Communication from the Commission Approval of the content of a draft Commission Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards its period of application and the maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid 2022/C 175/01
Date: 2022-04-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: State aid, aid to undertakings, aquaculture, control of State aid, financial aid, fishing industry




C_2022175EN.01000101.xml










29.4.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 175/1






COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
Approval of the content of a draft Commission Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards its period of application and the maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid
(2022/C 175/01)
The Commission has approved, on 17 December 2021, the content of a draft for a Commission Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards its period of application and the maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid.
The draft for a Commission Regulation is attached as an Annex to this Communication. It will be opened for public consultation in January 2022 at:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/open.html




ANNEX


DRAFT COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…
of …


amending Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards its period of application and the maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 108(4) thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1588 of 13 July 2015 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of horizontal State aid (1), and in particular Article 2(1) thereof,
After consulting the Advisory Committee on State Aid,
Whereas:






(1)


On 29 April 2019, the Commission launched an evaluation of the performance of the sectoral instruments applicable to State aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector since their adoption in 2014-2015, including Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014, with a view to amending or repealing them for the period 2023-2027. The preliminary results of that evaluation have shown that Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 remains a relevant, efficient and effective tool, particularly to allow Member States to quickly address short-term negative impacts resulting from unexpected events that could endanger the economic performance of viable operators and jeopardise jobs (2). However, Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 should remain coherent and consistent with other rules relevant for the assessment of State aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector, in particular with Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).










(2)


Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/2008 (4) extended the period of application of Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 until 31 December 2022 to ensure that the Member States could continue granting small amounts of aid pending the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139.










(3)


The maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid granted per Member State to undertakings active in the fishery and aquaculture sector over any period of three fiscal years referred to in Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 should be updated with more recent sectoral data. In particular, the maximum cumulative amounts should be based on a three-year average of the annual turnover of catching, processing and aquaculture activities in each Member State, obtained by excluding the highest and lowest entries across a five-year period, i.e. 2014-2018.










(4)


To ensure that the Member States may continue granting small amounts of aid in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 717/2014, and in order to ensure continuity and legal certainty, it is appropriate to make a number of adjustments to Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as listed in Article 1 of the present act, to reflect the legal and economic developments in the fishery and aquaculture sector and to extend its period of application until 31 December 2027.










(5)


Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly,




HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1
Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 is amended as follows:






(1)


in Article 1(1), point (h) is replaced by the following:






‘(h)


aid to the temporary or permanent cessation of fishing activities unless specifically provided for in Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1);





(*1)  Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 (OJ L 247, 13.7.2021, p. 1).’;"
                        










(2)


in Article 8, the second paragraph is replaced by the following:
‘It shall apply until 31 December 2027.’;










(3)


the Annex is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.






Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.


This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, …


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN






(*1)  Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 (OJ L 247, 13.7.2021, p. 1).’;’


(1)  OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 1.

(2)  [PENDING]

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 (OJ L 247, 13.7.2021, p. 1).

(4)  Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/2008 of 8 December 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 702/2014, (EU) No 717/2014 and (EU) No 1388/2014, as regards their period of application and other relevant adjustments (OJ L 414, 9.12.2020, p. 15).





ANNEX I
National cap as referred to in Article 3(3)






(EUR)




Member State


Maximum cumulative amount of de minimis aid granted per Member State in the fishery and aquaculture sector (1)





Belgium


24 540 750 




Bulgaria


2 172 884 




Czechia


3 842 769 




Denmark


81 833 109 




Germany


77 196 702 




Estonia


4 243 567 




Ireland


26 601 846 




Greece


28 923 364 




Spain


217 119 657 




France


181 019 480 




Croatia


8 681 955 




Italy


118 166 895 




Cyprus


998 928 




Latvia


5 513 209 




Lithuania


16 035 859 




Luxembourg


0 




Hungary


1 259 151 




Malta


3 474 898 




Netherlands


37 118 541 




Austria


2 986 023 




Poland


72 434 934 




Portugal


43 197 046 




Romania


4 237 681 




Slovenia


540 764 




Slovakia


2 071 578 




Finland


12 384 203 




Sweden


20 537 179 




United Kingdom as regards Northern Ireland


4 377 695 






(1)  The maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid are based on a three-year average of the annual turnover of catching, processing and aquaculture activities in each Member State, obtained by excluding the highest and lowest entries across a five-year period, i.e. 2014-2018.’