Summary information communicated by Member States on State aid granted in conformity with Commission Regulation (EC) No 736/2008 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 fisheries products

2012/C 402/08

Aid No: SA.28105 (XF 6/09)

Member State: Spain

Region/authority granting the aid: Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla y León (NUTS 2 ES41)

Title of aid scheme/name of company receiving ad hoc aid: Líneas de ayuda en materia de acuicultura y productos de la pesca dentro del ámbito de las subvenciones a la transformación y comercialización de los productos agrarios, silvícolas y de la alimentación en Castilla y León.

Legal basis: Orden por la que se convocan determinadas líneas de ayuda en materia de acuicultura y productos de la pesca dentro del ámbito de las subvenciones a la transformación y comercialización de los productos agrarios, silvícolas y de la alimentación en Castilla y León.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or amount of ad hoc aid granted: Annual expenditure planned under the scheme: EUR 15 000 000

Maximum aid intensity:

Date of entry into force:

Duration of the scheme or individual aid award (not later than 30 June 2014); indicate:

Objective of aid: Support for business investment in the following areas:

Indicate which of Article(s) 8 to 24 is used: Articles of Regulation (EC) No 736/2008 of 22 July 2008 used:

Activity concerned: Aid scheme to support business investment in both aquaculture and the processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Website: http://www.jcyl.es/AyudaEstado20072013

Motivation: Indicate why a State aid scheme has been established instead of assistance under the European Fisheries Fund:

Castile-Leon is a region that is eligible for aid under Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty which, despite not having a coastline, has traditionally been home to undertakings active in aquaculture production as well as those engaged in the processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products.

The importance of these activities makes the region a leader in inshore aquaculture production and means that its processing and marketing industry even exceeds the scale of some of the industries which are located in Spain's coastal regions.

In previous programme periods, such circumstances have meant that Castile-Leon had FIFG co-financing available to establish aid for aquaculture, and processing and marketing.

However, the possibilities of obtaining funding for aid for the period 2007-13 through the Operational Programme for the Spanish Fisheries Industry 2007-13 (European Fisheries Fund 2007-13) have been substantially reduced, to the point where Castile-Leon has decided to concentrate such limited resources on a single measure, i.e. measure 2.3 for processing and marketing.

Consequently, the Agriculture and Livestock Farming Department considers it appropriate to establish a State aid scheme that will support investment in aquaculture and, once the Operational Programme's limited resources have been exhausted, also in processing and marketing.

Aid No: SA.35649 (12/XF)

Member State: France

Authority granting the aid: Ministère de l'écologie, du développement durable et de l'énergie

Name of company receiving ad hoc aid: Aid paid to the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming (Comité régional des pêches maritimes et des élevages marins du Languedoc-Roussillon) with the aim of setting up silver eel release operations in the Rhône-Méditerranée Eel Management Unit and scientific monitoring of the progress and results of these operations.

Legal basis:

Amount of ad hoc aid granted: EUR 264 000 in 2012 and EUR 66 000 in 2013, giving a maximum overall amount of EUR 330 000

Maximum aid intensity: 98 %

Date of entry into force: 2012

Duration of individual aid award (planned date of final payment): The deadline for submitting the request for payment of the balance of the aid is 31 March 2014.

Objective of aid: Implementation of silver eel release measures pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007, and in particular the fifth indent of Article 2(8).

The purpose of this measure is to increase awareness of the contribution of the release of silver eels to attainment of the escapement target laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of European eel by improving knowledge of their migration patterns, in particular.

Relevant articles: Article 18: Aid for measures intended to protect and develop aquatic fauna and flora

Article 21: Aid for pilot projects

Activity concerned: Fisheries of Mediterranean waters, lagoons and rivers with the objective of releasing silver eels

Name and address of the granting authority:

Website where the conditions under which ad hoc aid is granted outside of an aid scheme can be found: http://agriculture.gouv.fr/europe-et-international

Motivation: The planned aid will allow the proposed action to be financed without using the EFF.

Recourse to EFF measure 3.2 (see Article 38 of the EFF Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006) could be problematical in view of the use already made of the corresponding budgetary allocation.

(1)  Aid granted prior to the Commission issuing an acknowledgement of receipt of this form are covered by the provisions of Article 26(1) of Regulation (EC) No 736/2008.