52004XC0106(01)

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment

(2004/C 1/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XE 5/03

Member State: Italy

Region: Calabria

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: State aid for employment

Legal basis: Decisione CE dell'8 agosto 2000 n. C(2000) 2345, recante approvazione del Programma Operativo (POR) Calabria.

Delibera Giunta Regionale 26 febbraio 2002, n. 156. L'articolo 6 sotto la rubrica "norme finali" al secondo comma stabilisce che "L'avvio dell'azione di incentivazione è subordinata all'approvazione del regime di aiuti all'occupazione della Regione Calabria da parte della Commissione Europea".

Progetto di legge collegato alla manovra di finanza regionale per l'anno 2003, articolo 4, commi 3 e 4

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: 2003: EUR 9600000;

2004: EUR 29980667;

2005: EUR 29980667;

2006: EUR 29980667.

In order to be eligible programmes must be integrated, functional investment programmes costing no more than EUR 50000 net of VAT. Applicants may qualify for grants of up to 50 % of the eligible investment, and low-interest loans for the remainder, the loans being repayable in no more than five years. In the case of applicants aged less than 29, or 32 in the case of university graduates, the 50 % ceiling is raised by 10 percentage points

Maximum aid intensity: Article 4: job creation. The net intensity of the aid does not exceed the ceiling for regional investment aid. That ceiling may be increased by 15 percentage points gross because the Region of Calabria is covered by Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty. In any event the overall intensity of the aid will not exceed 75 %, and recipients must contribute no less than 25 % of the investment out of their own resources. Jobs created must remain within Calabria for at least five years

Date of implementation: It is intended that the scheme should be applicable, and aid be granted, from 1 July 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: Article 4: job creation. To finance initiatives aimed at boosting employment and the development of micro-enterprises among young people and women, by granting economic incentives for new business, professional and self-employed activities

Economic sector(s) concerned: - production of goods,

- provision of services,

- distributive trades.

Initiatives do not qualify if they are within industries excluded or suspended by the Inter-ministerial Committee on Economic Programming (CIPE) or the Community rules, or if they relate to activities outside the scope of the de minimis rule for State aid

Name and address of the granting authority: Regione Calabria - Dipartimento Politiche del Lavoro Via Lucrezia della Valle, s.n.c., I - 88100 Catanzaro Dirigente Generale: dott. Aldo Lagonia Telephone: 0961 85 84 64, 0961 85 84 62 Fax: 0961 85 84 65 E-mail: a.lagonia@regcal.it

Other information: The aid scheme established by Regional Executive Order (DGR) No 156 of 26 February 2002 is co-financed under measure No 3.11, for the development and consolidation of entrepreneurship with priority for the new employment areas, which forms part of operation (azione) (b) of strand (asso) III, human resources under the programme supplementary to the Calabria Regional Operative Programme 2000 to 2006, and under measure No 3.13, for the promotion of participation by women in the labour market, which forms part of operation (azione) (d) of the same strand; these measures are intended to encourage self-employed work and new business start-ups by unemployed people and workers employed in LSU/LPU job creation schemes, and to promote access and participation by women in the labour market.

The employment aid scheme relates to the following measures under the Calabria Regional Operative Programme: 3.2; 3.3; 3.4; 3.9; 3.11 and 3.13.

The exempting regulation runs until 31 December 2006, and is to be extended for a transitional period of six months