore relates only to investment aid for building ALFA sheds.

Aid No: XA 105/10

Member State: Germany

Region: Germany

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Richtlinie über die Förderung der Beratung landwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen vor und während einer Umstellung des Betriebes auf ökologischen Landbau

421-40306/0025

Legal basis: Richtlinie über die Förderung der Beratung landwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen vor und während einer Umstellung des Betriebes auf ökologischen Landbau;

Bundeshaushaltsgesetz.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Up to EUR 0,5 million

Maximum aid intensity: Aid is awarded in the form of a grant providing part-funding for a specific project. The amount of aid granted will be up to 50 % of the costs of consultation, subject to a maximum of EUR 2 000 (net) per consultation type (consultation prior to conversion; consultation after the conversion process). The grant is not paid directly to the recipient of the aid.

Date of implementation:

Duration of scheme or individual aid award:

Objective of aid: Provision of technical support (Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006) and aid to SMEs for engaging external consulting services (Article 26 of Regulation (EC) No 800/2008).

Sector(s) concerned: Conventional and organic agricultural enterprises operative in all sub-sectors

Name and address of the granting authority:

Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung — BLE) Postfach, 53168 Bonn DEUTSCHLAND

Website: http://www.bundesprogramm-oekolandbau.de/foerderrichtlinien/umstellungsberatung/

Other information: Consultation services for conventional agricultural enterprises on the opportunities offered by converting to organic farming and the consequences of such a conversion play an important role in:

judging more accurately whether and under what circumstances converting to organic farming methods is viable, thereby helping companies to avoid making bad business decisions,

improving the prospects of an impending conversion to organic farming methods by increasing management know-how,

reinforcing the will of farmers to convert to organic farming, thereby increasing the overall number of enterprises using organic production methods.

Consultation on production methods or commercial matters during the conversion of an agricultural enterprise from conventional to organic farming plays an important role in:

judging more accurately how the production of certain goods should be adapted to the changed framework conditions of the individual enterprise, thereby helping to optimise the necessary adaptation processes and minimise bad decision-making on the part of the enterprise

increasing the probability of the conversion being a success by ensuring the continual development of management know-how in a complex subject area,

optimising the development of the business both during and after the conversion, as laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, thereby encouraging farmers to continue using the new production methods in the long-term and potentially helping to ensure that enterprises do not convert back to conventional methods after the obligatory five-year period of organic production, laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, has elapsed.

Aid can be granted to enterprises in accordance with these guidelines and the general administrative regulations on Sections 23 and 44 of the Federal Budget Code (BHO) in order to provide them with an incentive to engage external consulting services.

The amount of aid granted will be up to 50 % of the costs of consultation, subject to a maximum of EUR 2 000 (net) per consultation type (consultation prior to conversion; consultation after the conversion process).