EN Official Journal of the European Union C 204/5

Summary information communicated by the Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 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, processing and marketing of agricultural products

(2005/C 204/06)

Aid No: XA 09/05

Member State: Spain

Region: Catalonia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: ‘Aid for implementing innovation projects’. [‘Ayudas a la realización de proyectos de innovación’.]

Legal basis:

Orden TRI/ /2005, de XX de XXXX, por la cual se aprueban las bases reguladoras para el otorgamiento de ayudas para la investigación, el desarrollo y la innovación y se abre la convocatoria para el año 2005.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 1 250 000

Maximum aid intensity: 35 %

Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the aid scheme (March 2005).

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: December 2006

Objective of aid: The objective is to encourage SME to carry out innovation projects, innovation being regarded as the combination of systematic actions implemented by an enterprise to secure a competitive advantage by incorporating organisational, formal or technological innovations in its products and operational methods. In more practical terms, a combination of activities or projects designed to distinguish it from its competitors by seeking new ways of doing things, new organisational methods, new functions and uses for products and new approaches to fostering and using knowledge within the enterprise. Article 14 will be used. The subcontracting of outside expertise for carrying out the project will be regarded as eligible expenditure.

Sector(s) concerned: Sectors relating to the processing of all the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery and aquaculture products, and products falling under CN codes 4502, 4503 and 4504.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Centro de Innovación y Desarrollo Empresarial. Passeig de Gràcia, 129 6a planta. E-08008 Barcelona

Web address: www.cidem.com/cidem/cat/serveis/financament/ajuts/ajutsrdit.doc

Other information: Signature of competent authority

Sr. Joan Luria i Pagès

Jefe del Àrea de Programación Econòmica

Departamento de Economia y Finanzas

Generalitat de Catalunya

Aid No: XA 19/05

Member State: Federal Republic of Germany

Region: Free State of Saxony

Title of aid scheme: Aid for the costs of mandatory official TSE/BSE tests on cattle, sheep and goats under the TSE/BSE monitoring programme

Legal basis:

§ 25 (Kostenanteil des Landes) Nr. 2 des Sächsischen Ausführungsgesetzes zum Tierseuchengesetz — Landestierseuchengesetz — (SächsAGTierSG) vom 22. Januar 1992 (SächsGVBl. 1992, S. 29) in der zur Zeit geltenden Fassung

Annual expenditure under the scheme: Budgetary resources: EUR 500 000

Aid amount: EUR 500 000

Support is granted through waiving fees.

Maximum aid intensity: 100 %

Date of implementation: Immediately

Note: Notification is late because in 2004 an attempt was made to submit a joint aid request for the whole of Germany (aid No N 373/2003). Since that proved unsuccessful and the German Government therefore withdrew the notification in accordance with its communication of 22 February 2005 to the Commission (ref.: 421-1256-9/0003) and, in addition, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 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, processing and marketing of agricultural products (OJ L 1, 3.1.2004, p. 1) — the exemption Regulation — has since entered into force, a separate request for exemption is hereby being made for the Free State of Saxony.

Duration of the scheme: This is geared to the duration of the TSE/BSE monitoring programme under Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1), in the currently applicable version.

Objective of the aid: The applicable provision is Article 15(d) read in conjunction with Article 16(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004.

The aim of the measure is to grant State aid for rapid tests for TSE/BSE on:

— in the event of BSE being officially detected in one bovine animal,

— in order to control other animal diseases, with the exception of epidemic diseases;

— culled as part of a disease eradication campaign

— or slaughtered for human consumption; and

Explanatory note:

The aid measures described do not relate to BSE examination of slaughter cattle. Attention is drawn in this connection to the guidelines issued by the Saxony State Ministry of Social Affairs on granting support under the special programme on the effects of BSE of 15 October 2004 (Saxony Official Gazette 2005, p. 127; aid No N 558/2004, notification of changes to aid scheme No N 371/2003). According to its letter of 27 January 2005, the Commission did not raise any objections to that aid scheme.

Under the aid scheme described here, the livestock keepers in question are to be regarded as small or medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 and are therefore subject to the Commission's exemption procedure.

BSE/TSE tests entail the costs of purchasing test kits, taking and transporting samples, carrying out analyses, and storing and disposing of samples.

In Saxony, the costs of taking samples are borne by the local authorities. Under the Saxony State Ministry of Finance's sixth Ordinance on setting administrative fees and expenses of 24 October 2003 (Saxony Act and Ordinance Gazette, p. 706), the local authorities are able to charge livestock keepers fees of around EUR 0,80-8,00 for this work.

The remaining costs in respect of the mandatory rapid tests are financed through State aid (maximum EUR 35 per test). Less the EU's part-financing portion, this aid is paid by the Land Saxony.

The aid granted is passed on in full to the livestock keepers. In order to simplify administration, the aid is paid out to the Land Saxony's Health and Veterinary Research Institute, which acts as a State research laboratory and is a subordinate authority of the Saxony State Ministry of Social Affairs. The full amount is passed on to market operators because livestock keepers do not have to bear the costs of the BSE/TSE tests (with the possible exception of fees for taking samples, as referred to above).

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agriculture, animal production and processing/marketing (cattle, sheep, goats).

Name and address of the granting authority: Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Soziales, Albertstraße 10, D-01097 Dresden

Website: http://www.saxonia-verlag.de/recht-sachsen/634_2bs.pdf

Aid No: XA 22/05

Member State: Spain

Region: The entire territory

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Grants to stock breeders' organisations and associations for preserving, breeding and promoting livestock breeds.

Legal base:

Orden por la que se establecen las bases reguladoras de las subvenciones a las organizaciones y asociaciones de criadores para la conservación, selección y el fomento de las razas ganaderas.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 9 821 000 for the 2005 financial year.

Maximum aid intensity: technical support in the agricultural sector: education and training and cattle fairs and contests: EUR 1 325 000, with a maximum of EUR 100 000 per beneficiary over any three-year period or 50 % of the eligible costs, whichever is greater; technical support in the livestock sector: herd books: EUR 3 286 000; controlling yields and determining genetic quality: 70 % of the costs of tests and 40 % aid for investments in testing centres, reproduction centres and farms, with a maximum of EUR 5 210 000, depending on the funding available.

Date of application: From the date of publication in the Spanish Official Gazette and entry into force.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2006

Aim of the aid: Grants to national stock breeders' organisations and associations to encourage action in breeding, preserving and promoting livestock breeds. The grants fall within the scope of the following Articles of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 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, processing and marketing of agricultural products.

Article 14(2)(a) education and training (organisation costs, and travel and subsistence expenses) and Article 14(2)(d) organisation of and participation in competitions, exhibitions and fairs (participation fees, travel costs, costs of publications and rent of premises)

Article 15(a) administrative cost of herd books, Article 15(b) cost of determining the genetic quality or yield of livestock and Article 15(c) cost of investments in animal reproduction centres and the introduction of innovative techniques.

Sector concerned: Breeders of livestock of all species.

Name and address of the granting authority: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Directorate-General for Livestock Farming, Alfonso XII, 62, E-28014 Madrid.

Website: http://www.mapa.es Sección Ganadería.

Aid No: XA-27/05

Member State: Netherlands

Region: Overijssel Province, Salland Twente reconstruction area

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Uitvoeringsbesluit Subsidies Reconstructie Overijssel

(Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel):

Article 5 (additional support criteria for agricultural holdings);

Article 14 (basis for support for agricultural holdings).

Legal basis: Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht

Kaderverordening Subsidies landelijk Gebied Overijssel, reconstructie, grondaankopen

Ecologische Hoofdstructuur en soortenbescherming

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 3 million for the period 2005-06.

Maximum aid intensity:

— For investment in agricultural holdings: 40 %, whereby the investment must be directed at one or more of the following objectives: a. reducing production costs; b. improving and converting production; c. improving quality; d. maintaining and improving the natural environment, hygiene conditions and animal-welfare standards; e. promoting diversification of agricultural activities. (Article 14(1) of the Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel).

— For investment in processing and marketing agricultural products: up to a maximum of 40 % of eligible costs (Article 14(2) of the Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel)

— For investment or capital expenditure for the maintenance of cultural heritage components which also form part of an agricultural holding's production assets: up to a maximum of 60 % of eligible expenditure. (Article 14(3) of the Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel).

Date of implementation: The Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel enters into force on 1 May 2005.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: As it currently stands, the Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel will apply until 31 December 2006.

Objective of aid: The objective of granting aid on the basis of the Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel is to carry out the Salland Twente reconstruction plan (for restructuring intensive livestock rearing).

In order to do this, the following articles of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 are being used:

Article 4: investment in agricultural holdings;

Article 5(3): maintenance of traditional landscapes and buildings;

Article 7: investment in processing and marketing agricultural products.

Economic sector(s) concerned: Aid granted to agricultural holdings on the basis of the Implementing order on support for reconstruction in Overijssel (Articles 5 and 14) concerns:

the production of agricultural products in the sectors pigs, poultry, beef and veal (meat calves and steers);

the processing and/or marketing of agricultural products derived from meat, dairy products and eggs.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Gedeputeerde Staten van Overijssel Luttenbergstraat 2 Postbus 10078 8000 GB Zwolle

Website: www.prv-overijssel.nl

Aid No: XA 29/05

Member State: Latvia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Aid scheme ‘Agricultural Investment Aid’

Legal basis:

Ministru kabineta 2005. gada 25. janvāra noteikumi Nr. 70 ‘Noteikumi par valsts atbalstu lauksaimniecībai 2005. gadā un tā piešķiršanas kārtība’ 12. pielikums

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The total amount of aid under the scheme for 2005 is LVL 3 579 426 (EUR 5 093 064)

Maximum aid intensity: Aid is calculated at 30 % of total expenditure on a given measure, however, the total aid granted to one applicant within the framework of this programme may not exceed LVL 10 000, or LVL 50 000 in the case of a recognised agricultural services cooperative. The maximum amount of aid granted is LVL 150/m2 for the total building site area for the reconstruction of buildings and LVL 80/m2 for the total building site area for renovation work.

Date of implementation:

Duration of scheme or individual aid grant:

Objective of aid: The objective of the aid scheme is to support agricultural investment, to increase the value added of production and improve the quality of agricultural production.

Sector(s) concerned: Aid is intended for small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in agricultural work.

Aid is intended for branches of the industry concerned with livestock breeding and plant cultivation.

Name and address of granting authority:

Latvian Ministry for Agriculture Riga, LV-1981, Latvia.

Web address: www.zm.gov.lv

Aid No: XA 30/05

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: North West England

Name of company receiving individual aid: North West Stabiliser Limited

Legal basis: Section 5 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998.

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

Measure 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Total Producer Group Start-up aid GBP 28 000 GBP 16 000 GBP 12 000 GBP 56 000 Market Research GBP 46 812 GBP 46 813 0 GBP 93 625

Maximum aid intensity: Producer Group start-up aid — 100 % in year 1, 80 % in year 2, 60 % in year 3.

Market research (quality products) — 100 %.

Date of implementation: The first payment will be made after 1 June 2005.

Duration of individual aid award: Until 30 June 2007.

Payments against this commitment will, potentially, continue until 31 December 2008.

Objective of aid: Sectoral and regional Development

The Northwest Regional Development Agency is providing funding to develop regional production of quality beef applying certain beef genetics, and also supply chain development for such beef.

The aid consists of 2 measures:

Sector(s) concerned: Production and marketing of quality beef.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Northwest Regional Development Agency Renaissance House Centre Park Warrington WA1 1HA United Kingdom

Web address: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/state-aid/setup/exist-exempt.htm.

Click on ‘North West Stabiliser Ltd’. Alternatively you can go direct to

www.defra.gov.uk/farm/state-aid/setup/schemes/nwstabiliser.pdf

Other information: In line with Article 13(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004, North West Stabiliser limited will be free to choose its own provider of market research.

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

Graham Collins

Agricultural State Aid Team Adviser

Defra

8E, 9 Millbank

London

SW1P 3JR

United Kingdom

Aid No: XA 31/05

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: North West England

Title of aid scheme: HGQ Beef Scheme (North West England)

Legal basis: Section 5 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998

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

Measure 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Total Technical support (education and training of farmers and consultancy services) GBP 56 889 GBP 71 054 GBP 89 807 GBP 217 750

Maximum aid intensity: Technical support (education and training of farmers and consultancy services) — 100 %

Date of implementation: The first payment will be made after 1 June 2005.

Duration of scheme: Applications will remain open until 31 July 2005. However, aid will continue to be granted until 30 June 2007.

Payments against this commitment will, potentially, continue until 31 December 2008.

Objective of aid: Sectoral and regional development

The Northwest Regional Development Agency is providing funding to develop regional production of quality beef applying certain beef genetics, and also supply chain development for such beef.

The aid consists of one measure:

Aid for the provision of technical support in line with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004. The eligible costs will be education and training of farmers and provision of consultancy services.

Sector(s) concerned: Production and marketing of quality beef

Name and address of the granting authority:

Northwest Regional Development Agency Renaissance House Centre Park Warrington WA1 1HA United Kingdom

Web address: www.defra.gov.uk/farm/state-aid/setup/exist-exempt.htm.

Click on ‘HGQ Beef Scheme (North West England)’. Alternatively, you can go direct to

www.defra.gov.uk/farm/state-aid/setup/schemes/hgq-beefscheme.pdf.

Other information: Beneficiaries will not be free to choose their own providers of technical support. However, in line with Article 14(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004, the service provider has been chosen and will be remunerated according to market principles.

Aid No: XA 32/05

Member State: Federal Republic of Germany

Region: The aid is granted by a central body (Federal Institute for Agriculture and Food, BLE).

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Guidelines on financial support for contributions to trade fairs and exhibitions on organic farming and products thereof.

Legal base:

Richtlinie über die Förderung von Messe- und Ausstellungsbeiträgen zum ökologischen Landbau und seiner Erzeugnisse.

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Estimated annual costs of around EUR 3 million.

Maximum aid intensity: Support is granted up to the following limits:

for renting the stand area: up to EUR 120 per m2 of floor space occupied; however, for the overall stand area a maximum of EUR 2 400 may be paid for an individual stand and EUR 12 000 for a joint stand;

for renting a stand: up to EUR 250 per m2 of stand area; however, for the overall stand area a maximum of EUR 5 000 may be paid for an individual stand and EUR 25 000 for a joint stand;

for printing information material on participation in a trade fair: up to EUR 500 for individual stands and up to EUR 2 000 for joint stands.

The aid is subject to payment of a contribution of at least 20 % of eligible expenditure.

The total amount of public support granted is a maximum EUR 100 000 per beneficiary over a three-year period.

Date of implementation: The aid scheme will enter into force on receipt of the identification number produced by the European Commission after it receives the summary information.

Duration of the scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2007.

Objective of aid: The aim of the aid scheme is to raise awareness of organic farming by targeting the public at international and supra-regional trade fairs and exhibitions, and disseminating specific information on organic farming and products thereof. The scheme comes under Article 14(2)(d).

Sectors concerned: The scheme applies to production and to processing and marketing. It has a wide remit and is not restricted to certain sub-sectors such as animal or plant products.

Name and address of granting authority:

Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE) Geschäftsstelle Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau Deichmanns Aue 29 D-53179 Bonn

Website reference: http://www.bundesprogramm-oekolandbau.de/bekanntm_messerichtlinie.html

Aid No: XA 33/05

Member State: Federal Republic of Germany

Region: North Rhine-Westphalia

Title of aid scheme: Support for technical assistance for hemp-growing

Legal base:

— Zuwendungsbescheid zur Maßnahme ‘Koordinierung des Hanfanbaus in NRW, Beratung der Landwirte und öffentlichkeitswirksame Informationen über Hanf’ [grant decision on the measure ‘Coordination of hemp-growing in North Rhine-Westphalia, advisory services for farmers and PR information on hemp’]

— § 44 Landeshaushaltsordnung Nordrhein-Westfalen

Planned annual expenditure: 2005: EUR 45 000

2006: EUR 54 000

2007: EUR 36 000

Maximum aid intensity: 90 % of total eligible expenditure; individual beneficiaries receive no more than EUR 100 000 of eligible expenditure

Date of implementation: Planned from 19.5.2005

Duration of scheme: 19.5.2005 to 30.9.2007

Objective of aid: The scheme centres on the provision of personal information and advisory services for farmers growing hemp on matters such as choice of variety, sowing, stock management and harvesting. The aim is to produce a quality raw material that meets processing requirements. As a raw material hemp plays a key role in processing, as high-quality fibre insulating material can only be produced if the basic product meets certain defined qualities.

Information on hemp-growing is to be made available to all farmers in the region through a number of information sessions held with the NRW chamber of agriculture

The planned measure is an aid to small and medium-sized enterprises in accordance with Article 14(2)(c) and (d) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003.

Beneficiaries are required to select the service provider in accordance with market principles.

Sectors concerned: The final beneficiaries of the aid are companies active in crop production.

Name and address of granting authority:

Website reference: www.lej.nrw.de/?cid=218

Aid No: XA 35/05

Member State: Spain

Region: Catalonia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: ‘Aid for implementing innovation projects’.

Legal basis: Order TRI/ /2005 of XX of XXXX, adopting the basis on which aid is granted for subcontracting R&D and innovation activities, and inviting invitations to tender for 2005 (invitations to tender numbers 13001, 13101 and 13201). [Orden TRI/ /2005, de XX de XXXX, por la cual se aprueban las bases reguladoras para el otorgamiento de ayudas para la subcontratación de actividades de investigación, el desarrollo e innovación y se abre la convocatoria para el año 2005 (códigos convocatoria 13001, 13101 y 13201).]

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 1 250 000

Maximum aid intensity: 40 %.

Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the aid scheme.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: December 2006.

Objetive of aid: The objective is to encourage SMEs to carry out innovation projects, innovation being regarded as the combination of systematic actions implemented to secure a competitive advantage by incorporating organisational, formal or technological innovations in its products and operational methods. In more practical terms, by incorporating these in the combination of activities or projects designed to distinguish it from its competitors by seeking new ways of doing things, new organisational methods, new functions and uses for products and new approaches to fostering and using knowledge within the enterprise. To this end, subsidies are provided for subcontracting external suppliers to implement the innovation projects. Article 14 is used. The subcontracting of outside expertise to carry out the project will be regarded as eligible expenditure.

Sector(s) concerned: Sectors relating to the processing of all the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery and aquaculture products, and products falling under CN codes 4502, 4503 y 4504.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Centro de Innovación y Desarrollo Empresarial Passeig de Gràcia, 129 6a planta E-08008 Barcelona

Web address: www.cidem.com/cidem/cat/serveis/financament/ajuts/ajutsrdit.doc

Other information: Signature of the competent authority.

Sr. Joan Luria i Pagès

Jefe del Àrea de Programación Econòmica

Departamento de Economia y Finanzas

Generalitat de Catalunya

Aid No: XA 37/05

Member State: Federal Republic of Germany

Region: The Land of Thuringia

Title of aid scheme: Financial aid to meet the costs of compulsory official TSE/BSE tests within the scope of the TSE/BSE monitoring programme for bovine animals, sheep and goats.

Legal basis:

— Erlass zur Durchführung der für den Tierseuchenschutz maßgeblichen Bestimmungen der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 999/2001, der BSE-Vorsorgeverordnung und der TSE-Überwachungsverordnung (TSE-Erlass Tierseuchenschutz) vom 15. Dezember 2004 (ThürStAnz Nr. 2/2005), geändert durch Erlass vom 14. April 2005 (ThürStAnz Nr. 24/2005), — Nummer 10

— Anordnung über die Ermäßigung der Gebühr im Rahmen der vorgeschriebenen fleischhygienerechtlichen Untersuchung von geschlachteten Rindern auf BSE vom 3. Februar 2004 (ThürStAnz Nr. 12/2004 S. 769)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: Budget: EUR 440 000

Aid contribution: EUR 440 000

The financial aid is granted by waiving fees or, in the case of bovine animals over 24 months old and up to 30 months old which are slaughtered for human consumption, by partially waiving fees.

Maximum aid intensity: 100 %

Date of implementation: Immediately

Note: The delayed notification is only appearing now because there was a previous attempt to file a single aid application for the Federal Republic of Germany (Aid No 373/2003). Since this was not successful and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 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, processing and marketing of agricultural products has in the meantime entered into force (Official Journal No L 1, p. 1), a separate request for exemption is hereby being filed for the Land of Thuringia.

Duration of scheme: The duration will depend on that of the TSE/BSE monitoring programme under Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001, laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (Official Journal L 147, p. 1), as amended.

Objective of aid: The provision to be applied is Article 15(d) in conjunction with Article 16(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004.

The objective of the measure is to grant State aid to rapid tests for TSE/BSE for:

— where BSE is officially diagnosed in a bovine animal,

— in order to combat other epizootic diseases, with the exception of animal diseases which spread in the form of epidemics,

— killed in the framework of a disease eradication campaign

— slaughtered for human consumption,

Explanatory notes:

The aid scheme described does not relate to BSE testing of bovine animals for slaughter over 30 months old, as this aid only amounts to the actual EU part-financing per test in the framework of the Commission's annual decision on the European Community's financial contribution. The aid will be passed on by reducing the fees charged to market operators.

In the context of the aid scheme described, the respective livestock farmers are to be regarded as small or medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 and hence subject to the Commission's exemption procedure.

The BSE/TSE tests give rise to costs in relation to buying the test kits, taking and transporting the samples, carrying out the tests, and storing and disposing of samples.

The costs for the rapid tests described above are financed via State aid. This aid, less the amount co-financed by the European Union, is provided by the Land of Thuringia.

The aid granted is passed on fully to the livestock farmers. In order to simplify administrative procedures, the aid is paid out to the Thuringia Regional Office for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, which acts as a State testing laboratory and is subordinate authority of the Thuringia Ministry of Social Affairs, Family and Health. The full amount is passed onto the market operators since, for BSE/TSE testing of:

(a) Bovine animals which have died or been killed, and sheep and goats which have died, been killed or been slaughtered, the livestock farmers bear none of the costs;

(b) Bovine animals over 24 months old and up to 30 months old which have been slaughtered, the full amount of aid is passed onto the livestock farmers by a corresponding reduction in the fees charged to market operators.

In relation to letter (b) the ‘Order on reduction of the fee within the framework of the prescribed meat hygiene testing of slaughtered bovine animals for BSE’ was issued in order to ensure that fees charged for BSE testing of bovine animals over 24 months and up to 30 months old were treated in the same way as those for bovine animals over 30 months old. This Order provides that, for BSE testing of bovine animals over 24 months and up to 30 months old, there is a fee reduction equal to the amount of EU co-financing actually granted per test in respect of bovine animals over 30 months old. The aid is passed on by reducing the fees charged to market operators (currently a fee reduction of EUR 8 per test). The abovementioned Order will be appropriately amended in order to maintain equal treatment if the Commission's annual decision on the European Community's financial contribution in future leads to a changed amount of actual EU co-financing for bovine animals over 30 months old.

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agriculture, livestock production and processing/marketing (bovine animals, sheep, goats).

Name and address of the granting authority:

Thüringer Ministerium für Soziales, Familie und Gesundheit, Werner-Seelenbinder-Str. 6, D-99096 Erfurt E-mail address: poststelle@tmsfg.thueringen.de

Internet address: http://www.thueringen.de/de/tmsfg

where one should click on: