2000/610/EC: Commission Decision of 28 June 2000 on the aid scheme provided in Region of Sicily Law No 23 of 28 March 1995 'Rules applicable to credit guarantee groups for small and medium-sized enterprises' - fishery sector (notified under document number C(2000) 1962) (Text with EEA relevance) (Only the Italian text is authentic)
Date: 2000-06-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, aid system, credit guarantee, fishing industry, producer organisation, regional aid

L 259/62

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

13.10.2000

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 28 June 2000

on the aid scheme provided in Region of Sicily Law No 23 of 28 March 1995 ‘Rules applicable to
credit guarantee groups for small and medium-sized enterprises’ — fishery sector

(notified under document number C(2000) 1962)

(Only the Italian text is authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2000/610/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article
88(2) thereof,

Having called on interested parties to submit their comments
pursuant to that Article,

Whereas:

I. Procedure

(1)

(2)

By letter dated 28 April 1995, registered at the Commis-
sion on 7 June 1995, Italy notified Region of Sicily Law
No 23 of 28 March 1995 on rules applicable to credit
guarantee groups for small and medium-sized enter-
prises. By letters dated 12 January and 10 April 1996,
registered at the Commission on 19 January and 22
April 1996, Italy sent the additional information asked
for.

On 12 June 1996, the Commission decided to initiate
the procedure laid down in Article 93(2) (now Article
88(2)) of the EC Treaty in regard to the abovementioned
Regional Law. This provided for a mechanism to
support fishery enterprises by facilitating their access to
credit and certain financial services (factoring,
leasing,
collective guarantee). Through the agency of consortia of
cooperatives (consorzi fidi) operating one or more sepa-
rate funds it would be possible to guarantee or reduce
the cost of certain financial operations carried out by

their members. The Commission considered that the aid
granted both at the time of creation and during the life
of these consortia was incompatible with the common
market. Firstly, the public contribution to the funds was
to be free and unlimited in time. Not only was it not to
be confined to start-up but successive injections of
capital were planned in order to maintain the public
contribution at at least 50 % of fund assets. Secondly,
the Commission did not have enough information to
assess the aid in its various forms of provision of guar-
antee, regional subsidisation of the costs of factoring and
leasing contracts, guarantees for management loans and
liability consolidation (see Commission letter SG(96) D/
5784 of 26 June 1996 addressed to the Italian Govern-
ment and published in Official Journal of the European
Communities C 302 of 12 October 1996 (p. 6)).

(3)

On 8 January 1998 and 21 December 1999,
Italy
provided the information asked for by the Commission.
No comment from other Member States or interested
parties was received.

II. Description

(4)

The scheme introduced by the law was a support mech-
anism for fishery enterprises facilitating their access to
credit and certain financial services (factoring,
leasing,
collective guarantee). Enterprises would be encouraged
to group themselves through formation of a legal person

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 259/63

(5)

(6)

in the form of a cooperative or consortium of cooper-
atives that would operate one or more separate funds to
guarantee or reduce the cost of certain financial opera-
tions effected by its members.

III. The Italian Government's comments

In its letter of 21 December 1999 Italy informed the
Commission that no application for aid from the funds
for fishery sector group risks had ever been received, i.e.
the scheme had never actually been applied. Since the
law in question provided for allocation of
financial
resources up to 1997, if the Region of Sicily wished to
reintroduce the scheme, a new legislative measure specif-
ically applicable to the cases indicated above would be
required and would be the subject of a new notification
to the Commission.

IV. Assessment

It is clear from the information provided by Italy (see
Section III) that the scheme has never been made use of
in the fishery sector and that under the Law notified to
the Commission it could not now be made use of at any
time owing to the impossibility under that Law of any
provision of finance from 1998 onwards.

Thus any activation of the scheme would have to be
covered by notification of a new measure specifically
applicable to the fishery sector.

The examination procedure initiated by the Commission
for the scheme has therefore become pointless and the
procedure should therefore be closed under Article 7(2)
of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March
1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of
Article 93 (now Article 88) of the EC Treaty (OJ L 83 of
27 March 1999, p. 1).

V. Conclusion

(7)

Given the foregoing, the Commission considers that the
examination procedure can be closed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The examination procedure initiated in regard to the section
relating to fisheries of Region of Sicily Law No 23 of 28 March
1995 is hereby closed.

This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 28 June 2000.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission