Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 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 of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001
Date: 2007-07-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Finland, France, Slovenia, State aid, United Kingdom, agricultural holding, aid to agriculture, control of State aid, exchange of information, small and medium-sized enterprises

C 165/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.7.2007

NOTICES FROM MEMBER STATES

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 1857/2006 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 of agricultural products and amending
Regulation (EC) No 70/2001

(2007/C 165/04)

XA Number: XA 23/07

Member State: Slovenia

Region: —

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving indivi-
dual aid: Sofinanciranje zavarovalnih premij za zavarovanje
kmetijske proizvodnje za leto 2007

animals, whilst taking responsibility for reducing risk in the area
of arable and livestock farming

Sectors: Agriculture — arable and livestock farming

Name and address of the granting authority:

Ministrstvo za kmetijstvo, gozdarstvo in prehrano
Dunajska 58
SLO-1000 Ljubljana

Legal basis: Uredba o sofinanciranju zavarovalnih premij za
zavarovanje kmetijske proizvodnje za leto 2007 (Uradni
list
RS 138/2006)

Agencija RS za kmetijske trge in razvoj podeželja
Dunajska 160
SLO-1000 Ljubljana

Annual expenditure planned/overall amount of individual
aid granted to company: The expenditure planned for 2007
totals EUR 5 633 450

lightning,

Maximum aid intensity: The co-financing covers 40 % of the
expenditure on insurance premiums to insure agricultural crops
against damage from hail, fire,
late frost, hurricane
and flood. As regards insurance against the risks of destruction,
slaughter on the orders of a veterinary surgeon and economic
slaughter on account of disease, the co-financing of insurance
premiums is determined in absolute terms per species and cate-
gory of animal and may not be more than 50 % of the justified
expenditure on insurance premiums

Date of implementation: 1 January 2007

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The aid may
be granted up to 31 December 2007

Objective of aid:

The aid is in accordance with Article 12 of Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the appli-
cation of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small
and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agri-
cultural products and amending Regulation (EC) 70/2001 (1) —
Aid towards the payment of insurance premiums.

the expenditure on
The purpose of paying a proportion of
insurance premiums is to encourage agricultural producers to
insure themselves against potential losses due to natural hazards
or adverse weather conditions, as well as losses due to disease in

Website address:

http://www.uradni-list.si/1/ulonline.jsp?urlid=2006138&-
dhid=86719

Other information: —

(1) OJ L 358, 16.12.2006, p. 3.

XA Number: XA 24/07

Member State: Finland

Region: Regions affected by adverse weather conditions in
2006

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an indi-
vidual aid: Aid to agricultural enterprises affected by adverse
weather conditions in 2006

Legal basis:

Laki satovahinkojen korvaamisesta (1214/2000)

Valtioneuvoston
(270/2003)

asetus

satovahinkojen

korvaamisesta

Maa- ja metsätalousministeriön asetus satovahinkojen korvaami-
sesta (364/2003)

19.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 165/7

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall
amount of individual aid granted to the company: In 2006
the annual expenditure planned for culture-specific crop failure
compensation is EUR 4,75 million

Aid number: XA 25/07

Member State: France

Maximum Aid intensity: Compensation is paid under Article
2(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 only if at least one-third
of a given farmer's harvest of each eligible crop is destroyed.
The compensation is limited to 90 % of the losses exceeding the
farmer's own contribution i.e. 30 % of the volume of the stand-
ard harvest. Also for each individual crop eligible for aid, the
farmer's own contribution is at least 30 % of total losses. In
comparing harvest levels the standard harvest is the average
harvest of the five years preceding the year in which the losses
took place, excluding the highest and lowest entry relative to
the other harvest years. The value of the loss is then calculated
individually for each farmer on the basis of this background
information. The method of calculation therefore complies with
Article 11(2) and (4) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.

The value of the harvest to be compensated is calculated on the
basis of the market prices for previous harvest years and the
market price for the year in which the losses took place; the
latter market price is set by the advisory committee for harvest
losses on the basis of available market price information.

Region:

local/regional authorities

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving indivi-
dual aid: Programme for setting up and developing local initia-
tives

Legal basis:

— Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (1)

— Commission Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006 (2)

— Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006, Article 15

— Articles R 343-34 et seq of the Rural Code

The maximum amount of loss eligible for aid must be reduced
by any amount received under insurance schemes and any other
costs and losses than those resulting from the adverse weather
conditions

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall
amount of
EUR 7 000 000

individual aid granted to the company:

Date of implementation: The aid scheme will not enter into
force before 28 March 2007. The first possible payment date is
5 April 2007

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: The aid is paid
for damages occurring in 2006

Objective of aid: Aid to agricultural and horticultural enter-
prises affected by adverse weather conditions (Article 11 of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006)

Sectors(s) concerned: The total area covered by the aid
scheme is 63 000 ha. A total of 32 different crops have been
damaged. The farmer's own contribution towards the damages
caused to the harvest and the value thereof is at least 30 %

Name and address of the granting authority:

Maa- ja metsätalousministeriö
PL 30
FIN-00023 Valtioneuvosto

Maximum aid intensity:

— Technical/economic support for young farmers: up to 80 % of
expenditure incurred subject to a limit of EUR 1 500 a year
per farmer, all financing taken together (State and local/
regional authorities), aid being possible during the first five
years of setting up.

— Defrayment of diagnosis costs: up to 80 % of expenditure
incurred subject to a limit of EUR 1 500, all financing taken
together (State and local/regional authorities).

— Aid for training: EUR 60 a day, may be granted by the State
for 100 days and supplemented by the same amount from a
local/regional authority, up to the limit of expenditure
incurred.

— Payment

for

the course on increasing professionalism: corre-
sponding to the hourly amount set for vocational training
(the minimum monthly rate set by the Employment Code is
EUR 652,02 as at 1 December 2006).

Internet address: www.mmm.fi, www.finlex.fi

— Promotion and communication measures: 100 % intensity rate

Other information: —

Date of implementation: In 2007, from when this exemption
sheet appears in the Official Journal of the European Union

Duration of scheme or individual aid: until December 2013

C 165/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.7.2007

Objective of aid:

I. Aid for advice

Young farmers setting up are of diverse origin. Among them,
young people not from a farming background, those setting up
on a holding away from their family, and farmers' children
whose holding does not enable them to set up under satisfac-
tory economic conditions have more difficulty in achieving a
is therefore necessary to implement
It
professional project.
measures in favour of this specific target group.

Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 concerns in par-
ticular covering part of the costs of technical support provided
by an agricultural organisation or a producer group (experts' or
advisers' fees).

This aid will be granted to young farmers during the first five
years of setting up and can be financed by the State and local/
regional authorities.

— Technical/economic support for young farmers: In order to
ensure the viability of setting up, the professionalism of
young farmers in carrying out their personal projects should
be reinforced. This can take the form of technical/economic
monitoring. This provision is intended particularly for inno-
vative projects, projects to establish holdings, projects based
on diversification or involving major modernisation.

Where setting up is being done in the form of a company,
the monitoring may include a module on work organisation
and professional relations.

— Defrayment of diagnosis costs: The aid may relate to diag-
nosis in respect of the holding to be given up or taken over,
or a market study for specific types of production or
production for direct sale (organic, for example).

The aid is paid to the service provider under Article 15 of
Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 once the relevant adminis-
trative authority has established that setting up has taken
place or when, after setting up, the young farmer redirects
production.

Diagnosis is also necessary to facilitate the process of
transfer and setting up; where appropriate, the result of the
diagnosis accompanies entry of the transferor in the depar-
ture/setting up list if the diagnosis is requested by the trans-
feror. In that case, the transferor receives the aid.

II. Aid for training

Aid for training may be financed by the State and local/regional
authorities either with a view to preparing for setting up or
after
initial
training.
It concerns helping the young person to follow a
training course.

setting up to supplement

the young farmer's

— Aid for training is granted to young people who set up and
who need to follow supplementary training appropriate to
their project, or who undertake to progressively obtain a
level IV qualification (in accordance with the provisions of
the human resources development project). The purpose of
the aid is to enable the recipient to be replaced on the
holding in order to follow further training for five years, or
three years in the case of acquiring the professional skill to
qualify for setting up aid.

— Payment

for the course on increasing a young person's
professionalism is the aid provided for in respect of a period
spent being mentored by a farmer who plans to give up
farming.

A young person is considered to be a disadvantaged worker
within the meaning of Article 2(f) of Regulation (EC)
No 2204/2002 (3)
in the absence of
in the sense that,
mentoring, that young farmer, particularly if not from a
farming background,
‘has difficulty entering the labour
market without assistance’ (cf. Article 2(f) of Regulation (EC)
No 2204/2002).

The aid is intended to provide a young person, considered to
be a disadvantaged worker within the meaning of Article 2
(f) of Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002, with technical and
economic advice and with general training on running a
holding, in order to sustain employment in a viable enter-
prise which could be split up if nobody took it over. The
mentor is thus provided with an incentive to transfer the
holding to the young person.

The aid is paid by the State or the local/regional authority to
the young person undergoing training for 3-12 months.
That period may be extended if necessary in order
to
complete the young person's training. During the mentoring
period, the young person's status is that of a vocational
trainee.

This measure may also be implemented for the benefit of a
young person who wishes to be mentored by an associate
farmer with a view to integrating an existing agricultural
company.

The training course and its progress will be monitored by
the CFPPA (agricultural vocational training and promotion
the ADASEA (departmental association for
centre) or
improving the structure of agricultural holdings)
in the
department where the holding is based and/or by an
approved regional centre. The mentoring training course
may count for the total duration of
the professionalism
course which the young person must complete before
setting up.

19.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 165/9

III. Promotion and communication measures

Professional agricultural organisations, the ADASEAs or other
structures undertake work with education and training establish-
ment students (young people from vocational secondary schools
or elsewhere) in the form of studies, communication measures
(brochures, press articles, talks at schools, information points on
setting up and transfer, etc.), promotion measures centred on
the occupation of farmer.

The above-mentioned organisations also carry out expert evalua-
tion work in the form of pinpointing holdings which will
become vacant over the coming years and they play an advisory
role by organising, in rural municipalities, meetings to inform
and raise awareness among older farmers so as to encourage
them to choose to transfer to young people who are looking for
a holding to take over. An observatory may group together at
regional
level the monitoring of these expert evaluation and
advisory operations.

In order to fulfil these tasks successfully, subject to the condi-
tions of Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 the State
contributes towards financing them. To that end, an annual
budget is divided among the regions.

There may be an additional financial contribution from local/
regional authorities in order to successfully implement specific
measures.

These measures are implemented within the framework of
departmental or regional agreements under prefects' authority
and are paid for on receipt of an annual report on the work
carried out

Title of Aid scheme or name of company receiving an indi-
vidual aid: Wales Catchment Sensitive Farming Project

Legal basis: Agriculture Act 1986 (Section 1(1)(C)) to be read
in conjunction with Government of Wales Act 1998 (Sections
40 and 85)

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

Planned annual expenditure (GBP'000)

2007: GBP 422,700

2008: GBP 50,000

Total: GBP 472,700

Maximum aid intensity:

The scheme consists of two measures

1 Technical support 100 %

2 Investment Grants connected to the improvement of

the

environment 60 %

Date of implementation: The scheme will start on 1 April
2007

Duration of scheme or individual aid award:

The scheme will begin on 1 April 2007.

It will close on the 31 December 2007.

Sector(s) concerned: all agriculture

The last payment will be made 31 March 2008

Name and address of the granting authority:

Objective of aid: Enviromental protection

Ministère de l'agriculture et de la pêche
78, rue de Varenne
F-75349 Paris 07 SP

Establish and run a project to promote catchment sensitive
farming to safeguard the water environment. The project will be
run in two areas covering 80 farms.

setting up and developing local

Web address: www.agriculture.gouv.fr (Once the programme
for
initiatives has been
approved, a factsheet will be made available online providing
information specifically on setting up in agriculture.)

It includes consultancy to identify potential pollution hazards
and mitigation requirements. Such aid will be granted in line
with Article 15 of Regulation 1857/2006 and the eligible
expenses will be consultancy services.

Other information: Continuation of
the measures already
approved under the previous programme for setting up and
developing local initiatives (scheme N 184/03 approved by the
Commission on 9.7.2003)

Grants will also be paid for eligible capital works that enhance
the water environment. Such aid will be granted in line with
Article 4 of Regulation 1857/2006 and the eligible expenses
will be for:

(1) OJ L 277, 21.10.2005, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 368, 23.12.2006, p. 15.
(3) OJ L 337, 13.12.2002, p. 3.

XA Number: XA 27/07

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: Wales

— the construction, acquisition or improvement of immovable

property and

— the purchase or lease-purchase of new machinery and equip-
ment, including computer software up to the market value
of the asset; other costs connected with a leasing contract
(Tax,
interest refinancing costs, overheads,
insurance charges, wtc.) are not eligible expenditure.

lessor's margin,

The above items will only constitute eligible expenditure where
they will significantly mitigate pollution risks. Expenditure on
second hand machinery is not eligible

C 165/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.7.2007

The wider project also includes water quality monitoring, catch-
ment modelling, and assessment of farmer attitudes, uptake of
measures and evaluation of project effectiveness

Sector(s) concerned: The scheme applies to production of
agricultural products. The scheme seeks to mitigate the effects
of agricultural production on the water environment and aid
will be available to all viable agricultural holdings within the
two project areas irrespective of enterprise type. One area is an
upland livestock farming area (mainly beef and sheep). The
other is in a lowland area where dairying and livestock (beef
and sheep) predominate

Name and address of the granting authority:

Welsh Assembly Government
Cathays Park (CP2)
Cardiff CF10 3NQ
United Kingdom

Contact: M P Samuel (Room 1-097)

The statutory body responsible for the scheme is: —

The organisation operating the scheme is: —

Web-Address:

http://new.wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40371/403823112/4038213/
1304878/CSF-agristateaid?lang=en

Alternatively details can be found on the Defra website.

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

Other information:

Further and more detailed information relating to eligibility and
rules for the scheme can be found in the web links above

An application to fund part of the project using Objective
1 funds has been made under Objective 1 Priority 5
Measure 7

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

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