EN Official Journal of the European Union C 26/11

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 26/08)

Aid No: XA 285/08

Member State: France

Region: Département de la Moselle

Title of aid scheme: Promotion (assistance technique) dans le secteur agricole:

aide à la communication en faveur de l'agriculture mosellane,

valorisation de l'élevage mosellan par la présentation d'animaux en concours

Legal basis: Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006

Articles L 1511-2 et L 1511-5 du code général des collectivités territoriales

Délibération du Conseil général de la Moselle du 15.10.2007

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: EUR 125 000, including EUR 80 000 (maximum) for the enhancement of livestock in Moselle (livestock shows) and EUR 45 000 (maximum) for the provision of information on and promotion of agriculture in Moselle

Maximum aid intensity: Aid for the provision of information on and promotion of agriculture in Moselle:

rate of assistance: a maximum of 60 % of the expenses incurred, up to EUR 750 for local operations, EUR 2 000 for cantonal operations, EUR 5 000 for operations at department level and EUR 20 000 for regional or national operations.

Aid for the enhancement of livestock in Moselle:

rate of assistance: 100 %, but subsidies will be restricted to a maximum of 20 bovine animals or 20 equines or to 3 flocks of 8 sheep per farm per year (except the Metz Fair), and to:

— EUR 30 per bovine animal or per flock of 8 sheep,

— EUR 50 per equine for livestock shows and EUR 25 for traditional horse shows,

— an additional EUR 70 will be granted for travel expenses for livestock shows taking place in Lorraine, Alsace and the cross-border area, or EUR 200 for travel expenses for events taking place outside these regions

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 and subject to the corresponding funds being available

Duration of scheme: Three years from the date of acknowledgement of receipt by the Commission (subject to the corresponding funds being available)

Objective of aid: The aim is to support the organisation of agricultural events in Moselle and the creation and distribution of promotional material for agriculture in Moselle, as well as to enhance livestock in Moselle by exhibiting animals at livestock shows.

Aid may be granted to cover the costs incurred by the participants, travel costs, costs of publications, the cost of renting exhibition premises and token prizes awarded in competitions, up to a value of EUR 250 per prize and winner.

It will be granted in kind by means of subsidised services and must not involve direct payments of money to producers.

Aid may be granted to cover the costs of publications (catalogues or websites) presenting factual information on agricultural production in Moselle or on quality production, provided that the information and the way in which it is presented are neutral and that all producers concerned have an equal chance of being represented in the publication.

In any event, the services provided by producer groups or any organisation will be accessible to all farmers in the area concerned who meet the same objective criteria, at the same cost, with no obligation to join the group or to become affiliated to the body

Sector(s) concerned: All farmers in Moselle for the first type of aid.

Breeders of bovine animals, sheep and equines in Moselle for the second type of aid

Name and address of the granting authority:

Monsieur le Président du Conseil général de la Moselle Direction de l'Environnement et de l'Aménagement du Territoire Division de l'Environnement et de l'Espace Rural (SAEN) Hôtel du Département 1, rue du Pont Moreau BP 11096 F-57036 METZ Cedex 1

Website: http://www.cg57.fr/front/go.do?sid=site/environnement_1076429797630/gestion_de_l_espace/agriculture

Aid No: XA 358/08

Member State: Netherlands

Region: Nederland

Title of aid scheme/name of company receiving individual aid: Wijzing van de Regeling tijdelijke maatregelen dierziekten in verband met de vaccinatie tegen Q-koorts

Legal basis: Artikel 29, eerste lid, 30, vierde lid, en 45, eerste en derde lid, van de Diergeneesmiddelenwet, artikel 17 van de Gezondheids- en welzijnswet voor dieren en artikel 3 van het Besluit gebruik sera en entstoffen

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 160 000

Maximum aid intensity: 100 %

Date of implementation:

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 1 January 2009

Objective of aid: Q fever prevention and eradication

Sector(s) concerned: Sheep and goat sector

Name and address of the granting authority:

Ministerie van LNV Postbus 20401 2500 EK Den Haag Nederland

Website: http://www.minlnv.nl/portal/page?_pageid=116,1640321&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_file_id=31164

Other information: This ministerial scheme provides for the possibility of vaccinating sheep and goats against Q fever in part of the Netherlands. This is necessary for the purpose of (further) preventing Q fever owing to the high number of infected people and animals in that area. The vaccine that may be used for vaccination against Q fever is made available free of charge. This form of aid complies with Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006. In compliance with Article 10(4), other provisions to prevent the introduction of Q fever already apply on the basis of national legislation. The vaccination strategy is part of a national programme to prevent and control Q fever. Furthermore, in accordance with paragraph 7, Q fever is an animal disease included in the OIE list. Article 10(3),(5), (6) and (8) have also been complied with

Aid No: XA 361/08

Member State: Italy

Region: Liguria

Title of aid scheme: Concessione di contributi per attività delle Associazioni Allevatori della Liguria

Legal basis: Delibera Giunta Regionale n. 1222 del 3 ottobre 2008«Criteri e modalità di concessione dei contributi previsti dall'art. 2 della legge regionale n. 36/2000 in adeguamento alle disposizioni di cui al Reg. CE n. 1857/2006 della Commissione»

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: EUR 800 000 is the amount planned for 2008

Maximum aid intensity: Maximum aid intensity is 100 % of eligible expenditure for activities under Article 14(2)(a) and Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006; maximum aid intensity is 40 % of eligible expenditure for activities under Article 16(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006

Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the registration number of 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 2013

Objective of aid: The activities of the livestock associations that are eligible for funding are: conception and design of animal products, providing technical assistance to train livestock farmers, consultancy services (i.e. not the costs of continuous or periodic services, or costs that relate to the company's usual operating expenditure), organising and taking part in competitions, exhibitions and fairs, and disseminating scientific knowledge and information on the region's animal products.

Please note with regard to this aid that:

aid will be granted in the form of services and will not involve direct cash payments to farmers,

all livestock farmers in Liguria are eligible for this aid, without any requirement to be a member of an association to have access to the service,

aid is not provided for investment,

aid will be granted according to the provisions of Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006

Sector(s) concerned: The aid is paid to all livestock holdings in Liguria via the associations of livestock farmers

Name and address of the granting authority:

Regione Liguria Dipartimento Agricoltura Protezione Civile e Turismo Via G. D'Annunzio 113 I-16121 Genoa

Website: http://www.agriligurianet.it/Agrinet/DTS_GENERALE/20081006/delibera1222_1.pdf

IL Direttore del Dipartimento Agricoltura, Protezione civile e Turismo

(Dr. Luca FONTANA)

Aid No: XA 371/08

Member State: France

Region: Allier

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Aides en faveur de la maîtrise de la fièvre catarrhale ovine

Legal basis: Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006

Articles 1511-1 et suivants du code général des collectivités territoriales

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: EUR 100 000

Maximum aid intensity: 50 % in compliance with the limits set in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006, i.e. 100 % maximum

Date of implementation: From registration of the exemption sheet by the Commission

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 2008-2009

Objective of aid: The Department of Allier has been affected by bluetongue serotype 8 since 2007. The consequences of this disease are both direct (illness, mortality, abortions, production losses) and indirect (temporary sterility of male animals, irregular return to oestrus). As far as sheep farming is concerned, rams can remain sterile for over three months before there is a complete recovery of genital function. Rams which have shown clinical signs are therefore unfit for the servicing season starting next September.

Several risks are involved:

rams may have shown furtive clinical signs that went unnoticed by farmers. It is highly likely that they are sterile,

the use of rams with damaged genital function can lead to a high rate of non-pregnant ewes. If steps are not taken early in the season, the production of lambs for this season may be completely jeopardised.

In addition to the vaccination campaign (vaccines funded by the European Union), the regional Conseil général would like to implement two measures to control this disease better:

monitoring of ram semen

A microscopic examination can be carried out to produce a rapid diagnosis and thus eliminate any male animals that may have been in contact with bluetongue,

ultrasounds on ewes

Carrying out ultrasounds on ewes 4 to 6 weeks after servicing makes it possible to detect non-pregnant ewes early and thus to repeat the servicing process and eliminate any ewes that may have been in contact with bluetongue.

Aid amounting to up to 50 % of the cost will be in the form of subsidised services, not direct payments to producers

Sector(s) concerned: Sheep and goat sectors

Name and address of the granting authority:

Conseil général de l'Allier 1, avenue Victor Hugo BP 1669 F-03016 MOULINS Cedex

Website: http://actes-administratifs.allier.fr/actes/55954.pdf

Other information: —

Aid No: XA 372/08

Member State: Italy

Region: Emilia-Romagna (Camera di Commercio di Bologna)

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Regolamento camerale per l'assegnazione alle imprese della provincia di Bologna di contributi in conto abbattimento interessi

Legal basis: Regolamento della Camera di Commercio di Bologna approvato con deliberazione della Giunta camerale n. 185 del 16 settembre 2008

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The maximum annual amount for primary agricultural production is EUR 150 000

Maximum aid intensity: 10 % of the eligible costs. The amount of aid, including that for businesses run by women, cannot in any case exceed the limits established by Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006. The average aid payment is 5 % of eligible costs

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

Duration of scheme:

Objective of aid: The Bologna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Craft Trades and Agriculture, aware of the difficulties faced by local small and medium-sized enterprises in accessing credit, provides outright grants in the form of a single payment calculated as a proportion of the total discounted interest due on medium to long-term bank loans, with the aim of extending the average duration of loans and consolidating the enterprises' finances.

The investment must aim to achieve the following objectives in particular:

The scheme constitutes a form of support for investment in farms under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.

For enterprises engaged in primary agricultural production, the following costs are eligible:

Costs relating to leasing contracts other than those listed in (b), such as tax, lessor's margins, interest, refinancing costs, overheads and insurance, are not eligible.

Simple replacement investments are not eligible. Aid may not be granted for the manufacture of products which imitate, or can be substituted for, milk or milk products.

Purchases may not be dated prior to the approval of the aid application by the guarantee institutions, and are to be deducted from the upper limit that the Chamber of Commerce has provisionally assigned to these institutions in view of the resources available in the accruals-based statements. The date of the approval of the aid application is considered to be the date on which the guarantee institution, after examining the aid application and ascertaining that all the requirements laid down in the Chamber of Commerce Regulation are met, calculates the aid payable on the basis of the upper limit set by the Chamber of Commerce for the approval of the aid application

Sector(s) concerned: All sectors involved in primary agricultural production (land cultivation and livestock farming).

The scheme also provides for support to other sectors to which Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 on de minimis aid applies

Name and address of the granting authority:

Camera di Commercio I.A.A. di Bologna Piazza Mercanzia 4 I-40125 Bologna

Website: http://www.bo.camcom.it/intranet/ALTRI-SERV/DIRITTO-AN/Consorzi-F/index.htm

Other information: From 2008, this scheme replaces Exemption Scheme Aid XA 306/07, which will cease to operate once the settlements pending for 2007 have been made

Il Presidente della Camera di Commercio di Bologna

(Bruno Filetti)

Aid No: XA 376/08

Member State: Republic of Slovenia

Region: Območje občine Podlehnik

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Finančne intervencije v kmetijstvo v občini Podlehnik

Legal basis: Pravilnik o dodeljevanju državnih pomoči za ohranjanje in razvoj kmetijstva in podeželja v občini Podlehnik za programsko obdobje 2008–2013

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

2008: EUR 10 000

2009: EUR 10 000

2010: EUR 10 000

2011: EUR 10 000

2012: EUR 10 000

2013: EUR 10 000

Maximum aid intensity:

1. Investment in agricultural holdings for primary production:

— up to 50 % of costs for investment in less-favoured areas (LFA),

— up to 40 % of costs for investment in other areas,

— up to 60 % of costs for investment in LFA if the investment is made by young farmers within five years of setting up,

— the aid is provided in the form of grants and the co-financing of interest on loans.

2. Conservation of traditional landscapes and buildings:

— up to 75 % in less-favoured areas, or up to 60 % in other areas, for investment in means of production, provided there is no increase in the production capacity of the farm,

— up to 100 % of costs for investment to conserve non-productive heritage features located on agricultural holdings,

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

3. Aid towards the payment of insurance premiums:

— up to 50 % of the costs of insurance premiums for crops, fruit and cases of disease among animals.

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

— up to 50 % of costs; the aid is to be provided in the form of subsidised services and does not involve direct payments of money to producers.

5. Provision of technical support:

— up to 50 % of costs concerning farmers' education and training, consultancy services, the organisation of forums, competitions, exhibitions, fairs, publications, catalogues and websites, the dissemination of scientific knowledge and the replacement of a farmer and a farmer's partner during illness and leave,

— the aid is to be granted in the form of subsidised services and does not involve direct payments of money to producers

Date of implementation: 10 November 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 aid: To support SMEs

Reference to Articles in Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 and eligible costs: The draft Rules on granting State aid for preserving and developing agriculture and rural areas in the municipality of Podlehnik for the programming period 2008-2013 include 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 12: Aid towards the payment of insurance premiums,

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

Article 15: Provision of technical support in the agricultural sector

Sector(s) concerned: agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority:

Občina Podlehnik Podlehnik 21 SLO-2286 Podlehnik

Website: http://www.lex-localis.info/KatalogInformacij/VsebinaDokumenta.aspx?SectionID=daf9302d-9567-40d2-8c1f-a3744dce0ec6

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, storms and floods.

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

Podpis odgovorne osebe

Miran KRAJNC

Občina Podlehnik