2006/967/EC: Commission Decision of 19 January 2005 on State aid which Italy plans to grant to agricultural undertakings in Sicily (notified under document number C(2005) 52)
Date: 2005-01-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, Sicily, State aid, agricultural holding, control of State aid, regional aid

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 19 January 2005

on State aid which Italy plans to grant to agricultural undertakings in Sicily

(notified under document number C(2005) 52)

(Only the Italian text is authentic)

(2006/967/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

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

Having called on interested parties to submit their comments
pursuant to the provision cited above (1) and having regard to
their comments,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

I. PROCEDURE

By letter dated 15 December 1999, registered on 20
December 1999, the Italian Permanent Representation
to the European Union notified the Commission of
Regional Law No 22/1999 on emergency measures in
the agricultural sector (hereinafter ‘Law No 22/1999’) in
accordance with Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty.

registered on
By letters dated of 6 October 2000,
registered on
9 October 2000, 1 February 2001,
registered on
5 February 2001, and 30 July 2001,
the Italian Permanent Representation
1 August 2001,
to the European Union sent
the Commission the
further information requested from the Italian authorities
by letters dated 23 February 2000, 20 November 2000
and 27 March 2001.

By letter dated 25 September 2001, the Commission
informed Italy that
it had decided to initiate the
procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty
in respect of the aid.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The Commission Decision to initiate the procedure was
published in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities (2). The Commission invited the
third parties
concerned to submit
their comments on the aid in
question.

The Commission did not receive any comments from
interested parties.

On 29 November 2001 the Commission and the Italian
authorities met in Brussels.

By letter dated 29 April 2002, registered on 30 April
2002, Italy sent the Commission further information on
the planned aid.

II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID

The measures originally planned under the Regional Law
in question are set out in points 9 to 21, broken down
by Article:

Article 1: Extension of agricultural loans

The article provides for agricultural credit institutes to
loans due
extend until 31 December 2000 agricultural
for repayment in 1998 and 1999. Such extensions would
be subject to the reference rate applicable at the date the
loans fall due, with any related charges being borne by
loans does
the borrowers. Extension of the agricultural
not entail government action but is a matter for the
contractual parties
institutes).
However, Italy has undertaken not to apply this measure.

(farmers

credit

and

(1) OJ C 315, 9.11.2001, p. 12.

(2) See footnote 1.

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(10)

(11)

(12)

Article 2: Renegotiation of agricultural loans

for

article provides

The
institutes offering special
conditions for loans (3), and the borrowers, to request
the renegotiation of these loans where their reference
the
rate is above the rate applicable at
entry into force of
loans
the law. The agricultural
qualifying for
renegotiation will continue to benefit
from the subsidy on the outstanding interest payments,
even where the negotiating institute receives a request to
accept early repayment of the loan.

the time of

Article 3: Agri-environmental measures

The article provides for the payment of agri-environ-
mental aid that had been granted to the region of
Sicily under Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 on agri-
cultural production methods
compatible with the
requirements of the protection of the environment and
the maintenance of the countryside (4) but which did not
qualify for funding by the European Union. It relates to
agri-environmental measures set out in the programme
drawn up by the Region of Sicily for 1999 and which
had already been notified to farmers when the
inadmissible
Commission declared such expenditure
the Regulation
under
(EEC) No 2078/92. The funding requirement comprises
LIT 25 billion (EUR 12 911 420), as against a budget
allocation of LIT 10 billion (EUR 5 160 000).

the co-financing provisions of

programme

agri-environmental

had
been
Sicily's
approved by the Commission (5) up until
the end of
1999, whereas for the majority of Italian regions the
programmes had been approved up to 1998. In March
1998 the Commission had decided to make the conti-
nuation of any programmes due to expire (or any
amendments)
submission of
conditional upon the
evaluations of programmes already carried out.

(15)

(16)

(17)

in the Member States. Sicily submitted the

rities
evaluation report in January 1999.

agri-environmental

In May 1999 the Commission announced its Decision
not to fund the measures A1, B, D1, E and F of the
the
Sicilian
evaluation had not supplied sufficient information for a
judgement to be made on the socioeconomic and envir-
onmental impact of these measures. Furthermore, there
had been no amendment of the programme to address
the shortcomings highlighted by the evaluation.

plan (7),

because

agri-environmental

Italy plans to grant the same types of aid as set out in the
in
approved
accordance with the same criteria, at the rate of 50 %
the planned amounts. This percentage reflects the
of
effective duration of the commitments,
in other words
from October 1998 to May 1999 (six months instead of
one year).

programme

and

Article 4: Measures to promote greenhouse crops

The article provides for aid to promote greenhouse crops,
comprising 40 % of the cost of soil sterilisation, 50 % of
the purchase price of sterilisation equipment and a
the purchase of plastic
subsidy of LIT 250/kg for
sheeting for tunnel greenhouses. The Italian authorities
have noted their intention to use, as the legal basis for
this measure, Article 49 of Law 86/82 of 5 August 1982
(hereinafter ‘Law 86/1982’), already approved by the
Commission as aid intended to compensate for losses
caused by adverse weather conditions. The budget for
this measure is LIT 20 billion (EUR 10 329 000).

(13)

In October 1998 Sicilian farmers had undertaken the
commitments in question,
thus incurring expenditure
and losing income.

Article 5: Co-financing of the national citrus cultivation plan

(18)

The article includes a budget provision for action under
the national citrus cultivation plan. After excluding this
measure from the dossier, the Commission approved the
aid as part of aid C 65/A/2001 by Decision SG(2003)
232301 of 15 October 2003.

(14)

In November 1998 the Commission refused
to
underwrite new agri-environmental commitments until
an evaluation had been carried out (6). The Commission
stated that a definitive decision on this matter would be
taken following a discussion with the competent autho-

(19)

(3) Conditions as set out in the Regional Law No 13 of 25 March 1986
and in the regional laws providing for the State to subsidise interest
payments due on agricultural loans.

(4) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 85.
(5) Decisions C(97) 3089 of 14 November 1997 and C(94) 2494 of

10 October 1994.

Article 6: Crop protection associations

to crop protection
The article provides for the grant
associations of aid to cover 50 % of
the expenditure
incurred by an insurance fund covering its members'
crops. The
contribution to both
insurance premiums and the management costs of the
the sum insured), up to a
associations
maximum expenditure
100 million
(EUR 51 645) per association.

aid comprises

(0,5 % of

LIT

of

a

(6) Memorandum No 43244 of 6 November 1998.

(7) Note 27373 of 4 May 1999.

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Article 7: Upgrading of livestock farming

(20)

The article provides for funding for the measure set out
in Article 11 of Regional Law No. 40 of 7 November
1997 (hereinafter ‘Law No 40-1997’). This measure was
studied during the examination of file NN 37/98 and
approved by Commission letter SG(2002) 233136
dated 11 December 2002.

(21) Granting of the above aid is subject to approval by the

Commission.

III. REASONS FOR INITIATING PROCEEDINGS

The Commission had initiated proceedings in respect of
the scheme in question for the reasons set out at points
22 to 29:

farmers as a result of the adoption of agri-environmental
commitments, it could not be inferred from the available
information whether
and
conditions had been observed. These are:

the maximum amounts

(a) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support
for
from the European Agri-
cultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and
amending and repealing certain Regulations (11), and

rural development

(b) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 laying
down detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support
for
from the European Agricultural
rural development
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (12).

assurances

(22) Article 1 (extension of agricultural

loans): despite
the measure would not be
Italy's
applied,
it had not been officially removed from the
wording of the law, and the information provided was
too limited to enable its compatibility to be assessed.

that

(23) Article 2 (renegotiation of agricultural

loans):

the
Italian authorities had stated that the loans subject to
renegotiation were those granted under a regional
law
(Regional Law No 13 of 25 March 1986, hereinafter
‘Law No 13/1986’, approved by the Commission (8)
It was not clear whether
and some national
the national
the measure had been
notified to the Commission and approved by it. If the
loans with special conditions to be renegotiated under
this measure were considered to constitute illegal and
incompatible aid, any increase in the intensity of the
aid would also be incompatible.

laws (9).
legal basis of

(24)

Furthermore, it could not be inferred from the wording
whether the renegotiation of the loans would simulta-
neously bring about the alignment of the rates of aid
with those provided for by the Community Guidelines
on State aid in the agriculture sector (10) (hereinafter ‘the
Guidelines’). According to the aid scheme,
such an
alignment would have had to be made by 30 June
2000 or 31 December 2001 at the latest.

(25) Article 3 (agri-environmental measures):

the
purposes of excluding any possible overcompensation
of the additional costs and loss of income sustained by

for

(26) Article 4 (measures in favour of greenhouse crops):
regarding the application of point 11.3 of the Guidelines
(aid to compensate farmers for losses caused by adverse
weather conditions),
it would seem that only aid to
purchase material to rebuild tunnel greenhouses would
meet the requirements of the Guidelines. However, aid
for soil sterilisation or purchasing sterilising machinery
would not seem to be admissible as the Guidelines
permit
caused to
buildings and machinery by adverse weather conditions.
Furthermore, Italy had not provided guarantees that any
compensation received from insurance policies, and any
costs not incurred by farmers, would be deducted from
the aid.

compensation only

for damage

(27)

investments

in agricultural holdings),

Regarding the application of point 4.1 of the Guidelines
the
(aid for
conditions of that point have not been satisfied: expen-
diture on soil sterilisation would not seem to be included
among the forms of eligible expenditure in point 4.1.1.5,
the rate of aid (50 %) for the purchase of machinery
exceeds the maximum permitted rate (40 %)
in areas
which are not less-favoured (point 4.1.1.2), and respect
for the eligibility criteria laid down by point 4.1.1.3 of
the Guidelines has not been demonstrated.

(28) Article 5 (co-financing of the national citrus culti-
vation plan): the funding envisaged by the Article was
to finance the national citrus cultivation plan, a plan
which was still being examined by the Commission.
Therefore, at that stage of the procedure, it was not yet
possible to consider financing of the plan admissible.

(8) Decision C(97) 1785 of 17 July 1997 (co-financing decision).
(9) Article 4 of Law No 286/89, Article 4 of Law No 31/91, Article 2

of Law No 237/93.
(10) OJ C 28, 1.2.2000, p. 2.

(11) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 567/2004 (OJ L 90, 27.3.2004, p. 1).

(12) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999, p. 31. Regulation repealed by Regulation (EC)
No 445/2002 (OJ L 74, 15.3.2002, itself repealed by Regulation
(EC) No 817/2004 (OJ L 153, 30.4.2004)).

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(29) Article 6 (crop protection associations): a contri-
bution to the associations' management costs did not
seem to satisfy some of the criteria of point 14 of the
Guidelines, particularly with regard to the general avail-
ability of the services, the limiting of administrative costs
for non-members, and the requirement to account sepa-
rately for
the expenditure relating to the subsidised
services.

occurred after farmers had agreed (in October 1998) to
the commitments in question. It should be noted, in the
case of Sicily, that the commitments which have been
challenged are not ‘new five-year commitments’. Rather,
they come within the framework of the Sicilian agri-
environmental programme which is
still valid given
that it was approved by the Commission until the end
of 1999, and not just until 1998 as was the case for the
other regions.

IV. COMMENTS SUBMITTED BY ITALY

(30)

By letter dated 29 April 2002 Italy provided the
following information and clarifications:

(31) Article 1 (extension of agricultural

loans):

Italy
specified that
the provision in question had been
repealed by Article 1(2) of Regional Law No 28 of 23
December 2000 (hereinafter ‘Law No 28/2000’).
Italy
the provision had never been
also emphasised that
notified, as the extension of agricultural
loans did not
entail government action and instead was a matter for
the
responsibilities
contractual parties,
regarding the extension of
the loans rested entirely
with the farmers.

and as

the

(32) Article 2 (renegotiation of agricultural

the

that

loans):

aim of

indicated,

furthermore,

the possibility of

financed on the basis of

Italy
renegotiation would
specified that
the
concern only loans
regional
law (Article 2(3) of Regional Law No 13/86)
within the period of validity of the approved scheme.
Italy
the
provision is to bring the rate applied to loans previously
entered into by farmers below the so-called ‘usurious
rate’, as defined by Law No 108 of 1996.
In many
cases, the loans in question have reference rates which
are far higher than the usurious rate, and are two or
three times higher than the prevailing market rate. The
aim of the renegotiations is to align the old reference
rates with current market
the
article in question, the institutions granting aid would
be able to renegotiate the relevant loans, resulting in
savings of public resources. The regional government
has undertaken not to change the extent of the state
aid in grant-equivalent terms of the initial measure. The
fact that up-dated aid instalments due will benefit the
borrower means that, in cases where the loan is settled
early, the reduction of aid causes the borrower to receive
a lower amount than that which was originally granted,
and thus the equivalent aid is also lower.

rates. As a result of

(33) Article 3 (agri-environmental measures): Italy pointed
out that the prohibition on assuming new agri-environ-
mental commitments for programmes expiring at the
end of 1998 in the
an evaluation
(November 1998), as well as the decision not to co-
both
finance

(May 1999), had

certain measures

absence of

(34) Article 4 (measures in favour of greenhouse crops):
Italy has undertaken to limit
the aid solely to the
purchase of plastic sheeting to cover tunnel greenhouses.
In order to avoid any risk of overcompensation, Italy has
also undertaken that, wherever a farmer has entered into
an insurance contract providing cover for damage caused
by adverse weather conditions,
it would subtract, from
the compensation payable, any sums received, as well as
any ordinary expenditure not incurred by the farmer.

(35) Article 6 (crop-protection associations): Italy under-
took to abrogate the contribution towards the asso-
ciations' day-to-day management costs.

V. ASSESSMENT OF THE AID

(36)

The provision at Article 1 has been repealed (see point
(9)) and measures provided for by Articles 5 and 7 were
approved within the framework of other aid schemes (see
paragraphs
the following
assessment concerns only Articles 2, 3, 4 and 6 of
Law No 22/1999.

(18) and (20)). Therefore,

V.1. Existence of aid within the meaning of
Article 87(1) of the Treaty

(37) Under Article 87(1) of the Treaty, any aid granted by a
Member State or through State resources in any form
whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort compe-
the
certain
favouring
tition
undertakings
in so far as it affects
production of certain goods is,
trade between Member States,
incompatible with the
common market.

by

or

(38)

The final wording of Article 2 of
the Regional Law
provides for the renegotiation of agricultural loans with
special conditions within the meaning of Law No 13/86
(a scheme authorised by the Commission (13) during the
validity period of the said scheme (31 December 1997).
The Italian authorities claim that no renegotiation of
farm loans took place. Since, under Article 2(3) of the
Regional Law, such renegotiations had to be completed
within 18 months of the date of entry into force of the
law, the Commission considers it unnecessary to consider
the measure.

(13) See note 7.

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(39)

The Commission reserves the right to verify that the
national
legislation cited in the original notification,
even where not directly applicable to the article of the
law in question, has been properly notified to and
approved by the Commission in so far as it concerns
State aid.

(40) Articles 3, 4 and 6 of the Regional Law under exami-
nation correspond to the definition of aid in Article
87(1) of the Treaty, due to the fact that they give:

(a) economic
assistance)

advantages

(unrecoverable

financial

(b) to certain undertakings (Sicilian agricultural under-

takings)

(c)

financed by public (regional) resources, and

(d) have the potential to affect trade, given Italy's place in
in 1999 Italy
the agriculture sector (for example,
exported agricultural products
to other Member
States to a total value of EUR 10 258 million,
while imports
from other Member States were
valued at EUR 15 271 million (14)).

V.2. Compatibility of the aid

The prohibition referred to in Article 87(1) of the Treaty
In order to be considered compatible
is not absolute.
with the common market, the measures referred to in
Articles 3, 4 and 6 of the law in question must qualify
for one of the derogations provided for in Article 87(2)
and (3) of the Treaty.

The only possible derogation in the case in point is laid
down in Article 87(3)(c), according to which aid may be
considered compatible with the common market if it is
found to facilitate the development of certain economic
activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid
does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent
contrary to the common interest.

In interpreting this derogation,
the Commission in
dealing with the agricultural sector first of all checks
whether Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 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 agri-
cultural products (15)
this Regulation
is applicable.
to the
does not

the Commission refers

apply,

If

(41)

(42)

(43)

(14) Source: Eurostat. Separate data for

individual

regions are not

available.

(15) OJ L 1, 3.1.2004, p. 1.

(44)

(45)

(46)

(47)

(48)

(49)

(50)

Community Guidelines on State aid in the agricultural
sector (16).

Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 is not applicable in the case
in point, since the scheme is not restricted to small and
medium-sized agricultural undertakings. The Commission
has therefore referred to points 5.3 (agri-environmental
commitments) and 11 (compensation for damage caused
by bad weather) of the Guidelines.

V.2.1. Agri-environmental measures

The Commission takes note of the fact that the agri-
environmental commitments in question had already
been given by the farmers at the time of the Commis-
sion's doubts, and then its final decision that such
should not be considered eligible for
commitments
Community co-financing and that, consequently,
the
farmers had already incurred expenses and lost revenue
at the time of the Decision.

Furthermore, these commitments were part of an agri-
environmental programme approved by the Commission
until 1999 and thus complied in concept with the
requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.

In order to assess the compatibility with the common
market of State aids in connection with agri-environ-
mental commitments,
the Commission applies point
5.3 of the Guidelines.

says

that State

This point
aids may be deemed
compatible if they are granted in accordance with the
criteria applicable to agri-environmental measures co-
financed under Articles 22 to 24 of Regulation (EC)
this condition
In the case in point,
No 1257/1999.
cannot be met
said in
in the light of what was
paragraph 46.

to examine why

is nevertheless necessary

It
the
Commission decided not to co-finance such measures,
with a view to excluding any administrative short-
comings or irregularities indicating,
for example, any
overcompensation of farmers.

the

relevant departments,

The Commission's communications, as well as internal
reveal
correspondence of
nothing which can indicate, on the part of the Region
of Sicily, any irregular administration or overcompen-
sation of
reasoning adopted by the
Commission (see paragraph 15) for the failure to agree
to co-financing concerned the need to take account of
the outcome of the assessment of the programme as a
result of changes designed to improve it.

farmers. The

(16) OJ C 28, 1.2.2000, p. 2.

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(51)

Italy plans to grant aid in the same ways and according
to the same criteria as the approved agri-environmental
programme at a rate of 50 % of the planned amounts.
This percentage matches pro rata temporis
the actual
duration of the commitments (six months). The Italian
authorities have shown that the scale of the aid is such as
not to result in overcompensation of costs but rather, in
succeed in
the case of certain measures, does not
covering
from
greater
the
stemming
already been honoured.
commitments which have
Indeed, when the farmers were informed (May 1999)
that there would be no co-financing, the bulk of the
cultivation operations had already been carried out in
compliance with the commitments given (preparatory
work, seeds, fertilisers, spring treatment, pruning). The
farmers had also incurred the costs of technical consul-
tations and administrative and technical documentation.
The costs and lost
revenue incurred during the six
months in question thus represented more than 50 %
of the total for a whole farming year.

burdens

authorised on the basis of point 11.3 of the Guidelines
up to 100 % of actual costs, with no minimum threshold
being applied. However, point 11.3.6 of the Guidelines
lays down that,
in order to avoid excessive compen-
sation, any sums received from insurance schemes and
normal costs not incurred by farmers must be deducted
from the amount of the aid. Furthermore, in accordance
with point 11.3.1 of the Guidelines, the aid measures
must be accompanied by appropriate meteorological
information.

(57) As outlined in paragraph 34, Italy has indicated that the
eligible expenses were limited to the cost of replacing
plastic sheeting. Furthermore, Italy promised to deduct
from aid amounts any sums paid under
insurance
schemes and normal costs not incurred.

(58)

In addition, Italy provided the meteorological documen-
tation concerning the bad weather in question.

(52) However, the information available to the Commission
does not make it possible to verify whether the Region of
Sicily conducted the proper checks to ensure that farmers
complied with their agri-environmental commitments in
1999 and whether such checks proved positive.

(59)

The Commission therefore believes that the measure in
question can be considered compatible with the common
market.

(53)

The Commission therefore believes that the State aid in
question should be considered compatible with the
common market only in so far as Italy can prove that
the checks referred to in paragraph 52 were conducted
between October 1998 and May 1999 and proved
positive.

V.2.2. Measures in favour of greenhouse crops

(54)

In the final version of the measure the aid in question
will be granted to greenhouse farmers who have suffered
from adverse weather conditions in accordance with
Article 49 of Law No 86/1982, which extends to crops
grown under cover the benefits of Law No 37/1974.
However, only the costs of purchasing plastic sheeting
for tunnel greenhouses will be considered eligible.

(55) Article 49 of Law No 86/92 was approved by the
to
Commission since
compensate the damage caused to greenhouses and
plastic sheetings by the severe storms and heavy hail
showers occurring in areas where greenhouse cultivation
is the main form of farming.

concerned

intended

aid

it

(60)

(61)

V.2.3. Crop protection associations

In the final version of the measure, Italy will grant aid
equivalent to 50 % of insurance premiums for damage
caused by natural disasters in the case of policies taken
out by crop protection associations. These associations
are private bodies set up by farmers themselves with a
view to increasing their own bargaining power when
taking out insurance contracts.

Point 11.5 of the Guidelines allows aid to be granted up
to 80 % of the cost of
insurance premiums covering
losses caused by natural disasters or exceptional occur-
rences, and up to 50 % of the cost of such premiums
when the insurance also covers other losses caused by
adverse weather conditions or losses caused by animal or
plant diseases.

(62)

In the case in point, the type of aid and the maximum
aid intensity comply with point 11.5 of the Guidelines.

(63)

The Commission therefore believes that the measure in
question can be considered compatible with the common
market.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

(56) Aid intended to compensate damage caused to buildings
and equipment by adverse weather conditions can be

(64)

The measure referred to in Article 2 of Law No 22/99
does not
aid within the meaning of
Article 87(1) of the Treaty.

constitute

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(65)

The measure referred to in Article 3 of the above law is
compatible with the common market within the meaning
of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty only in so far as Italy can
prove that the proper checks of farmers' compliance were
conducted between October 1998 and May 1999 and
that such checks proved positive.

Article 3

The measures referred to in Articles 4 and 6 of Regional Law
No 22/1999, which Italy intends to implement for the benefit
of agricultural undertakings in Sicily, are compatible with the
these measues is
common market. The implementation of
therefore authorised.

(66)

The measures referred to in Articles 4 and 6 of the above
law are compatible with the common market within the
meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Article 2 of Regional Law No 22/1999, which Italy intends to
implement for the benefit of agricultural undertakings in Sicily,
does not constitute aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of
the Treaty.

Article 4

Within two months of notification of this Decision, Italy shall
provide the information which can prove that
the relevant
authorities conducted checks between October 1998 and May
1999 on the compliance by farmers with the agri-environ-
mental commitments given in connection with the environ-
mental programme of the Region of Sicily and which were
not eligible for Community co-financing and that such checks
proved positive.

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 19 January 2005.

The measure referred to in Article 3 of Regional Law
No 22/1999, which Italy intends to implement for the benefit
of agricultural undertakings in Sicily,
is compatible with the
common market, provided that the conditions laid down in
Article 4 of this Decision are complied with.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission