Invitation to submit comments on the draft Commission Regulation 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 fisheries products
Date: 2003-11-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: State aid, aid to undertakings, control of State aid, small and medium-sized enterprises

4.11.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Invitation to submit comments on the draft Commission Regulation 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 fisheries products

(2003/C 265/03)

Interested parties may submit their comments within one month of the date of publication of this draft
Regulation to:

European Commission
Directorate General for fisheries
Unit D3
Office Joseph II, 99
B-1049 Brussels
Fax (32-2) 29 51 942
E-mail: fish-aidesdetat@cec.eu.int

Draft Commission Regulation 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
fisheries products

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May
1998 on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty
establishing the European Community to certain categories of
horizontal State aid (1), and in particular Article 1(1)(a)(i)
thereof,

Having published a draft of this regulation,

Having consulted the Advisory Committee on State aid,

Whereas:

(1) 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.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January
2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC

(1) OJ L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1.

Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enter-
prises (2) does not apply to activities
linked to the
production, processing or marketing of products listed
in Annex I to the Treaty.

and marketing of

(3) The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the
Treaty to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the
production, processing
fisheries
products in numerous decisions and has also stated its
policy, most recently in the Guidelines for the exam-
ination of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture (3)
(hereafter referred to as the ‘Fisheries Guidelines’). In the
light of
the Commission's considerable experience in
applying those articles to small and medium-sized enter-
prises active in the production, processing and marketing
it is appropriate, with a view to
of fisheries products,
ensuring efficient supervision and simplifying adminis-
tration without weakening Commission monitoring, that
the Commission should make use of the powers conferred
by Regulation (EC) No 994/98 also for
small and
in the production,
medium-sized enterprises
processing and marketing of fisheries products,
insofar
as Article 89 of the Treaty has been declared applicable
to such products.

active

(4) The compatibility of State aid in the fisheries sector is
assessed by the Commission on the basis of the objectives
of both the Competition Policy and the Common Fisheries
Policy (CFP).

(2) OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33.
(3) OJ C 19, 20.1.2001, to be replaced by the new guidelines (cf. draft

adopted by the Commission on . . .).

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(5) This regulation should cover aid granted in the fisheries
sector which have been routinely approved by the
Commission for many years. This aid does not require a
case by case assessment of
its compatibility with the
common market from the Commission, provided that it
complies with the conditions laid down for structural
funds in Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down
for Community
the detailed rules and arrangements
structural
last
sector
fisheries
amended by Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002 (1) and with
certain other conditions.

assistance

in the

as

(6) The regulation should cover the following aid: aid for
promotion and/or advertising of fisheries products, aid
for producer groups, aid for protection and development
of aquatic resources, aid for innovative measures and
technical assistance, aid for fishing port facilities, aid for
scrapping of
certain socio-
fishing vessels, aid for
economic measures, aid for investments for processing
and/or marketing of
fisheries products, and aid for
investments for aquaculture and inland fishing.

(7) This regulation should be without prejudice to the possi-
bility for Member States of notifying aid to small and
medium-sized enterprises
in the production,
processing and marketing of
fisheries products. Such
notifications will be assessed by the Commission on the
basis of the Fisheries Guidelines, and in the light of this
Regulation.

active

(8) Aid that Member States intend to grant in the fisheries
sector but which do not fall within the scope of this
regulation, or of other Regulations adopted pursuant to
Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98, should remain
subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of
the Treaty. Such aid will be assessed in the light of the
Fisheries Guidelines. This is in particular the case for aid
for fleet renewal and for the equipment or modernisation
of fishing vessels, for aid for financial compensation for
the temporary cessation of fishing activities, for aid to
permanent transfer of fishing vessels to a third country,
for income aid and operating aid, for aid to make good
damage caused by natural disaster or exceptional occur-
rences.

the regulation should not apply if

(10) In the interests of coherence with Community-financed
support measures,
the ceilings of aid covered by this
regulation should be equal to those fixed for the same
kind of aid in Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999. In order to
maintain an overall discipline on State aid in the fisheries
sector,
the global
amount of aid granted each year by a Member State per
category of aid exceeds a maximum amount, calculated by
the Commission for each Member State on the basis of
the average total amount of aid legally granted by all the
Member States for the same category during the years
2001, 2002 and 2003 and allocated to each Member
the
State in proportion to a weighted application of
objective
sector,
employment in the fisheries sector, and the level of inter-
vention by Community Structural Funds. This limitation
should neither apply to aid for the permanent cessation of
fishing activities through the scrapping of a fishing vessel
or its reassignment for non profitable purpose other than
fishing nor to certain socio-economic measures.

turnover

fisheries

in the

criteria

(11) It is essential that no aid is granted in circumstances
where Community law, and in particular rules of the
Common Fisheries Policy, are not complied with. An
aid can therefore only be granted by a Member State in
the fisheries sector if the measures financed and their
effects comply with Community law. Before granting
any aid, Member States should ensure that beneficiaries
of State aid comply with the rules of the CFP.

(12) In

practice

established

accordance with

the
Commission, and with a view to ensuring that aid is
proportionate and limited to the amount necessary,
thresholds should normally be expressed in terms of aid
intensities in relation to a set of eligible costs, rather than
in terms of maximum aid amounts.

of

(13) In view of the need to strike the appropriate balance
between minimising distortions of competition in the
aided sector and the objectives of
it
individual grants which exceed a
should not exempt
fixed maximum amount, whether or not made under an
aid scheme exempted by this Regulation.

this regulation,

(9) This regulation should exempt any aid that meets all the
requirements it lays down, and any aid scheme, provided
that any aid that could be granted under such scheme
meets all
this regulation.
Aid schemes and individual grants outside any aid
scheme should contain an express reference to this regu-
lation.

the relevant requirements of

(1) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 49.

(14) In order to eliminate differences that might give rise to
distortions of competition and to facilitate coordination
between different Community and national
initiatives
concerning small and medium-sized enterprises, the defi-
nition of ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ used in this
regulation should be that laid down in Regulation (EC) No
70/2001.

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(15) In order to determine whether or not aid is compatible
with the common market pursuant to this regulation, it is
necessary to take into consideration the aid intensity and
thus the aid amount expressed as a grant equivalent. The
the grant equivalent of aid payable in
calculation of
instalments and aid in the form of a soft loan
several
requires the use of market
interest rates prevailing at
the time of grant. With a view to a uniform, transparent,
and simple application of the State aid rules, the market
this Regulation should be
rates for
deemed to be the reference rates, provided that,
in the
case of a soft loan, the loan is backed by normal security
and does not involve abnormal risks. The reference rates
should be those which are periodically fixed by the
Commission on the basis of objective criteria and
published in the Official
the European Union
and on the Internet.

the purposes of

Journal of

that have

to the handicaps

(16) Having regard to Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, aid should
not normally have the sole effect of continuously or peri-
odically reducing the operating costs which the bene-
ficiary would normally have to bear, and should be
proportionate
to be
overcome in order to secure the socio-economic benefits
deemed to be in the Community interest. State aid
measures which simply seek to improve the financial
situation of producers but which in no way contribute
to the development of the sector, and in particular aid
which are granted solely on the basis of price, quantity,
unit of production or unit of the means of production are
considered to constitute operating aid which are incom-
patible with the common market. Furthermore, such aid
are also likely to interfere with the mechanisms of the
common organisations of
is therefore
appropriate to limit the scope of this regulation to aid
for investments, as well as to aid for certain socio-
economic measures.

the markets.

It

(17) In order to ensure that the aid is necessary and acts as an
incentive to develop certain activities,
this regulation
should not exempt aid for activities in which the bene-
ficiary would already engage under market conditions
alone. No aid should be granted in respect of activities
which have already been undertaken.

(18) This regulation should not exempt aid cumulated with
including aid granted by national,
other State aid,
regional or
support
granted within the framework of Regulation (EC) No
2792/1999 or with Community assistance,
in relation
costs, when such cumulation
to the
exceeds the thresholds fixed in that Regulation.

authorities, with public

eligible

same

local

(19) In order to ensure transparency and effective monitoring,
in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No
994/98, it is appropriate to establish a standard format
in which Member States should provide the Commission
with summary information whenever, in pursuance of this
regulation, an aid scheme is implemented or an individual

it

is

reasons,

appropriate

aid outside such schemes is granted, with a view to publi-
cation in the Official Journal of the European Union. For the
same
to establish rules
concerning the records that Member States should keep
regarding the aid exempted by this regulation. For the
purposes of the annual report to be submitted to the
Commission by Member States, it is appropriate for the
Commission to establish its specific requirements. In view
of the wide availability of the necessary technology, the
summary information and the annual report should be in
computerised form.

this

such as

regulation is

(20) Failure by a Member State to comply with the reporting
obligations established in this regulation may make it
impossible for the Commission to perform its monitoring
task under Article 88(1) of the Treaty and, in particular,
to assess whether the cumulative economic effect of the
to
aids exempted under
adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary
to the common interest. The need to evaluate the cumu-
lative effect of state aid is particularly required where the
same beneficiary may receive aid granted by several
sources.
the
Commission to suspend the application of this Regulation
for that Member State, or for part of it. For the sake of
legal certainty aid already granted on the basis of this
regulation should continue to be exempt. Once the
reporting obligations have been fully complied with, this
Regulation should again apply for the Member State
concerned.

should therefore

be possible

for

It

(21) Having regard to the Commission's experience in this
area, and in particular the frequency with which it is
generally necessary to revise State aid policy, it is appro-
priate to limit the period of application of this regulation.
Should this regulation expire without being extended, aid
schemes already exempted by this Regulation should
continue to be exempt for six months.

(22) It is appropriate to lay down transitional provisions for
notifications pending on the date of entry into force of
this regulation and for aid which was granted before the
entry into force of this regulation and was not notified in
breach of the obligation in Article 88(3) of the Treaty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER 1

SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND CONDITIONS

Article 1

Scope

1.
This regulation shall apply to aid granted to small and
medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing
or marketing of fisheries products.

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2.

This regulation shall not apply to:

(a) aid to export-related activities, namely aid directly linked to
the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation
of a distribution network or to other current expenditure
linked to the export activity;

(b) aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported

goods.

This regulation shall not apply to aid for individual
3.
projects with eligible expenses in excess of EUR 2 million,
or where the amount of aid exceeds EUR 1 million per bene-
ficiary per year.

4.
This regulation shall not apply to aid falling within a
category of aid covered by Chapter 2 if the granting of this
aid would result in such an increase in the total amount of
State aid granted by a Member State within a calendar year for
that category, that it would exceed a maximum amount. This
maximum amount would be calculated by the Commission for
each Member State on the basis of the average total amount of
aid legally granted by all the Member States for the same
category during the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 and
allocated to each Member State in proportion to a weighted
application of the following objective criteria:

— turnover in the fisheries sector [. . .] %,

— employment in the fisheries sector [. . .] %,

(3) ‘processing and marketing’ means all operations, including
handling, treatment, production and distribution, between
the time of
landing or harvesting and the end-product
stage;

(4) ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ (‘SMEs’) means enter-
to Regulation (EC) No

prises as defined in Annex I
70/2001.

Article 3

Conditions for exemption

the

this

conditions of

Subject to Article 16, individual aid outside any scheme,
1.
fulfilling all
shall be
compatible with the common market within the meaning of
Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the
notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided
that it contains an express reference to this regulation, by
citing its title and publication reference in the Official Journal
of the European Union.

regulation,

Subject

to Article 16, aid schemes fulfilling all

2.
the
conditions set out in this regulation shall be compatible with
the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of
the Treaty and shall be
from the notification
requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

exempt

(a) any aid that could be awarded under such scheme fulfils all

the conditions set out in this regulation;

— level of
[. . .] %.

intervention by Community Structural Funds

(b) the scheme contains an express reference to this regulation,
by citing its title and publication reference in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

This rule shall not apply to aid granted under Articles 10 and
12 of this regulation.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this regulation:

(1) ‘aid’ means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down

in Article 87(1) of the Treaty;

(2) ‘fisheries product’ means both products caught at sea or in
inland waters and the products of aquaculture listed in
Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 (1);

3.
Aid granted under the schemes referred to in paragraph 2
shall be compatible with the common market within the
meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of
the Treaty and shall be
exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of
the Treaty provided that the aid granted directly fulfils all the
conditions of this regulation.

Before granting any aid under this regulation, Member

4.
States shall verify that:

(a) the measures

financed and their effects comply with

Community law;

(1) OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22.

(b) the beneficiaries of the aid comply with the rules of the

Common Fisheries Policy.

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CHAPTER 2

CATEGORIES OF AID

Article 4

Aid for producer groups

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 for such aid.

the total

the aid does not exceed,

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

Aid for the constitution and for the operation of producer
groups or producer associations shall be compatible with the
common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the
Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement
of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

2.
Aid for innovative measures and technical assistance are
excluded from the scope of the first paragraph if they relate to
the usual operating expenditure of the beneficiary.

(a) the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 15 of Regulation

Aid for investment

for promotion and advertising of

(EC) No 2792/1999; and

fisheries products

Article 7

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 for such aid.

the total

the aid does not exceed,

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

Article 5

Aid for investments in the protection and development of
aquatic resources

Aid for investments in the protection and development of
shall be compatible with the common
aquatic resources
market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty
and shall be exempt
from the notification requirement of
Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

Aid for investment for promotion and advertising of fisheries
products shall be compatible with the common market within
the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be
exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of
the Treaty provided that:

(a) the aid concerns an entire sector or product or group of
it does not promote the

products in such a way that
products of one or more specific undertakings;

(b) the aid complies with the conditions laid down in Article
14 of, and point 3 of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No
2792/1999; and

(a) the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 13 of, and points 2
and 2.1 of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999;
and

(c)

in subsidy
the amount of
equivalent,
rate of national and Community
subsidies fixed by Annex IV to that regulation for such aid.

the aid does not exceed,

the total

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 for such aid.

the total

the aid does not exceed,

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

Article 6

Aid for innovative measures and technical assistance

Aid for

investments

and
for
1.
technical assistance shall be compatible with the common
market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty
and shall be exempt
from the notification requirement of
Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

innovative measures

(a) the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 17 of Regulation

(EC) No 2792/1999; and

Article 8

Aid for investment in processing and marketing

Aid for investment in the processing and marketing of fisheries
products shall be compatible with the common market within
the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be
exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of
the Treaty provided that:

(a) the aid complies with the conditions laid down in Article
13 of, and points 2 and 2.4 of Annex III to Regulation (EC)
No 2792/1999; and

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 for such aid.

the total

the aid does not exceed,

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

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Article 9

Aid for investments in fishing port facilities

(a) the aid fulfils the conditions laid down in Article 13 of, and
points 2 and 2.2. of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No
2792/1999; and

facilities

fishing port

intended to assist

Aid for
landing
operations and the provision of supplies to fishing vessels
shall be compatible with the common market within the
meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of
the Treaty and shall be
exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of
the Treaty provided that:

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 for such aid.

the total

the aid does not exceed,

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

(a) the aid complies with the conditions laid down in Article
13 of, and points 2 and 2.3 of Annex III to Regulation (EC)
No 2792/1999, and

Article 12

Socio-economic measures

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 for such aid.

the total

the aid does not exceed,

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

Early retirement aid for fishermen and individual
flat-rate
premiums in compliance with the provisions of Article 12(1)
and (2), Article 12(3)(a) to (c), and Article 12(4)(a) to (e) of, and
Annex III
to Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 shall be
compatible with the common market within the meaning of
Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the
notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided
that
in subsidy
equivalent,
and Community
subsidies fixed by Annex IV to that Regulation for such aid.

the amount of
total
the

the aid does not exceed,

rate of national

Article 10

Aid for the permanent cessation of
fishing activities
through the scrapping of a fishing vessel or its reas-
signment for non profitable purpose other than fishing

Aid for the scrapping of fishing vessels as well as aid for the
permanent reassignment of fishing vessels for non profitable
purposes other than fishing shall be compatible with the
common market within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of
from the notification
the Treaty and shall be
requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that:

exempt

(a) the aid fulfils the conditions laid down in Article 7 of, and
point 1.1 of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999;
and

the aid does not exceed,

(b) the amount of
equivalent,
subsidies
2792/1999 or by Regulation 2370/2002 for such aid.

in subsidy
rate of national and Community
fixed by Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No

the total

Article 11

Aid for investments in the aquaculture and inland fishing
sectors

Aid for investments in the aquaculture and inland fishing
sectors shall be compatible with the common market within
the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be
exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of
the Treaty provided that:

CHAPTER 3

COMMON AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 13

Steps preceding grant of aid

1.
In order to qualify for exemption under this regulation,
aid under an aid scheme shall only be granted in respect of
activities undertaken or services received after the aid scheme
has been set up and published in accordance with this regu-
lation.

If the aid scheme creates an automatic right to receive the aid,
requiring no further action at administrative level, the aid itself
may only be granted after the aid scheme has been set up and
published in accordance with this regulation.

If the aid scheme requires an application to be submitted to the
competent authority concerned,
the aid itself may only be
granted after the following conditions have been fulfilled:

(a) the aid scheme must have been set up and published in

accordance with this regulation;

(b) an application for

the aid must have been properly

submitted to the competent authority concerned;

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(c) the application must have been accepted by the competent
authority concerned in a manner which obliges
that
authority to grant the aid, clearly indicating the amount
of aid to be granted; such acceptance by the competent
authority may only be made if the budget available for
the aid or aid scheme is not exhausted.

In order to qualify for exemption under this regulation,
2.
individual aid outside any aid scheme shall only be granted in
respect of activities undertaken or services received after the
criteria in points (b) and (c) of the third subparagraph of
paragraph 1 have been satisfied.

Article 14

Cumulation

Aid exempted by this regulation shall not be cumulated with
any other State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the
Treaty in relation to the same eligible costs, if such cumulation
would result in an aid intensity or aid amount exceeding the
maximum laid down in this regulation.

Article 15

Transparency and monitoring

1.
On implementation of an aid scheme, or grant of indi-
vidual aid outside any scheme, exempted by this regulation,
Member States shall, within 20 working days, forward to the
Commission, with a view to its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union, a summary of the information
regarding such aid scheme or individual aid in the form laid
down in Annex I. This shall be provided in computerised form.

2. Member States shall maintain detailed records regarding
the aid schemes exempted by this regulation, the individual aid
granted under those schemes, and the individual aid exempted
is granted outside any existing aid
by this regulation that
scheme. Such records shall contain all information necessary
to establish that the conditions for exemption, as laid down in
this regulation, are fulfilled, including information on the status
of the company as an SME. Member States shall keep a record
regarding an individual aid for 10 years from the date on
which it was granted and, regarding an aid scheme, for 10
years from the date on which the last
individual aid was
granted under such scheme. On written request, the Member
State concerned shall provide the Commission, within a period
of 20 working days or such longer period as may be fixed in
the request, with all the information which the Commission
considers necessary to assess whether the conditions of this
regulation have been complied with.

by a beneficiary of aid exempted by this regulation, including
any aid paid at different levels of the Member State concerned,
and any Community support the beneficiary may receive.

4. Member States shall compile a report on the application
of this regulation in respect of each whole or part calendar
year during which this regulation applies,
in the form laid
in computerised form. This report shall
down in Annex II,
be integrated into the annual report
to be submitted by
Member States pursuant to Article 21(1) of Council Regulation
(EC) No 659/1999 (1), and shall be submitted by 30 March of
the year following the calendar year covered by the report.
therefore submit a single report,
Each Member State shall
covering all aid, granted at all administrative and legislative
levels of
shall be provided in
computerised form.

that Member State. This

5.
As soon as an aid scheme enters into force, or an indi-
vidual aid is granted outside an aid scheme exempted by this
regulation, Member States shall publish on the internet the full
text of such aid scheme, or the criteria and conditions under
which such individual aid is granted. The address of
the
web-sites shall be communicated to the Commission together
with the summary of
the information regarding the aid
required pursuant to paragraph 1. It shall also be contained
in the annual report submitted pursuant to paragraph 4.

Article 16

Suspension of application

referred to in that paragraph,

1. Where a Member State fails to submit all
information
required in the annual report referred to in Article 15(4), or
does not do so for all geographical areas within that Member
State, by the date
the
Commission may, insofar as is proportionate to the degree of
non-compliance suspend the application of all or part of this
regulation for that Member State, by means of a decision
addressed to that Member State. Before adopting such a
decision,
the Commission shall give the Member State the
possibility to be heard.

the information required in the annual

If
is only
incomplete with regard to one or more geographical areas
within the Member State, the suspension shall only apply to
those areas.

report

The decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union. It shall specify the date from which application
of this regulation is to be suspended. That date shall not be
earlier than 90 calendar days after publication of the decision.

The suspension of the application of this regulation shall

2.
in no case affect:

3. Member States shall operate a monitoring system which
makes it possible to calculate the total amount of aid received

(1) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.

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(a)

individual aid, where the decision to grant the aid was
notified to the beneficiary before the date specified in the
Commission decision suspending the application of this
regulation;

Reference made in this regulation to Community law or
2.
Commission guidelines shall be interpreted as including a
reference to any change in those instruments after the entry
into force of this regulation.

(b) individual aid granted on the basis of a scheme exempted
by this regulation which was adopted before the date of
publication of
the Commission decision suspending
application of the regulation, even if the individual aid is
paid after the date specified in the Commission decision.

obligations

3. Where a Member State subsequently complies with the
the
reporting
the
Commission shall without delay lift
application of
regulation, by means of a decision
this
addressed to that Member State and published in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

15(4),
the suspension of

in Article

contained

the Member State

If
complies with regard to certain
geographical areas for which the application was suspended,
the suspension shall be lifted without delay with respect to
those geographical areas.

The Commission decision lifting suspension of application of
this regulation shall be applicable from the day following that
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

in response to a decision pursuant

If the Commission considers that the information provided by
a Member State,
to
paragraph 1, does not comply with the reporting obligations
contained in Article 15(4) for the whole or part of its territory,
it shall inform the Member State to that effect within twenty
working days
the information by a
following receipt of
decision indicating which information is still missing.

Notifications pending at the time of entry into force of
3.
this
regulation shall be assessed in accordance with its
provisions. Where the conditions of this regulation are not
fulfilled, the Commission shall examine such pending notifi-
cations under the Community guidelines for state aid in the
fisheries sector.

Individual aid and aid schemes implemented before the date of
entry into force of this regulation and aid granted under these
schemes in the absence of a Commission authorisation and in
breach of the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the
Treaty shall be compatible with the common market within the
meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempt if
they fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 3 of this regu-
lation, except the requirement in paragraph 1 and paragraph 2
(b) of that Article that express reference be made to this regu-
lation. Any aid which does not fulfil those conditions shall be
assessed by the Commission in accordance with the relevant
frameworks, guidelines, communications and notices.

4.
Aid schemes exempted under this regulation shall remain
exempt during an adjustment period of six months following
the date provided for
second subparagraph of
in the
paragraph 1.

This regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.

Article 17

Entry into force and applicability

Done at Brussels, . . .

This regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day
1.
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

For the Commission

. . .

It shall apply until 31 December 2006.

Member of the Commission

4.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 265/25

ANNEX I

C 265/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

4.11.2003

ANNEX II