State aid — United Kingdom — Aid C 72/03 (ex N 134/03) — Invest Northern Ireland Venture 2003 — Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-02-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Northern Ireland, State aid, control of State aid, venture capital

C 33/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

6.2.2004

STATE AID — UNITED KINGDOM

Aid C 72/03 (ex N 134/03) — Invest Northern Ireland Venture 2003

Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty

(2004/C 33/02)

(Text with EEA relevance)

By means of the letter dated 26 November 2003 reproduced in the authentic language on the pages
following this summary, the Commission notified United Kingdom of its decision to initiate the procedure
laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty concerning the abovementioned aid.

Interested parties may submit their comments within one month of the date of publication of this
summary and the following letter, to:

European Commission
Directorate-General for Competition
State Aid Greffe
B-1049 Brussels
Fax (32-2) 296 12 42.

These comments will be communicated to United Kingdom. Confidential treatment of the identity of the
interested party submitting the comments may be requested in writing, stating the reasons for the request.

SUMMARY

the EC Treaty,

to Article 88(3) of

By letter dated 20 March 2003, registered at the Commission
on 26 March 2003, the United Kingdom authorities notified,
pursuant
the Invest NI
Venture 2003. By letters D/53203 and D/55504 dated 15
May 2003 and 29 August 2003 the Commission requested
additional
abovementioned
concerning
measure. This
submitted by the United
Kingdom authorities by letters dated 24 June 2003 and 30
September 2003, registered at
the Commission at 1 July
2003 and 1 October 2003.

information was

information

the

DESCRIPTION OF THE SCHEME

The measure intends to address the gap in venture capital
provision in Northern Ireland by establishing a new venture
capital fund to provide risk capital to small and medium-sized
enterprises in Northern Ireland. The Invest Northern Ireland
Venture 2003 fund (hereafter referred to as the fund) intends
to address the particular difficulties encountered by SMEs in
Northern Ireland in raising finance.

the venture capital market

larities of
in Northern Ireland,
market failure in Northern Ireland extends to venture capital
investments of up to GBP 1,5 million (EUR 2,1 million).

funds

regulates

It is important to note that in 2003 the Commission approved
the Small and Medium Enterprise Venture Capital and Loan
Fund (1), an umbrella scheme for all United Kingdom regions
scheme
including Northern Ireland. This
the
specialising in equity
setting-up of venture capital
investments in SMEs across the United Kingdom.
In this
decision, State aided venture capital
for Article 87(3)(c)
assisted areas (Northern Ireland is 87(3)(c) region) is restricted
to EUR 750 000 in a single tranche. Given the exceptional
problems facing the region of Northern Ireland, the United
Kingdom authorities — by means of the present scheme —
intend to provide SMEs with equity investment of up to
GBP 1 500 000 (EUR 2,1 million)
in a single tranche. All
other provisions of the present scheme respect the conditions
laid down in the Commission's decision on the Small and
Medium Enterprise Venture Capital and Loan Fund.

the venture capital market

Market studies provided by the United Kingdom authorities
claim that
in Northern Ireland
lags considerably behind when compared to other regions of
the United Kingdom. According to the United Kingdom auth-
orities, this is attributed to the fact that Northern Ireland is
physically detached from the rest of the United Kingdom and
to the long lasting impact of civil unrest. The United Kingdom
authorities therefore argue that, due to the unique particu-

STATE AID CHARACTER OF THE SCHEME

The Commission considers, at this stage of the procedure, that
the measure constitutes State aid within the meaning of Article
87(1) of the EC Treaty.

(1) State aid N 620/02 — United Kingdom: Small and Medium Enter-
prises Venture Capital and Loan Fund. Commission Decision of 4
February 2003 (C/2003/97).

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 33/3

At the level of investors, the Commission considers that there
is State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC
Treaty. The involvement of state resources is demonstrated
by the fact that the United Kingdom authorities will provide
up to a maximum of 50 % of the capital of the fund. Private
investors, who may well be undertakings within the meaning
of the EC Treaty, receive an advantage as the measure allows
them to participate in the equity of a company or set of
companies on terms more favourable than public investors.
Even though no person or organisation is debarred from
investing in the funds, the limited size of the funds will not
safeguard that all potential investment will be accepted and the
Commission therefore considers that there is selectivity. Finally,
the scheme affects trade between Member States, as investment
in capital is an activity that is the subject of considerable trade
between Member States.

At the level of the fund, the Commission in general tends to
the view that a fund is a vehicle for the transfer of aid to
investors and/or enterprises invested in, rather than being an
aid beneficiary itself. However,
in certain cases, notably
measures involving transfers in favour of existing funds with
numerous and diverse investors,
the fund may have the
character of an independent enterprise. Under the present
scheme,
the fund will be newly set up and operate as a
limited partnership. The Commission therefore does not
the fund to be a separate aid beneficiary. This
consider
principle is in line with the Commission decisions on the
Viridian Growth Fund (2),
the Coalfields Enterprise Fund (3)
and the Community Development Venture Fund (4).

that

At the level of the companies invested in, the Commission
considers
there is State aid within the meaning of
Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty. The United Kingdom authorities
themselves consider that risk capital would not be available to
SMEs at these terms without the scheme. The stated objective
of the scheme is to extend the opportunity to access risk
capital
in Northern Ireland and the scheme is
therefore considered to be selective.

to SMEs

PROCEDURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The United Kingdom has complied with the procedural
requirements of Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty by notifying
the abovementioned aid scheme before putting it into effect.

ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPATIBILITY OF THE AID MEASURE

Evidence of market failure

Point VI.5 of the SARC stipulates that the Commission will
require evidence of market failure for risk capital measures. It
may however be prepared to accept the case for market failure
finance for an enterprise from risk
when each tranche of

(2) State aid C 46/2000.
(3) State aid N 722/2000.
(4) State aid N 606/01.

capital measures which are wholly or partially financed
through State aid will contain a maximum of EUR 750 000
in regions qualifying for assistance under Article 87(3)(c) of the
EC Treaty. Taking into account that Northern Ireland has been
region based on
classified as exceptional Article 87(3)(c)
footnote 44 of the Guidelines on national regional aid (5) in
the Regional Aid Map 2000-2006 for the United Kingdom (6),
and bearing in mind that
the United Kingdom authorities
intend to grant tranches of investment aid of up to GBP 1,5
million (EUR 2,1 million), the Commission considers that the
existence of market failure cannot be taken for granted. As the
intended tranche size for risk capital
investments in SMEs
under the present scheme significantly exceeds the thresholds
outlined under the SARC,
the Commission would demand
provision of evidence of market failure. Once market failure
is recognised, it will then go on to assess the compatibility of
the measure according to the criteria (positive and negative
elements)
risk capital
measures presented under point VIII of the SARC.

for assessing the compatibility of

Provision of evidence of market failure

In order to demonstrate the existence of market failure, the
United Kingdom authorities
submitted the study ‘Market
Failure in the Supply of Venture Capital Funds for SMEs in
from October 2002. The key finding of
Northern Ireland’
that study is that
there exists a gap in the provision of
venture capital in Northern Ireland for SMEs in the deal size
range of GBP 250 000 (EUR 357 000) to GBP 1,5 million
(EUR 2,1 million). The study also finds that whilst such a
it is
market failure also exists in other regional economies,
more pronounced in Northern Ireland because of
the
following reasons:

— Peripherality of Northern Ireland: United Kingdom based
venture capitalists are influenced by the cost and time
taken to reach Northern Ireland from Great Britain. This
is particularly relevant to small deals for which it is often
difficult to make adequate returns. Moreover, there is an
international border and foreign exchange issues between
Ireland that have historically
the North and South of
dampened cross border business activities.
In addition,
many venture capital funds from the Republic of Ireland
are actually precluded in their constitution from operating
north of the border.

— Legacy of civil unrest: The attitude of investors to Northern
Ireland is closely aligned to the level of civil unrest in
Northern Ireland. It will take many years before perceptions
of Northern Ireland change.

— Other ‘continuing’ factors include the size of the Northern
Ireland market and its distance from the main financial
centres.

(5) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p. 9.
(6) Commission Decision of 26 July 2000 (OJ C 272/2000).

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.2.2004

The study goes on to conclude that with the exception of a few
larger deals, Northern Ireland cannot rely on venture capital
from outside funds. A local supply of venture
investment
capital
is thus recommended to meet the needs of smaller
investments of up to GBP 1,5 million (EUR 2,1 million). The
study expects that venture capital funds operating in this deal
size range will continue to be viable only with continued
government support.
It then concludes that the permanent
factors of peripherality and small market size create long
sufficient
term conditions
returns for the private sector without underpinning by the
public sector.

that are never

likely to offer

the venture capital market

Market studies provided by the United Kingdom authorities
claim that
in Northern Ireland
lags considerably behind when compared to other regions of
the United Kingdom. According to the United Kingdom autho-
rities, this is attributed to the fact that Northern Ireland is
physically detached from the rest of the United Kingdom and
to the long lasting impact of civil unrest. The United Kingdom
authorities therefore argue that, due to the unique particu-
larities of
in Northern Ireland,
market failure in Northern Ireland extends to venture capital
investments of up to GBP 1,5 million (EUR 2,1 million).

the venture capital market

risk capital

The Commission, after a first preliminary assessment of the
measure, has doubts if the arguments presented above can
sufficiently justify the granting of
investment
tranches considerably higher than the thresholds foreseen by
the SARC. The Commission's doubts concern the importance
of
the alleged barrier due to distance and border. The
Commission is of the opinion that a more thorough analysis
of this complex question is necessary. The Commission wishes
to collect information from other interested parties, notably
from potential providers of risk capital to SMEs in Northern
Ireland. To do so, the Commission must, for legal reasons,
open the procedure provided for in Article 88(2) of the EC
Treaty. It is only with the help of such observations that the
Commission can decide whether such aid is necessary and does
not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to
the common interest.

funds

regulates

It is important to note that in 2003 the Commission approved
the Small and Medium Enterprise Venture Capital and Loan
Fund (7), an umbrella scheme for all United Kingdom regions
scheme
including Northern Ireland. This
the
specialising in equity
setting-up of venture capital
investments in SMEs across the United Kingdom.
In this
for Article 87(3)(c)
decision, State aided venture capital
assisted areas (Northern Ireland is 87(3)(c) region) is restricted
to EUR 750 000 in a single tranche. Given the exceptional
problems facing the region of Northern Ireland, the United
Kingdom authorities — by means of the present scheme —
intend to provide SMEs with equity investment of up to
GBP 1 500 000 (EUR 2,1 million)
in a single tranche. All
other provisions of the present scheme respect the conditions
laid down in the Commission's decision on the Small and
Medium Enterprise Venture Capital and Loan Fund.

TEXT OF THE LETTER

The legal basis of the scheme is Article 7 of the Industrial
Development (Northern Ireland) Order 1982.

2.2. Legal basis of the scheme

‘The Commission wishes to inform the United Kingdom that,
having examined the information supplied by your authorities
on the aid measure referred to above, it has decided to initiate
the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty.

1. PROCEDURE

the EC Treaty,

to Article 88(3) of

By letter dated 20 March 2003 registered at the Commission
on 26 March 2003, the United Kingdom authorities notified,
pursuant
the Invest NI
Venture 2003. By letters D/53203 and D/55504 dated 15
May 2003 and 29 August 2003, the Commission requested
additional
abovementioned
concerning
measure. This
submitted by the United
Kingdom authorities by letters dated 24 June 2003 and 30
the Commission at 1 July
September 2003 registered at
2003 and 1 October 2003.

information was

information

the

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE AID MEASURE

2.1. Objective of the scheme

The measure intends to address the gap in venture capital
provision in Northern Ireland by establishing a new venture
capital fund to provide risk capital to small and medium-sized
enterprises in Northern Ireland. The Invest Northern Ireland
Venture 2003 fund (hereafter referred to as the fund) intends
to address the particular difficulties encountered by SMEs in
Northern Ireland in raising finance.

2.3. Beneficiaries of the scheme

The scheme is exclusively aimed at small and medium-sized
enterprises (8)
in the manufacturing and tradable services
sectors in Northern Ireland. Firms in difficulty as defined by
rescuing and
the Community guidelines on State aid for
from
are
in
firms
restructuring
invest
investment. The fund will not
in sensitive sectors
under
to sectors to which the
state aid restrictions nor
Commission Communication on State aid and risk capital (10)
does not apply.

difficulty (9)

excluded

2.4. Administration of the scheme

The Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment, Northern
Ireland Office will have statutory responsibility, through its
non-departmental body, Invest NI. The scheme will be admin-
istered by the fund manager Crescent Capital NI Limited.

(7) State aid N 620/2002 — United Kingdom: Small and Medium
Enterprises Venture Capital and Loan Fund. Commission decision
of 4 February 2003 (C/2003/97).

(8) The definition of small and medium-sized enterprises applied by
the United Kingdom authorities for the purposes of the scheme is
always in line with the definition given in Annex I to Commission
Regulation No 70/2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88
of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises
(OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33).
(9) OJ C 288, 9.10.1999, p. 2.
(10) OJ C 235, 21.8.2001, p. 3.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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2.5. Funding of the scheme

The United Kingdom authorities propose to establish a venture
capital
fund with a volume of up to GBP 20 million
(approximately EUR 28 million). The fund will be created as
new fund. Funding may include a contribution from the
European Investment Fund EIF. Under no circumstances will
the public contribution to the fund exceed 50 %.

GBP 250 000 (EUR 357 000) and GBP 1,5 million (EUR 2,1
million) in a single tranche.

The United Kingdom authorities will deliver a report on the
the Fund on an annual basis containing the
activities of
information specified in the Commission's instructions on stan-
dardised reports.

2.6. Duration of the scheme

The fund will be set up as a ten-year limited partnership. The
United Kingdom authorities intend to make commitments to
the fund until 31 December 2008. There will follow a period
of up to five years during which funds will be managed with
the aim of successfully exiting the investment in the SMEs. The
United Kingdom authorities have undertaken to comply with
the relevant State aid provisions and structural funds regu-
in time during the overall
lations applicable at any point
duration of the scheme.

2.7. Selection of investors under the scheme

terms. The

the opportunity to invest

investors on
The fund manager will select private sector
fund manager will give private
competitive
investors notice of
through a
private placement memorandum that will be publicly
circulated. Potential private investors will be invited to offer
for investment in the funds, thereby stating any required subor-
dination of public sector funding in order to invest. The
decision will
sector
investment for the minimum possible public subordination.
Government contribution to the fund will never exceed 50 %
of the total volume of the fund.

ensure maximum private

therefore

2.8. Investment decisions

investors as well as to oversee the work of

A supervisory board will be formed to represent the interests of
all
the fund
managers. Public and private investors will be represented in
the supervisory board and will
the criteria for
to be followed by the fund managers. Any
investment
change to these criteria has
to be agreed upon by all
investors in the funds.
Investments will only be made in
companies that are economically viable as demonstrated by
robust business plans and will always be made upon a
commercial assessment (due diligence).

jointly set

2.9. Aid instruments under the scheme

The funds will provide investment
in the form of equity.
Investments will be made in the ordinary share capital of the
targeted SMEs.

2.10. Size of investment in target companies under the
scheme

The United Kingdom authorities claim that in Northern Ireland,
failure for the provision of venture capital market
market
extends to venture capital
investments of up to GBP 1,5
million (EUR 2,1 million). Consequently, the amount of aid
given to any one target company will be limited to between

2.11. Selection of fund managers under the scheme

The fund manager will be selected through a competitive
bidding procedure including advertising in the Official Journal
of the European Union. The selection will be based upon the
establishing and running venture
relevant
capital funds, proven track record of fund raising, selection
of
investments and generation of a commercial return on
equity, the reputation of the fund managers, as well as the
capacity to provide management support to the target SMEs.

experience of

2.12. Remuneration of fund managers under the scheme

The remuneration structure of the fund manager will be in line
with the remuneration of private sector driven venture capital
managers. The fund manager's remuneration will be linked to
the performance of the fund.

2.13. Cumulation of aid under the scheme

The United Kingdom authorities have committed themselves to
avoid cumulation of aid measures to a single enterprise.

3. ASSESSMENT OF THE SCHEME

In accordance with Article 6(1) of Council Regulation
659/1999 of 22 March 1999,
the decision to initiate
proceedings shall summarise the relevant issues of fact and
from the
law,
Commission as to the aid character of the proposed measure,
and shall set out the doubts as to its compatibility with the
common market.

a preliminary

assessment

include

shall

3.1. Legality

By notifying the scheme,
the United Kingdom authorities
respected their obligations under Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty.

3.2. Existence of State aid

The Commission considers, at this stage of the procedure, that
the measure constitutes State aid within the meaning of Article
87(1) of the EC Treaty. According to the provisions of the
Commission Communication on State aid and risk capital
(hereafter referred to as SARC) (11),
the
presence of State aid must consider the possibility that a
measure may confer aid on at least three different levels:

the assessment of

— aid to investors,

— aid to any fund or other vehicle through which the

measure operates,

— aid to the companies invested in.

(11) OJ C 235, 21.8.2001, p. 3.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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At the level of investors, the Commission considers that there
is State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC
Treaty. The involvement of State resources is demonstrated
by the fact that the United Kingdom authorities will provide
up to a maximum of 50 % of the capital of the fund. Private
investors, who may well be undertakings within the meaning
of the EC Treaty, receive an advantage as the measure allows
them to participate in the equity of a company or set of
companies on terms more favourable than public investors.
Even though no person or organisation is debarred from
investing in the funds, the limited size of the funds will not
safeguard that all potential investment will be accepted and the
Commission therefore considers that there is selectivity. Finally,
the scheme affects trade between Member States, as investment
in capital is an activity that is the subject of considerable trade
between Member States.

At the level of the fund, the Commission in general tends to
the view that a fund is a vehicle for the transfer of aid to
investors and/or enterprises invested in, rather than being an
aid beneficiary itself. However,
in certain cases, notably
measures involving transfers in favour of existing funds with
the fund may have the
numerous and diverse investors,
character of an independent enterprise. Under the present
scheme,
the fund will be newly set up and operate as a
limited partnership. The Commission therefore does not
consider
the fund to be a separate aid beneficiary. This
principle is in line with the Commission decisions on the
Viridian Growth Fund (12), the Coalfields Enterprise Fund (13)
and the Community Development Venture Fund (14).

that

At the level of the companies invested in, the Commission
considers
there is State aid within the meaning of
Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty. The United Kingdom authorities
themselves consider that risk capital would not be available to
SMEs at these terms without the scheme. The stated objective
of the scheme is to extend the opportunity to access risk
capital
in Northern Ireland and the scheme is
therefore considered to be selective.

to SMEs

3.3. Preliminary assessment of conformity of the measure

3.3.1. Evidence of market failure

Point VI.5 of the SARC stipulates that the Commission will
require evidence of market failure for risk capital measures. It
may however be prepared to accept the case for market failure
when each tranche of
finance for an enterprise from risk
capital measures which are wholly or partially financed
through State aid will contain a maximum of EUR 750 000
in regions qualifying for assistance under Article 87(3)(c) of the
EC Treaty. Taking into account that Northern Ireland has been
classified as exceptional Article 87(3)(c)
region based on
the Guidelines on national regional aid (15)
footnote 44 of
in the Regional Aid Map 2000-2006 for
the United
Kingdom (16), and bearing in mind that the United Kingdom
authorities intend to grant tranches of investment aid of up to

(12) State aid C 46/2000.
(13) State aid N 722/2000.
(14) State aid N 606/2001.
(15) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, pp. 9-31.
(16) Commission decision of 26 July 2000 (OJ C 272/2000).

the

the

size

intended tranche

the existence of market

thresholds outlined under

GBP 1,5 million (EUR 2,1 million), the Commission considers
failure cannot be taken for
that
granted. As
risk capital
for
investments in SMEs under the present scheme significantly
the
exceeds
Commission would demand provision of evidence of market
failure. Once market failure is recognised, it will then go on to
assess the compatibility of the measure according to the criteria
(positive and negative elements) for assessing the compatibility
the
of risk capital measures presented under point VIII of
SARC.

SARC,

the

3.3.2. Provision of evidence of market failure

In order to demonstrate the existence of market failure, the
United Kingdom authorities
submitted the study ‘Market
Failure in the Supply of Venture Capital Funds for SMEs in
from October 2002. The key finding of
Northern Ireland’
there exists a gap in the provision of
that study is that
venture capital in Northern Ireland for SMEs in the deal size
range of GBP 250 000 (EUR 357 000) to GBP 1,5 million
(EUR 2,1 million). The study also finds that whilst such a
it is
market failure also exists in other regional economies,
the
more pronounced in Northern Ireland because of
following reasons:

— Peripherality of Northern Ireland: United Kingdom based
venture capitalists are influenced by the cost and time
taken to reach Northern Ireland from Great Britain. This
is particularly relevant to small deals for which it is often
difficult to make adequate returns. Moreover, there is an
international border and foreign exchange issues between
Ireland that have historically
the North and South of
dampened cross border business activities.
In addition,
many venture capital funds from the Republic of Ireland
are actually precluded in their constitution from operating
north of the border.

— Legacy of civil unrest: The attitude of investors to Northern
Ireland is closely aligned to the level of civil unrest in
Northern Ireland. It will take many years before perceptions
of Northern Ireland change.

— Other ‘continuing’ factors include the size of the Northern
Ireland market and its distance from the main financial
centres.

The study goes on to conclude that with the exception of a few
larger deals, Northern Ireland cannot rely on venture capital
from outside funds. A local supply of venture
investment
capital
is thus recommended to meet the needs of smaller
investments of up to GBP 1,5 million (EUR 2,1 million). The
study expects that venture capital funds operating in this deal
size range will continue to be viable only with continued
the permanent
government support.
factors of peripherality and small market size create long
term conditions
sufficient
returns for the private sector without underpinning by the
public sector.

It then concludes that

that are never

likely to offer

The Commission, after a first preliminary assessment of the
measure, has doubts if the arguments presented above can
sufficiently justify the granting of
investment
tranches considerably higher than the thresholds foreseen by

risk capital

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 33/7

the SARC. The Commission's doubts concern the importance
of
the alleged barrier due to distance and border. The
Commission is of the opinion that a more thorough analysis
of this complex question is necessary. The Commission wishes
to collect information from other interested parties, notably
from potential providers of risk capital to SMEs in Northern
Ireland. To do so, the Commission must, for legal reasons,
open the procedure provided for in Article 88(2) of the EC
Treaty. It is only with the help of such observations that the
Commission can decide whether such aid is necessary and does
not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to
the common interest.

4. DECISION

In the light of the foregoing considerations, the Commission,
acting under the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the
EC Treaty,
its
comments and to provide all such information as may help

the United Kingdom to submit

requests

to assess the aid scheme, within one month of the date of
receipt of this letter.

The Commission wishes to remind the United Kingdom that
Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty has suspensory effect, and would
draw your attention to Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC)
No 659/1999, which provides that all unlawful aid may be
recovered from the recipients.

The Commission warns the United Kingdom that it will inform
interested parties by publishing this letter and a meaningful
summary of it in the Official Journal of the European Union. It
will also inform interested parties in the EFTA countries which
are signatories to the EEA Agreement, by publication of a
notice in the EEA Supplement to the Official
the
European Union and will
inform the EFTA Surveillance
Authority by sending a copy of this letter. All such interested
parties will be invited to submit their comments within one
month of the date of such publication.’

Journal of

Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty

Cases where the Commission raises no objections

(2004/C 33/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Date of adoption of the decision: 29.10.2003

Title: Measures to assist enterprises building fishing vessels for
the protection of safety at work on board

Member State: The Netherlands

Aid No: N 68/03

Title: Cultural investments

Objective: Support for investment expenditure on structural
for
measures
workers on board fishing vessels with an overall
length of
more than 18 meters

to improve working and safety conditions

Objective: Promoting investments in cultural projects

Legal basis: Legge n. 448 del 28.12.2001, articolo 65, para-
grafi 1 e 2

Legal basis: Wet Inkomstenbelasting

Budget: EUR 0,5 million for the year 2003

Duration: Five years

Budget: EUR 17,5 million

Aid intensity or amount: In accordance with the rates and
laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No
conditions
2792/1999, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confi-
dential information has been removed, can be found at

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/state_aids

Duration: 2002 to 2004

Other information: Annual report

Date of adoption of the decision: 5.12.2003

Member State: Italy

Aid No: N 411/02

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confi-
dential information has been removed, can be found at

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/state_aids