Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of  12 January 2001  on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-04-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: State aid, control of State aid, vocational training

6.4.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 83/3

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission
Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC
Treaty to training aid

(2006/C 83/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No

XT 56/01

Member State

Region

Belgium

Flanders

Title of aid scheme or name of
company receiving individual aid

Decree of the Flemish Government establishing the detailed conditions and
rules under which subsidies are granted for continuing education and training
for employees and firms, Leverage Credit — Training section

Legal basis

Decreet van 8 december 2000 houdende diverse bepalingen,
artikel 16

inzonderheid

expenditure

or
Annual
overall amount of aid granted to the
company

planned

Maximum aid intensity

The amounts differ according to the budget year. For the period 2002-2006, an
annual (indicative) amount of EUR 6 to 9 million is provided from the Flemish
budget, or on average EUR 7,5 million a year.

As regards aid from the ESF, an average annual (indicative) amount of EUR 4
million is provided for the period 2002-2006

The maximum aid intensity (the total official aid from the Member State and
the European Union)
for training projects is determined on the basis of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 and the provisions of Article 29(3)(b)
of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

The ceilings are as follows:

— Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001: maximum aid intensity (i.e. EU
and Flemish aid combined) for training with respect to the subsidised basis:

General training

SMEs

70 %

Large enterprises

50 %

These intensities may be increased by 5 percentage points for assisted areas
covered by Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty.

— Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, Article 29(3)(b):

The permitted ESF aid amounts to a maximum of 50 % of the total eligible
cost and, as a general rule, at least 25 % of eligible public expenditure

Date of implementation

The measure was approved by the Flemish Government on 27 September 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid
award

Until 31 December 2006

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Objective of aid

Firms may request a subsidy only for general training of employed persons;
specific training is not eligible. The definitions of ‘general’ and ‘specific’ training
in Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the appli-
cation of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid are applicable.

Training measures should be aimed at adapting employees and self employed
persons to rapid development and change in business and/or society. They
must concern at least 10 participants and provide for training of at least 8
hours per participant.

Projects are ranked according to an assesment in which cumulative bonus
points are granted on the basis of various selection criteria, including targeting
of vulnerable groups, sustainable business,
‘bottleneck vacancies’. A
maximum of 21 bonus points may be earned. Depending on the available
budgets, the highest ranked are selected

ICT,

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors

Name and address of
authority

the granting

Name:
ESF-Agentschap
Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap

Address:
Markiesstraat 1
B-1000 Brussels

Other information

The Leverage Credit — Training decree, approved by the Flemish Government
on 28 September 2001 is abolished and replaced by the new decree approved
by the Flemish Government on 27 September 2002.

The amendments which were made in the new proposal are rather limited in
scope. Basically, they concern a better concept of vulnerable groups, the restric-
tion of the scheme to general training, an amendment of the consultation
procedure for subregional employment committees and a review of the system
of bonus points

Aid number

XT 59/02

Member State

Region

Title of aid scheme

Legal basis

Italy

Veneto

Aid scheme operated by the individual Chambers of Commerce of the Veneto
for the training of employees of SMEs in that region

Delibere e/o provvedimenti delle CCIAA e/o delle loro aziende speciali, Unione
regionale e del
loro Centro estero, che contemplano precisa indicazione del
Regolamento comunitario di esenzione in parola.

Annual expenditure planned under
the scheme

EUR 1 841 504

If this total expenditure were to increase by more than 20 % before the end of
2006, the Chambers undertake formally to notify the modification of the
scheme to the Commission

Maximum aid intensity

In accordance with the ceilings laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 68/
2001, the aid will not exceed:

a) 35 % for specific training given to employees of SMEs
b) 70 % for general training given to employees of SMEs
c) 35 % where it is not possible to distinguish between specific and general

training.

In any case, aid granted to any single initiative will never exceed EUR 200 000,
and there will be no individual aid grant approaching the figure of EUR 1
million, in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 68/2001

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 83/5

Date of implementation

From the date of transmission of this notice.

Duration of scheme

Until 31 December 2006.

Objective of aid

The scheme concerns both general and specific training under the terms,
criteria and conditions laid down in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 68/2001.

The general training will cover all sectors and the following subjects:

information technology including use of the Internet and e-business,

1. business administration and finance,
2. business organisation,
3.
4. quality, environment and safety,
5. marketing,
6.
logistics,
7. human resources management and communications,
8. customer management.

There will be some refresher courses for people in certain skilled trades (e.g.
beauticians, goldsmiths, photographers)

Economic sector(s) concerned

All SMEs in the Veneto, without distinction, are eligible for this scheme,
including those listed in Annex I to the EC Treaty.

Name
authority

and

address

of

granting

Name:
Chambers of Commerce,
Veneto (1).
Coordinating office: for this subject the Unione Regionale delle Camere di
Commercio del Veneto

Industry, Agriculture and Crafts (CCIAA)

in the

Address:
via Sansovino 9
I-30173 Mestre (VE)
tel. (39-41) 258 16 66
fax (39-41) 258 16 00
e-mail europa@eicveneto.it.

(1) This concerns the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts (CCIAA) of Venice, Verona, Belluno, Vicenza and Treviso,
directly or indirectly via their special agencies, the Regional Union and their External Centre. The Chambers of Padua and Rovigo do
not grant aid under this Regulation at the moment.

Aid number

Member State

Region

Title of aid scheme

XT 1/03

Belgium

Flanders

Promotion of training for workers:
— the scheme applies to specific groups of employees who are following a

training course at the request of their employer;

— the employers are partly exempt from payment of certain training costs;
— this applies only to general training carried out by the VDAB on its own

account

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.4.2006

Beneficiary

What categories of employees are eligible for this partial exemption?
1. Workers at risk, if they undergo training within six months of their recruit-

ment. Workers at risk are:
— workers who were unemployed for at least 12 months before taking up

their employment;

— workers who were in receipt of income support for at least six months

before taking up their employment;

— workers who when they took up their employment were registered with
the Rijksfonds voor sociale reclassering van mindervaliden (National Fund for
the Social Rehabilitation of the Disabled);

— workers under 18 who are in compulsory part-time education;
— workers over 18 who do not have a higher secondary school leaving

certificate;

— workers who for three years prior to taking up their employment had
no income, did not engage in a professional activity, had interrupted
their professional activity for three years or had never engaged in a
professional activity.

2. Workers threatened with unemployment:
— in the case of collective redundancies,
— in the case of individual dismissal,
— if they work for a firm in difficulty, (1) if they work for a firm under-

going restructuring (2)

3. Workers belonging to companies with 25 workers or fewer.
— workers from companies with fewer than 10 workers
— workers from companies with between 10 and 25 workers

4. Workers who are no longer able to carry out their present duties for

medical reasons

Legal basis

Wijziging van het besluit van de Vlaamse regering van 21-12-1988 houdende
de organisatie van de arbeidsbemiddeling en de beroepsopleiding.

Deze besluitswijziging wordt voorgelegd aan de Vlaamse regering op 6-12-
2002.

Annual expenditure planned under
the scheme

Between EUR 800 000 and EUR 1,5 million a year

Maximum aid intensity

their employees,

the VDAB's employer customers are
For the training of
charged only the costs of the trainer, the material, and depreciation of the
equipment. It is on the basis of these costs that the allowance, as mentioned in
the amendment to the decision, is calculated.

The other costs, that do qualify as training costs (cf. Regulation (EC) No
68/2001), are in any case met by the employer.

The intensity of the aid varies according to the target group, but on the basis of
various simulations it has never proved to be more than 50 %. The simulations
always assumed the highest possible contribution from the VDAB and the
minimum wage for an employee in the sector according to the collective
labour agreement.

— most expensive VDAB training: aid intensity: 49,03 % (representing only

0,13 % of turnover)

— the most common training: aid intensity: 44,44 % (representing 18,45 % of

turnover)

In this decision the ‘highest possible VDAB contribution’ usually applies in
specific cases where the employee can often be regarded ‘de facto’ as unem-
ployed (collective redundancies, individual dismissal, unable to continue in his
present duties for medical reasons); in the other cases the VDAB contribution is
lower by a half.

Moreover: under the terms of the Regulation, aid of up to 50 % is allowed for
large undertakings, while the VDAB is primarily concerned with specific target
groups and SMEs, for which the same Regulation allows a higher percentage.

If the rate of support were still to be higher than that stipulated in the Regu-
lation, the decision provides for the limiting of the aid percentage to the
maximum allowed

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C 83/7

Date of implementation

1 January 2003

Duration of scheme

30 June 2007

Objective of aid

The rules are laid down in a decision of the Flemish Government and are not
subject to a time limit. In theory, the rules will continue to apply after the date
given unless modified by the Flemish Government by decree. If requested we
will adapt the measures to the Regulation which will take effect after 31
December 2006

One of the tasks of the VDAB is to provide training for workers at the request
of their employer in return for payment.

In order to promote training for certain groups of workers their employer is
offered a grant. This grant applies only to the general training provided by the
VDAB.

The VDAB offers a very wide range of training. At the present time we are
offering 1 622 training courses over the whole of Flanders. A complete list is
available at www.vdab.be/opleidingen

Economic sector(s) concerned

All sectors can make use of these aid measures.

Name and address of
authority

the granting

Name:
Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding (VDAB)
Keizerslaan 11
B-1000 Brussels

Address:
Contact person:
Frank Roegiest
Dienst betalende opleidingen
Keizerslaan 11
B-1000 Brussels
tel. (32-2) 506 15 78
fax (32-2) 506 15 15
e-mail: froegies@vdab.be

(1) Firm in difficulty: an undertaking which in the annual accounts for the two financial years preceding the date of the application for
recognition for tax purposes records a loss from ordinary activities, when for the last financial year this loss is greater than the
amount of write-downs and depreciation for start-up costs on intangible and tangible assets.

(2) Firm undergoing restructuring: an undertaking which, in accordance with the procedure laid down in collective labour agreement
No. 24 of 20 October 1975 concerning the procedure for informing and consulting workers' representatives in the matter of collec-
tive redundancies and in the Royal Decree of 24 May 1976 on collective redundancies, is carrying out collective redundancies; an
undertaking which, in application of the provisions of Article 51 of the law of 3 July 1978 on contracts of employment, during the
year preceding the application for recognition, has experienced a number of days of unemployment at least equal to 20 % of the total
number of days declared for workers to the Rijksdienst voor Sociale Zekerheid (National Social Security Office); an undertaking in a
situation which could lead to collective redundancies as specified in the first provision but which has not in fact implemented the
redundancies, provided it can show that by the granting of a derogation the dismissal of the workers involved can be avoided.

Aid No

XT 89/04

Member State

Italy

Region

Autonomous Province of Trento

Title of aid scheme

Financing for training measures for workers in employment in implementation
of Article 6(4) of Act No 53/2000 — year 2004

Legal basis

Deliberazione della Giunta Provinciale n. 2410 di data 22/10/2004 pubblicata
sul Bollettino della Regione Trentino Alto Adige del 2/11/04 n 44 supp.1.

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.4.2006

Annual
overall
granted to the company

expenditure
amount of

planned
individual

Aid scheme

or
aid

Annual overall amount
year 2004

EUR 522 301,09
(EUR 0,52 million)

Loans guaranteed

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

Loans guaranteed

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Article 4(2)-(6) of the Regulation

Yes

Date of implementation

From 2 November 2004

Duration of scheme or individual aid
award

Until 31 December 2004

Objective of aid

General training

Specific training

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for training aid

Yes

Yes

Yes

Name and address of
authority

the granting

Name:
Provincia Autonoma di Trento — Dipartimento Politiche Sociali e del Lavoro
— Ufficio Fondo Sociale Europeo

Address:
via Giusti, 40
I-38100 Trento

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 5 of
the
measure excludes awards of aid or requires prior notifica-
tion to the Commission of awards of aid, if the amount
of aid granted to one enterprise for a single training
project exceeds EUR 1 million.

the Regulation,

Yes

Aid No

Member State

Region

Title of aid scheme

Legal basis

Annual
overall
granted to the company

expenditure
amount of

planned
individual

XT 90/04

Italy

Autonomous Province of Trento

Financing of training projects for staff of firms (including business people and
managers) Measure D1 of the European Social Fund — year 2004

Deliberazione della Giunta Provinciale n. 2409 di data 22/10/2004 (pubblicata
sul Bollettino della Regione Trentino Alto Adige del 2/11/04 n.44 sup.1)

Aid scheme

or
aid

Annual overall amount
2004

EUR 3,43 million

Loans guaranteed

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

Loans guaranteed

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Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Article 4(2)-(6) of the Regulation

Yes

Date of implementation

From 2 November 2004

Duration of scheme or individual aid
award

Until 31 December 2004

Objective of aid

General training

Specific training

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for training aid

Yes

Yes

Yes

Name and address of
authority

the granting

Name:
Provincia Autonoma di Trento — Dipartimento Politiche Sociali e del Lavoro
— Ufficio Fondo Sociale Europeo

Address:
via Giusti, 40
I-38100 Trento

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 5 of
the Regulation the
measure excludes awards of aid or requires prior notifica-
tion to the Commission of awards of aid, if the amount
of aid granted to one enterprise for a single training
project exceeds EUR 1 million.

Yes