Summary information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under 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   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-12-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, Spain, State aid, United Kingdom, agro-industry, control of State aid, exchange of information, small and medium-sized enterprises

C 296/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

6.12.2006

Summary information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under
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

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2006/C 296/02)

XA Number: XA 92/06

Member State: United Kingdom

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The scheme
will remain open until 31st March 2008. However alterations
may need to be made to the scheme rules before this time to
reflect any changes to European State aid rules.

Region: Lancashire (including the unitary authority areas of
Blackpool and Blackburn).

Title of Aid scheme or name of company receiving an
individual aid: Lancashire Rural Recovery Grant Fund

Legal basis: Section 5 of the Regional Development Agencies
Act 1998

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

The total level of public sector funding made available through
the scheme will be GBP 1 034 061. This will be split over 2
financial years:

1.4.2006 — 31.3.2007: GBP 743 108

1.4.2007 — 31.3.2008: GBP 290 953

Maximum aid intensity:

Objective of aid: The scheme will aid the long term develop-
ment of Lancashire's rural economy through the provision of
financial aid to Small and Medium sized Enterprises as defined
in Annex 1 of Commission Regulation 70/2001 (as amended).
In order to be eligible for support from the RRGF, a businesses
must either be situated in a ward which is categorised as being
either rural or town and fringe in the Office of National Statis-
tics Rural and Urban Area Classification 2004. or alternatively
must be an ‘Urban Business with Rural Interests’ that is to say
be a business situated in a ward categorized as urban, which
undertakes activity that impacts in rural areas. This scheme
seeks to help rural businesses not eligible for existing grant
schemes.

The following types of aid will be available.

The gross aid intensity shall not exceed the levels set out
below:

Article 4. Investment
eligible costs in Less Favoured Areas and 40 % in other areas

in Agricultural Holdings. Up to 50 % of

Article 7. Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products. Up to
40 % of eligible costs.

Investment in Agricultural Holdings The eligible costs will be (a)
immovable
the construction acquisition or improvement of
property; (b) the purchase or lease purchase of new machinery
and equipment; and (c) expenditure on professional fees, feasi-
bility studies or the acquisition of patents and licences where
this expenditure totals 12 % or less than the expenditure
incurred under points a and/or b above. This complies with
Article 4 of Regulation 1/2004.

under

granted

article will

Article 10. Aid for Producer Groups. The total amount of public
support
exceed
this
EUR 100 000 per beneficiary over any three-year period. Aid
may be granted at a rate of up to 100 % of eligible costs
incurred in the first year and will be reduced by 20 percentage
points for each subsequent year of operation, so that in the
second year the amount of aid will be limited to 80 % of
eligible expenditure.

not

Article 14. The Provision of Technical Support. Aid may be granted
at a rate of up to 100 % of eligible costs under this article. The
maximum amount of aid granted to an individual beneficiary
will however not be permitted to exceed EUR 100 000 over
any three-year period.

Date of
October 2006.

implementation: The scheme will open on 19

Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products The eligible
costs will be (a) the construction acquisition or improvement of
immovable property;
(b) purchase or lease purchase of new
machinery and equipment; and (c) professional fees, feasibility
studies or the acquisition of patents and licences where this
expenditure totals 12 % or less than the expenditure incurred
under points a and/or b above. This complies with Article 7 of
Regulation 1/2004.

Aid for Producer Groups The eligible costs will be (a) the rental of
the acquisition of office equipment,
suitable premises;
including computer hardware and software; (c) administrative
staff costs; (d) overheads; and (e) legal and administrative fees.
This complies with Article 10 of Regulation 1/2004.

(b)

6.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 296/3

The Provision of Technical Support Expenses eligible for support
under this measure are;

(a) concerning education and training of

farmers and farm

workers:

(i) costs of organising the training programme;

(ii) travel and subsistence expenses of participants;

(iii) cost of the provision of replacement services during

the absence of the farmer or the farm worker;

(b) concerning farm replacement services, the actual costs of
the replacement of a farmer, the farmer's partner, or a farm
worker, during illness and holidays;

(c) concerning consultancy services, the fees for services which
do not constitute a continuous or periodic activity nor
relate to the enterprise's usual operating expenditure, such
as routine tax consultancy services, regular legal services, or
advertising;

(d) concerning the organisation of and participation in compe-

titions, exhibitions and fairs:

(i) participation fees;

(ii) travel costs;

(iii) costs of publications;

(iv) the rent of exhibition premises.

This complies with Article 14 of Regulation 1/2004.

Sectors concerned: This scheme will be available to all SME's
from within the target area regardless of the sector in which
they operate except where special rules regulations and direc-
tives are in place concerning the provision of aid to sectors
such as, fisheries and aquaculture. Aid will be provided under
this
exemption to businesses producing, processing or
marketing any agricultural product.

Support to non agricultural businesses from the scheme will be
delivered either under the de minimis rules as established in
Commission Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 or alternatively,
if
more appropriate, under Commission Regulation (EC) No
70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87
and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-
sized enterprises. The RRGF has been notified under Regulation
70/2001 and has been registered by the Competition Directo-
rate-General under scheme reference number XS 56/06.

Name and address of the granting authority: The Rural
Recovery Grant Fund is administered by Lancashire County
Developments Ltd, the Economic Development Department of
Lancashire County Council. The postal address for which is

Lancashire County Developments Ltd
Robert House
Starkie Street
PR1 3LU Preston
United Kingdom

Web-Address: Further
information of
Grant Programme can be obtained from

the Rural Recovery

http://www.lcdl.co.uk/grant_programmes/RRGF%20Sche-
me%20Criteria%20(Agricultural%20Businesses).pdf.

Alternatively, Alternatively, you can visit
the UK's central
website for exempted agricultural State aids at www.defra.-
gov.uk/farm/policy/state-aid/setup/exist-exempt.htm. Click on
the link ‘Lancashire Rural Recovery Grant Fund’.

Other information: The choice of the provider of technical
support services funded through the scheme will be left to the
beneficiary of the service.

Signed and dated on behalf of the Department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (UK competent authority)

Neil Marr
Agricultural State Aid Advisor
Defra
8B 9 Millbank
c/o 17 Smith Square
SW1P 3JR London
United Kingdom

XA Number: XA 87/06

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: Somerset. The aid will be available in the administra-
tive County of Somerset,

West Somerset District Council

Taunton Deane Borough Council

Sedgemoor District Council

Mendip District Council

South Somerset District Council

Title of Aid scheme or name of company receiving an
individual aid: Somerset Rural Business Support Service

Legal basis: Sections 4 and 5 of The Regional Development
Agencies Act 1998

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

1 October 2006 — 30 September 2007: GBP 167 000

1 October 2007 — 30 September 2008: GBP 175 000

Maximum aid intensity: 100 %

Date of implementation: 1 October 2006

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The scheme
will open to applications on 1 October 2006 and will run until
30th September 2008. However alterations may need to be
made to the scheme rules before this time to reflect any
changes to European State Aid rules.

Objective of aid: Sectoral Development

The objective of the scheme is to provide consultancy services
across the County of Somerset (as defined above) and sign-
posting to additional rural support offered by other organiza-
tions.

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

6.12.2006

The aid will be paid in line with Article 14 of Regulation
1/2004. The eligible costs will be consultancy services.

Aid No: XA 88/06

Sector(s) concerned: The scheme will apply to businesses
involved in the agricultural and land based sectors and all its
subsectors. This will
include those involved in production,
processing and marketing. Where appropriate the scheme may
elect to signpost to alternative business advice/service provi-
ders.

Name and address of the granting authority:

South Somerset District Council
Brympton Way
Yeovil
BA20 2HT Somerset
United Kingdom

The organisation operating the scheme is

Somerset Rural Business Support Scheme

Address as above

Main Contact:

David Julian
Principal Economic Development Officer
South Somerset District Council

Web Address: http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/index.jsp?ar-
ticleid=1929

Click on Somerset Rural Business Support Service — Somerset
in the left hand menu. Alternatively, you can visit the UK's
central page for exempted agricultural State aids at

http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/state-aid/setup/exist-exempt.htm

Click on the Somerset Rural Business Support Scheme

Other information: The scheme will be made available to all
land managers not just farmers. Aid to non-agricultural busi-
nesses will be paid with regard to Commission Regulation
69/2001 on de minimis aid.

Beneficiaries will not be able to choose their service provider.
The service provider will be Somerset Rural Business Support
Service who were selected by a tendering exercise on the basis
of market principles in line with Article 14(5) of Regulation
1/2004.

Signed and dated on behalf of the Department for Environ-
ment, Food and Rural Affairs (UK competent authority)

Neil Marr
Agricultural State Aid Advisor
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Area 8e
9, Millbank
c/o Nobel House
17, Smith Square
SW1P 3JR London
United Kingdom

Member State: Spain

Region: Andalusia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an indi-
vidual aid: Aid for processing and marketing of agri-food
products

Legal basis:

— Sección 8a del Decreto 280/2001, por el que se establecen
las ayudas de la Junta de Andalucía a los sectores agrícola,
ganadero y forestal incluidas en el Programa Operativo-Inte-
grado Regional de Andalucía para el Desarrollo del Marco
Comunitario de Apoyo 2000-2006, publicado en el Boletín
Oficial de la Junta de Andalucía el 29 de diciembre de
2001.

— La Orden de 10 de julio de 2002 por la que se desarrolla
parcialmente la sección 8, sobre ayudas para la transforma-
ción y comercialización de los productos agroalimentarios,
del Decreto 280/2001, publicada en el Boletín Oficial de la
Junta de Andalucía el 27 de julio de 2002.

— La Resolución de 29 de diciembre de 2003 de la Dirección
General de Industrias y Promoción Agroalimentarias, por la
que se convocan para el año 2003 y 2004 las ayudas
previstas en la orden de 10 de julio de 2002.

— Due to the large number of applications meeting the elig-
ibility requirements and to inadequate European funds to
provide all the aid, it is deemed advisable to allocate some
of the aid from the self-financed budget. Self-financed aid is
not covered by the exemption in Articles 51 and 52 of
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, as indicated in Article 4 of
the Decision of 29 December 2000, adopting Andalusia's
IOP.

— Some of the aid granted to SMEs for eligible projects under
Article 40(3)(a), (b) and (c) of Decree 280/2001 as part of
the aforementioned call
for proposals may be admitted
under 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 enter-
prises active in the production, processing and marketing of
agricultural products (OJ L 1, 3.01.2004).

— La Resolución de concesión de las ayudas, de la Dirección
General de Industrias y Promoción Agroalimentarias, por la que
se concede al solicitante la ayuda prevista en la orden de 10 de
julio de 2002. The applicant will be informed by means of a
specific reference in the decision to grant aid that his appli-
cation has been admitted under the above Regulation. A
model of
is
attached.

including such a reference,

the decision,

Once the deadline for issuing decisions has lapsed, the list of
aid granted will be published in the Official Journal, specifying
which aid has been admitted under Regulation (EC) No 1/2004.

6.12.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 296/5

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall
amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR
45 000 000 planned to be allocated from 1 September 2006 in
the decision relating to the call for proposals for 2004 under
the system of aid for processing and marketing agri-food
products included in Regulation (EC) No 1/2004.

Maximum aid intensity: 29 %

Date of implementation: From 1 September 2006

Duration of aid scheme or individual aid award: The dead-
line for granting aid is 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: Investment in processing and marketing, in
accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004

Eligible costs are:

— construction, acquisition and improvement of immovable

property;

— purchase of new machinery and equipment up to the

market value of the asset;

— general costs, such as architects', engineers' and consultation
the acquisition of patents and

fees,
licences, up to 12 % of the investment expenditure.

feasibility studies,

Sector(s) concerned: Processing sector

Name and address of the granting authority:

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall
amount of individual aid granted to the company: Total
budget
the production sectors receiving incentives
according to Law No 1329/65: EUR 11 876 528,04

for all

Maximum aid intensity:

For enterprises active in less favoured areas (Articles 18 to 20
of Regulation (EC) No 1257/99), the gross aid intensity may
not exceed 50 % of eligible costs.

For enterprises active in non-less-favoured areas, the gross aid
intensity may not exceed 40 % of eligible costs.

Date of implementation: The aid scheme comes into force
on the 30th day following its publication in the Official Journal
of the Region and 10 working days after this form is sent, as
provided for in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2004.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31
December 2006.

or

Objective of aid:: The objective of the aid scheme is to help
the purchase or leasing by SMEs of only brand new machine-
tools
cost
equipment
exceeding EUR 1 000. Assembly, testing, transport and packa-
ging costs are eligible within the maximum limit of 15 % of the
cost of the machine or equipment.

production

overall

for

an

Eligible investment must pursue one or more of the following
objectives:

Dirección General de Industrias y Promoción Agroalimentarias,
Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca de la Junta de Andalucía.
calle Tabladilla s/n
E-Sevilla

— reduction of production costs;

— improvement and redeployment of production;

— improvement in quality;

Web address:

http://
opencms/portal/portada.jsp

www.cap.junta-andalucia.es/agriculturaypesca/portal/

Aid No: XA 89/06

Member State: Italy

Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving indivi-
dual aid:
‘Sabatini’ Law No 1329/65 — Incentives for the
purchase or leasing of machine-tools or production equipment.
Agricultural sector.

Legal basis:

Legge 28 novembre 1965 n. 1329.

Regolamento concernente criteri e modalità per la concessione
delle agevolazioni di cui alla legge 1329/1965 emanato con
decreto del
Presidente della Regione 9 agosto 2006,
n. 0244/Pres.

— preservation and improvement of the natural environment,

hygiene conditions and animal welfare standards;

— promotion of the diversification of farm activities.

This aid scheme falls under aid provided by Article 4 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003, published in OJ
L 1/1, 3 January 2004.

Sector or sectors concerned: SMEs active in the production,
processing and/or marketing of agricultural products.

Name and address of granting authority:

Regione autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia
Direzione centrale attività produttive
Servizio
industriale
Via Trento, 2
I-34123-Trieste

promozione

sostegno

e

comparto

produttivo

Website: www.regione.fvg.it

Other information:

Il Direttore del Servizio sostegno e promozione del comparto
produttivo industriale
Dott. Massimo Zanini