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 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: 2011-03-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, Germany, State aid, agricultural holding, aid to agriculture, animal disease, livestock farming, primary sector








C_2011093EN.01000701.xml










25.3.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 93/7





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 Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001
2011/C 93/06
Aid No: XA 143/10
Member State: France
Region: département de l’Ain
Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: aides en faveur du remplacement des agriculteurs (Ain)
Legal basis: articles L 1511-2, L 3231-2 et 3232-1 du code général des collectivités territoriales; délibération du Conseil général de l’Ain.
Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 35 000
Maximum aid intensity: 50 %
Date of implementation: From the date when the identification number of the exemption request is published on the website of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2013 at the latest
Objective of aid: The measure is covered by Article 15 (‘Provision of technical support in the agricultural sector’) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.
The General Council, through this plan encouraging setting up replacement services, would like to make the agricultural profession more attractive for young people in particular and also to help sustain paid jobs in agriculture.
Restructuring farms has made the development of agricultural jobs a reality. In 2007, there were 1 147 permanent employees and 10 different replacement services in the district. The department’s support aims to encourage the agricultural profession to share existing relief services in order to cover all needs geographically and for all sectors. The General Confederation of Agriculture will set up a job centre and a departmental employers group. This initiative will bring together the Cooperatives for the Use of Agricultural Equipment and the associations already using farm relief services.
Aid will be granted in the department subject to the following conditions:
it will be determined on the basis of the real costs of replacing the farmer or associate or partner or agricultural worker due to sickness or annual leave
the aid will be granted in the form of subsidised services and will not involve direct payments to producers
all farmers eligible in the department will be able to apply (the applicant will not be required to be a member of a group or organisation)
any contribution towards the administrative costs of the group or organisation concerned must be limited to the costs of providing the replacement service.
Furthermore, aid will be paid exclusively to:
farms whose size does not exceed that of an SME as defined in Community law (cf. Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008)
farms active in the primary production of agricultural products,
farms that are not enterprises in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (OJ C 244, 1.10.2004).
Sector(s) concerned: All farms in the Department of Ain (SMEs)
Name and address of the granting authority: 





Monsieur le président du Conseil général de l’Ain




Direction de l’aménagement du territoire et de l’économie




45 avenue Alsace-Lorraine




01000 Bourg en Bresse




FRANCE




Website: http://www.ain.fr/jcms/int_81440/texte-du-regime-g-ain-bue-remplacem-modif-flc
Other information: —
Aid No: XA 144/10
Member State: France
Region: département de l’Ain
Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: aides en appui technique aux coopératives d’utilisation de matériels en commun (CUMA) (Ain).
Legal basis: articles L. 1511-2, L. 3231-2 et 3232-1 du code général des collectivités territoriales, délibération du Conseil général de l’Ain.
Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 5 000
Maximum aid intensity: 50 %
Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the identification number of the exemption request on the website of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2013 at the latest
Objective of aid: The measure falls within the scope of Article 15 (‘Provision of technical support in the agricultural sector’) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.
This programme is aimed solely at part-financing the technical support and consultancy services which the Department intends to provide for the 206 CUMAs (cooperatives for the use of agricultural equipment) in the Department of Ain, in order to improve the management of individual member farms.
In a difficult agricultural market, it makes sense for farms to rationalise the use of agricultural equipment and pool human resources in order to better manage their investments in equipment and to streamline their operations.
The technical support and consultancy services will be focused on:
legal and technical support, e.g. compliance with CUMA regulations,
technical advice about equipment, e.g. technical advice about using GPS technology in agriculture, acquiring new tractors, switching to simplified cultivation techniques or direct sowing, environmentally-friendly crop-spraying, etc.,
discussion forums on subjects such as communal harvesting (if this is appropriate to the activities of the CUMA members), organising training for CUMA administrators and employees.
In accordance with Article 15(3) of the agricultural exemption Regulation, the aid will be granted in kind by means of subsidised services and will not involve any direct payments to the CUMAs.
For training programmes, the eligible expenditure will be:
costs of organising the training programme,
travel expenses of participants.
For consultancy services, eligible expenditure will be the fees for providing these services. No aid will be granted for consultancy services which constitute a continuous or periodic activity or which are covered by normal operating expenditure.
The proposed aid will be paid exclusively to:
farms whose size does not exceed that of an SME as defined in Community law (cf. Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008),
farms active in the primary production of agricultural products,
farms that are not enterprises in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (OJ C 244, 1.10.2004).
Sector(s) concerned: All CUMAs in the Department
Name and address of the granting authority: 





Monsieur le président du Conseil général de l’Ain




Direction de l’aménagement du territoire et de l’économie




45 avenue Alsace-Lorraine




01000 Bourg en Bresse




FRANCE




Website: http://www.ain.fr/upload/docs/application/msword/2010-07/g_ain_bue_cuma.doc
Other information: —
Aid No: XA 156/10
Member State: France
Region: département de la Moselle
Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: aides aux investissements pour le développement de l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables, des bioénergies et des économies d'énergies dans le secteur agricole.
Legal basis: Articles L 1511-2 et L 1511-5 du code général des collectivités territoriales
Projet de délibération du Conseil général de la Moselle
Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Maximum of EUR 270 000, according to need and depending on the budgetary means available
Maximum aid intensity: The amount of aid should not exceed the maximum aid intensity allowed, i.e. 40 % of eligible investment and 50 % in less favoured regions (and a further 10 % for young farmers).
Date of implementation: From the date of publication of the identification number of the request for exemption on the website of the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and subject to the corresponding funds being available
Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Three years from the date of acknowledgement of receipt by the Commission (subject to the corresponding funds being available)
Objective of aid: This aid is covered by Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006 and all the rules set out therein will be complied with.
The aim is to replace non-renewable energy sources with renewable energy and bioenergy production systems and to develop holdings’ energy performance to ensure the normal running of the holding while limiting the production of greenhouse gases, without selling the energy produced. The energy produced will be used by the holdings for their agricultural production.
Investment in the areas listed below, which will help to improve quality and preserve and improve the natural environment, will be eligible:
Exemplary projects with a positive impact on the environment and which contribute significantly to combating greenhouse gases (maximum aid: EUR 20 000);






(a)


heat recuperator on the milk tank for hot water production;










(b)


milk pre-cooler;










(c)


milking-machine vacuum pump and related energy-saving equipment.










(a)


‘air to ground’ or ‘Canadian well’;










(b)


‘air to air’ or ‘double stream’ VMC.




However, the work may be carried out by the applicant, but in this case only the cost of materials and equipment are taken into consideration when calculating the aid basis.
Furthermore, aid will be paid exclusively to:
farms whose size does not exceed that of an SME as defined in Community law (cf. Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008, OJ L 214, 9.8.2008),
farms that are enterprises active in the primary production of agricultural products,
and agricultural holdings that are not enterprises in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (OJ C 244, 1.10.2004).
Sector(s) concerned: All agricultural holdings operating within the Department of Moselle
Name and address of the granting authority: 





Monsieur le président du Conseil général de la Moselle




Direction de l'environnement et de l'aménagement du territoire




Division de l'environnement et de l'espace rural (SAEN)




Hôtel du département




1 rue du Pont Moreau




BP 11096




57036 Metz Cedex 1




FRANCE




Website: http://www.cg57.fr/SiteCollectionDocuments/LaMoselleEtVous/Agriculture/FichesUE/developpement_utilisation_energies_renouvelables.pdf
Other information: The level of aid may, where necessary, be reduced to the amount contributed by other public financial backers.
Aid will be restricted to farmers who have not benefited from similar aid in the previous five years, with the exception of those in respect of whom previous cases have been cleared.
Aid No: XA 168/10
Member State: France
Region: département des Hautes-Pyrénées
Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: aides du département des Hautes-Pyrénées en faveur de la lutte contre les maladies des animaux.
Legal basis: Articles L 1511 et suivants du code général des collectivités territoriales
Délibération du Conseil général des Hautes-Pyrénées
Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 142 000
Maximum aid intensity: 100 %, in compliance with the limits set in Article 10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006
Date of implementation: As from the publication of the identification number of the request for exemption on the website of the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2013
Objective of aid: The aid falls under Article 10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006. The purpose is to safeguard public health by improving the health quality of animal herds, in line with the French State's epidemiological surveillance missions and animal disease prevention plans.
In this particular department, Hautes-Pyrénées, which has a mountainous area, the summer migration of flocks requires them to be given specific health protection. This will be done by the Conseil général assuming part of the following costs:
sampling and tests that are part of bovine, ovine and caprine brucellosis screening, as well as for bovine leukosis, with particular attention being paid to migrant herds (10-50 % of the costs of sampling and tests),
tests that are part of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) screening when animals are introduced (100 % of the test costs),
genotyping of rams for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) or scrapie, so that susceptible rams can be culled (100 % of the costs of genotyping),
vaccination against equine influenza for animals taking part in events (100 % of the veterinary costs).
These actions will be strictly limited to animal diseases listed in the Council Decision of 25 May 2009 on expenditure in the veterinary field (which replaced Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990).
No aid will be paid to the farmers themselves. They will benefit from the abovementioned services subsidised by the Conseil général. These services will be provided by veterinarians, test laboratories and the Groupement de Défense sanitaire.
The following must be deducted from the maximum amount of costs eligible for aid:
any sums received under insurance schemes, and
costs not incurred as a result of disease, that would have been incurred in other circumstances.
Aid will be paid exclusively to:
farms whose size does not exceed that of an SME as defined in Community Law (cf. Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008, OJ L 214, 9.8.2008);
farms that are enterprises active in the primary production of agricultural products,
farms that are not enterprises in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for the rescue and restructuring of companies in difficulty (OJ C 244, 1.10.2004).
Sector(s) concerned: Bovine, ovine, caprine and equine holdings
Name and address of the granting authority: 





Conseil général des Hautes-Pyrénées




6 rue Gaston Manent




65000 Tarbes




FRANCE




Website: CG65 — Aides agricoles
Other information: —
Aid No: SA.32128 (2010/XA)
Member State: Federal Republic of Germany
Region: Brandenburg
Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: Gewährung von Beihilfen und sonstigen Leistungen durch die Tierseuchenkasse des Landes Brandenburg nach Artikel 10 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1857/2006
Legal basis: § 71 Tierseuchengesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
§ 8 des Gesetz zur Ausführung des Tierseuchengesetzes des Landes Brandenburg (AGTierSGBbg)
Erlass des Ministeriums für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz zur Gewährung von Beihilfen für Maßnahmen zur Tierseuchenverhütung und -bekämpfung sowie zur Verbesserung der Tiergesundheit
Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Total annual aid amounting to EUR 4,2 million. This amount will be financed from federal state resources and from contributions paid by livestock owners to the Tierseuchenkasse (animal diseases fund) as a parafiscal charge, in accordance with Commission Decision NN 23/97 of 31 October 2000 approving the aid.
Maximum aid intensity: Up to 100 %
Date of implementation: From 1 January 2011
Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2013
Objective of aid: Article 10(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006:
aid to combat animal diseases,
aid to compensate for livestock losses resulting from infectious diseases,
aid for measures to prevent, detect and combat animal diseases,
aid in the form of payment of the costs of laboratory tests to detect animal diseases.
Sector(s) concerned: Agriculture/livestock farming
Name and address of the granting authority: 





Landesamt für Umwelt




Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz




Tierseuchenkasse Brandenburg




Groß Gaglow




Am Seegraben 18




03051 Cottbus




DEUTSCHLAND




E-mail: info@tsk-BB.de




Website: 






—


Tierseuchengesetz
http://www.bgblportal.de/BGBL/bgbl1f/bgbl104s1260.pdf










—


Ausführungsgesetz zum Tierseuchengesetz des Landes Brandenburg (AGTierSGBbg)
http://www.bravors.brandenburg.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=land_bb_bravors_01.c.23595.de










—


Erlass des Ministeriums für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz zur Gewährung von Beihilfen für Maßnahmen zur Tierseuchenverhütung und -bekämpfung sowie zur Verbesserung der Tiergesundheit (Veröffentlichung im Amtsblatt des Landes Brandenburg)
http://www.mugv.brandenburg.de/v/lbsvet/TEILA/A1_2_2_1.PDF




Other information: —