EN Official Journal of the European Union C 156/2

Summary information communicated by 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

(2006/C 156/02)

XA number: XA 27-06

Member State: Italy

Region: Campania

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Promotion and support to set up and develop producer associations for wine produced in campania

Legal basis: Legge 164/92 e successive modifiche ed integrazioni; D.G.R. 1208 del 23.9.2005

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 100 000 overall maximum amount of aid per approved programme and individual beneficiary, out of a total of EUR 320 000 available in 2006

Maximum intensity of aid: 60 % of start-up expenditure incurred; 100 % of incurred expenditure, degressing by 20 % for each successive year of activity; overall no more than 80 % of eligible overall expenditure

Date of implementation: starts 1 may 2006

Duration of aid scheme or individual aid: maximum duration of individual aid is 3 years

Objective of aid: start-up aid for producer associations, in particular for doc and docg wine production as defined by law 164/92

Sector(s) concerned: Quality wine production (doc and docg)

Name and address of granting authority:

Website: www.regione.campania.it

Other information: Aid is in line with regulation 1/2004 articles 10-13 on measures to encourage the production and marketing of quality agricultural products

Aid No: XA 17/2006

Member State: Spain

Region: Catalonia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: ‘Aid for subcontracting innovation activities’ (‘Ayudas para la subcontratación de actividades de innovación’)

Legal basis: Orden TRI/97/2006, de 28 de febrero, por la que se aprueban las bases reguladoras para la concesión de ayudas para la subcontratación de actividades de investigación, desarrollo e innovación (DOGC 4595 de 17.3.2006)

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 300 000

Maximum aid intensity: 35 %

Date of implementation:

Duration of scheme or individual aid award:

Objective of aid: The objective is to encourage SMEs 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

To this end, the subcontracting of external suppliers who carry out the innovation projects is financed through grants or guarantees. Article 14 is used. The subcontracting of outside expertise for carrying out the project will be regarded as eligible expenditure

In the case of guarantees, Article 7 is also used. The purchase of equipment, instruments and supplies intended solely and permanently for innovation may be regarded as eligible costs

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 and products intended to imitate or replace milk and milk products

Name and address of the granting authority: Centro de Desarrollo e Innovación Empresarial (CIDEM)

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

XA Number: XA 20/2006

Member State: France

Region: Franche-Comté

Title of aid scheme: Technical support: experiments and demonstrations within the framework of the Interreg operation ‘French-Swiss development and application of medicinal and aromatic plants’ (2nd phase) Continuation of the 2005 programme (see fiches XA 17/05 and XA 39/05)

Legal basis:

— Article 14 du règlement (CE) no 1/2004 de la Commission;

— Décisions de la Commission du 16 novembre 2001 et du 8 décembre 2004 approuvant le programme d'initiative communautaire INTERREG III A entre la France et la Suisse, dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre du règlement (CE) no 1260/1999 du Conseil du 21 juin 1999 portant dispositions générales sur les fonds structurels;

— Décision de la commission permanente du Conseil régional du 13 mai 2005;

— Articles L 1511 et suivants du Code général des collectivités territoriales permettant aux collectivités territoriales d'intervenir dans le cadre de la création ou de l'extension d'activités économiques en accordant des aides directes et indirectes aux entreprises

Annual expenditure forecast under the aid scheme: EUR 50 052

Maximum aid intensity: 30 % for the ‘technical support’ and ‘communication’ strands

Date of implementation: From receipt of the acknowledgement of receipt from the European Commission

Duration of scheme: Until 31 December 2006 at the latest

Objective of the aid: The aid is intended to fund the following actions, which fall within the scope of Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 (technical support in the agricultural sector):

definition, in cooperation with outside experts, of a demonstration protocol for the treatment of mastitis in bovine animals with aromatherapy and herbal medicine;

domestication and breeding programme for aromatic and medicinal plants (definition, in cooperation with outside experts, of a demonstration protocol for cultivation, location of sites and demonstration of cultivation, monitoring and recording);

agricultural extension and communication (events, information centre, information activities)

The objectives are:

to make information available to farmers and the general public about products resulting from the processing of aromatic and medicinal plants and the ways they can be used in farming to treat animal diseases;

to reinforce the trend in the practices of professionals and amateurs towards a greater respect for the environment (research and experimentation). Experiments carried out on sheep and beef farms will allow this objective to be achieved and will help to make farmers aware of the different ways in which plants can be used in veterinary medicine to treat their flocks and herds;

to collect and select references, knowledge and know-how on production, processing and ways in which plants can be used for domestic and commercial use. These references will facilitate demonstration, experimentation and localisation. Preparing the information and know-how gained through the components of the project with a view to making it available to people working in this sector and to the general public. Promoting plants of the cross-border Jura massif by developing production and harvesting on a much larger scale and by assessing the socio-economic impact, thus reducing the production and processing costs by introducing machinery suitable for processing cultivated plants, forest by-products and plants growing in fallow land;

to reinforce the image of our regions as welcoming, natural regions that are cradles of innovation and alternative methods, to promote and draw attention to specific local features in terms of the utilisation of plants found in the Massif, and to promote local initiatives and partnerships related to these

Sector(s) concerned: Farmers in Franche-Comté who are interested in this programme, whether they are interested in the industrial and medicinal plants aspect (Chapter 12 of the Combined Nomenclature) or in the live animals aspect (Chapter 1 of the Combined Nomenclature)

Name and address of the granting authority:

M. le Président du Conseil Régional de Franche-Comté Hôtel de région 4 Square Castan F-25031 Besançon Cedex

Web addresses:

— www.cr-franche-comte.fr;

— www.interreg3afch.org/;

— www.cfppa-montmorot.fr/

Miscellaneous: Implementation of the programme is the task of the local agricultural college, ‘Edgar Faure’, in Lons le Saunier — 614 avenue Edgar Faure — F-39570 Montmorot

XA Number: XA 25/06

Member State: France

Title of aid scheme: Aid for farmer replacements

Legal basis:

— Article 14.2 b) du règlement (CE) no 1/2004 de la Commission;

— Article 25 de la loi no 2006-11 du 5 janvier 2006 d'orientation agricole;

— Article 200 undecies du code général des impôts.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: The tax impact of the scheme is estimated at EUR 51 million per year

Maximum aid intensity: Tax credits to cover 50 % of the daily cost of replacing farmers, up to a ceiling of EUR 130 for a maximum of 14 days per year and EUR 910 per beneficiary per year

Date of implementation: Starts 1 January 2006

Objective of aid: Replacement is a solution that allows farmers whose activity requires on-farm presence every day of the year to have a work and life pattern comparable to other economic sectors. Nevertheless, except for cases where this option is funded (by private insurance covering maternity, accidents or illness), the cost of this service is a disincentive. This scheme therefore offers farmers a measure, in the form of a tax credit, designed to encourage take-up of these services

Sector(s) concerned: All sectors of agricultural production. The scheme covers all farm managers or agricultural enterprises that operate on an individual or partnership basis. The scheme is limited to farmers whose principle activity requires on-farm presence every day of the year

Name and address of the granting authority:

Address of website: www.legifrance.gouv.fr see ‘droit français’, ‘les autres textes législatifs et réglementaires’, and search with the terms ‘JO no 5 texte no 2’

XA Number: XA 26-06

Member State: Netherlands

Region: Gelderland

Name of company receiving individual aid: V.o.f. Cacao De Klomp

Legal basis: On behalf of the Province of Gelderland, SenterNovem is carrying out the Gelderland Market-Oriented Innovation & Implementation II subsidy scheme (SMI&IGII). This scheme is designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises with innovations in the field of technological, organisational and market development

Aid has been granted to V.O.F Cacao De Klomp on the basis of Article 1.3.2.a, SMI&IGII, whereby a grant can be awarded in respect of activities related to the external costs of consulting an independent expert with regard to the promotion of innovation within the enterprise

As stated in recital 1 to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004, Regulation (EC) No 994/98 empowers the Commission to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that, under certain conditions, aid to small and medium-sized enterprises is compatible with the common market and not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty

Article 14 of Regulation 1/2004 is concerned with technical support in the agricultural sector. According to Article 14(1), aid is compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaties and is exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty if it is granted towards the eligible costs listed in paragraph 2 and fulfils the conditions of paragraphs 3, 4 and 5

According to Article 14(2)(c), aid may be granted to cover the following eligible costs: in conjunction with consultancy services, the costs of services which do not constitute a continuous or periodic activity and do not relate to the enterprise's usual operating expenditure

Total amount of individual aid granted to the enterprise: The aid (grant) comes to EUR 15 040

Maximum aid intensity: According to Article 14(3), the total amount of public support granted under paragraph 2 must never exceed EUR 100 000 per beneficiary over any three-year period, or 50 % of the eligible costs. For the purpose of calculating the amount of aid, the beneficiary is considered to be the recipient of technical support

The SMI&IGII further states that the grant must not exceed EUR 20 000

In the present case, these requirements have been met

Date of implementation: The grant will be awarded on receipt of the European Commission's covering letter on this notice

Duration of individual aid award: Covers the project period 13 September 2005 to 1 August 2006

Objective of aid: In the present case, aid is being awarded, on the basis of Article 14(2)(c) of Regulation 1/2004, to V.O.F. Cacao De Klomp for consultancy services designed to promote process development in respect of a new production line for cocoa paste deemed to be up to Japanese standards. These consultancy services are concerned with improving the quality of cocoa beans

Economic sector concerned: Agriculture

Name and address of the granting authority:

Gedeputeerde Staten van Gelderland Postbus 9090 6800GX Arnhem Nederland

Website: www.gelderland.nl/gelderlandbalie/provincialestukken