Summary information communicated by Member States on State aid granted in conformity with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products
Date: 2005-06-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, Germany, State aid, agricultural production, agro-industry, control of State aid, exchange of information, small and medium-sized enterprises

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Official Journal of the European Union

7.6.2005

Summary information communicated by Member States on State aid granted in conformity with
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 on the application of Articles 87
and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the produc-
tion, processing and marketing of agricultural products

(2005/C 138/03)

Aid No: XA 16/05

Member State: France

Region: Centre

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an indi-
vidual aid: Aid for the creation of ‘maisons de cultures’ (growing
sheds) for agricultural production.

A growing shed is a building in which agricultural production
is carried out. It allows production to be carried out indepen-
dently of weather conditions, while facilitating the harvest and
guaranteeing the health of the crop. The building has thermal
insulation and a controlled internal temperature, humidity and
air flow. A group of buildings may also be equipped with a
picking line.

Legal basis:

— Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December

2003 laying down derogations;

— Code général des collectivités (partie législative) articles

L1511-1 et L1511-2

— Décision du Conseil Régional du Centre du 21 janvier 2005

Objectives of aid: to make holdings more competitive,
improve product quality and reduce production costs.

Economic sectors concerned: all agricultural production
sectors except for horticultural and market garden greenhouses
receiving financial assistance under schemes already notified
(N 572/2001 and N 523/2001).

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

Forecasts

2005

2006

Grants

€1 180 000

€500 000

Aided investments

€3 200 000

€100 000

Number of holdings

4

1

B. the purchase or lease-purchase of new machinery and

equipment (including computer software);

C. general costs relating to the project (architects', engineers'
and consultation fees, feasibility studies, etc.), up to 12 % of
the expenditure referred to in points A and B.

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum amount for which
aid may be granted is EUR 150 000 per labour unit. A
maximum of two labour units will be covered per holding.
However,
is six labour units for holdings using
labour-intensive production systems.

the limit

The gross aid intensity increases as the total
increases:

investment

Total investment

Holdings limited to two
labour units

Holdings limited to six
labour units

Gross aid
intensity

Up to €300 000

Up to €900 000

20%

€300 001 to €337 500

€900 001 to €1 012 500

22.5%

€337 501 to €375 000

€375 001 to €412 500

€412 501 to €450 000

€450 001 to €487 500

€487 501 to €525 000

€525 001 to €562 500

€1 012 501 to
€1 125 000

€1 125 001 to
€1 237 550

€1 237 501 to
€1 350 000

€1 350 001 to
€1 462 500

€1 462 501 to
€1 575 000

€1 575 001 to
€1 687 500

€1 687 501 to
€1 800 000

25%

27.5%

30%

32.5%

35%

37.5%

40%

These amounts relate to the agricultural sector for the Centre
region only.

€562 501 to €600 000

Aid may be provided for investments to create growing sheds
in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of
23 December 2003, i.e.:

Over €600 000

Over €1 800 000

40%

A. the construction, acquisition or improvement of immovable

property;

The Region is responsible for half of the gross aid intensity.
The other half is left to the discretion of each department.

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Date of implementation: on receipt of an acknowledgement
of receipt from the European Commission.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: the aid
scheme will run until 31 December 2006, the date until which
Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 applies.

Duration of the scheme: This is geared to the duration of the
TSE/BSE monitoring programme under Regulation (EC)
No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control
and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalo-
pathies (OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1), in the currently applicable
version.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Conseil Régional du Centre
9 rue St Pierre Lentin
45 041 Orléans cedex 1 France
Tel. 02 38 70 30 30
Fax: 02 38 70 31 18
E-mail: Amanda.Tibble@regioncentre.fr
Contact person: Amanda Tibble Miché

Aid No: XA 19/05

Member State: Federal Republic of Germany

Region: Free State of Saxony

Title of aid scheme: Aid for the costs of mandatory official
TSE/BSE tests on cattle, sheep and goats under the TSE/BSE
monitoring programme

Legal basis: § 25 (Kostenanteil des Landes) Nr. 2 des Säch-
sischen Ausführungsgesetzes zum Tierseuchengesetz — Landes-
tierseuchengesetz — (SächsAGTierSG) vom 22. Januar 1992
(SächsGVBl. 1992, S. 29) in der zur Zeit geltenden Fassung

Annual expenditure under the scheme:

Budgetary resources: EUR 500 000

Aid amount: EUR 500 000

Maximum aid intensity: 100 %

Date of implementation: Immediately

Note: Notification is late because in 2004 an attempt was made
to submit a joint aid request for the whole of Germany (aid
No N 373/2003). Since that proved unsuccessful and the
German Government therefore withdrew the notification in
accordance with its communication of 22 February 2005 to
the Commission (ref.: 421-1256-9/0003) and,
in addition,
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003
on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to
State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the
production, processing and marketing of agricultural products
(OJ L 1, 3.1.2004, p. 1) — the exemption Regulation — has
since entered into force, a separate request for exemption is
hereby being made for the Free State of Saxony.

Objective of the aid: The applicable provision is Article 15(d)
read in conjunction with Article 16(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1/
2004.

The aim of the measure is to grant state aid for rapid tests for
TSE/BSE on

a) all bovine animals over 24 months of age which have died
or been slaughtered for a special reason, i.e. because of an
emergency or disease,
animals over
24 months of age which have been killed

and all bovine

— in the event of BSE being officially detected in one

bovine animal,

— in order to control other animal diseases, with the

exception of epidemic diseases;

b) sheep and goats over 18 months of age or which had more
than two permanent incisors erupted through the gum and
which have died or been killed, but not

— culled as part of a disease eradication campaign

— or slaughtered for human consumption; and

c) sheep and all goats over 18 months of age or which had
more than two permanent incisors erupted through the
gum and which have been slaughtered for human consump-
tion.

Explanatory note: The aid measures described do not relate to
BSE examination of slaughter cattle. Attention is drawn in this
connection to the guidelines issued by the Saxony State
Ministry of Social Affairs on granting support under the special
programme on the effects of BSE of 15 October 2004 (Saxony
Official Gazette 2005, p. 127; aid No N 558/2004, notification
of changes to aid scheme No N 371/2003). According to its
letter of 27 January 2005, the Commission did not raise any
objections to that aid scheme.

Under the aid scheme described here, the livestock keepers in
question are to be regarded as small or medium-sized enter-
prises within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 and
are therefore subject to the Commission's exemption proce-
dure.

BSE/TSE tests entail the costs of purchasing test kits, taking and
transporting samples, carrying out analyses, and storing and
disposing of samples.

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In Saxony, the costs of taking samples are borne by the local
authorities. Under the Saxony State Ministry of Finance's sixth
Ordinance on setting administrative fees and expenses of
24 October 2003 (Saxony Act and Ordinance Gazette, p. 706),
the local authorities are able to charge livestock keepers fees of
around EUR 0.80-8.00 for this work.

The remaining costs in respect of the mandatory rapid tests are
financed through state aid (maximum EUR 35 per test). Less
the EU's part-financing portion, this aid is paid by the Land
Saxony.

The aid granted is passed on in full to the livestock keepers. In
order to simplify administration, the aid is paid out to the Land
Saxony's Health and Veterinary Research Institute, which acts

as a state research laboratory and is a subordinate authority of
the Saxony State Ministry of Social Affairs. The full amount is
passed on to market operators because livestock keepers do not
have to bear the costs of the BSE/TSE tests (with the possible
exception of fees for taking samples, as referred to above).

Economic sector(s) concerned: Agriculture, animal produc-
tion and processing/marketing (cattle, sheep, goats).

Name and address of the granting authority:
Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Soziales, Albertstraße 10, D-
01097 Dresden

Website:
http://www.saxonia-verlag.de/recht-sachsen/634_2bs.pdf