Summary information on State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1595/2004 of 8 September 2004 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

(2006/C 40/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XF 4/2005

Member State: Italy

Title of aid scheme: Programming Agreement drawn up between the Veneto regional administration and Veneto regional trade groups within the fishing industry (Federcoopesca, Lega pesca and AGCI)

Legal basis: Normative di riferimento: Legge n. 41 del 17.2.82 — VIo Piano Triennale della Pesca e dell'Acquacoltura 2000-2002, approvato con Decreto Ministeriale 25 maggio 2000 (GU del 27 luglio 2000, n. 174)

Expenditure (overall amount and per year): The overall funding required to implement the Programming Agreement totals EUR 1 113 606. This was allocated to the regional budget under expenditure heading 100038, expenditure for activities provided for under the Sixth Three-year Plan for Fisheries and Aquaculture 2000-03 under Law of 17 February 1982, in accordance with the Decreti Ministeriali29 December 2000 and 1 August 2002 (for 2000 and 2001).

Given that the aid scheme runs for two years, the yearly amount is EUR 556 803.

Intensity of aid: The percentage of aid granted to the regional recipient groups within Federcoopesca, Lega pesca and AGCI Pesca for the measures set out in the Programming Agreement is set at 100 % of the eligible expenditure incurred by groups to carry out schemes of common interest whose results are published.

Date of implementation: Implementation will commence on the date the aid scheme is published in the Official Journal of the European Union

Duration of scheme: two years

Objectives of aid:

The above-mentioned objectives are in line with those recently set by the EU in its policy on fisheries and aquaculture.

Eligible costs covered by the scheme: The measures are based on the type of aid listed in Regulation (EC) No 1595/2004, Article 4, (Aid for producer groups or associations or members of the trade).

Eligible costs that the scheme was calculated on are based on the provisions in Regulations (EC) Nos 2792/99, 1685/2000 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 448/2004) and 438/2001.

The provision of technical/economic assistance and consultancy services for technical and IT management is therefore in keeping with Commission Decision 2001/C/19/05, paragraphs 2.1.1 and 2.1.2.

The planned budget for carrying out these measures does not exceed what is strictly needed in order to achieve the objectives.

Aid for technical and economic training of fishery personnel, aid for disseminating new techniques and for technical/economic assistance are exclusively aimed at raising awareness amongst fishery trade groups on issues relating to sustainable management and conservation of fishery resources for a significant and positive impact on the environment.

Support for individual enterprises is eligible, although these may only be granted compensation for expenses incurred in connection with carrying out planned measures.

Information on aid scheme and explanatory remarks: Programming Agreement drawn up between the Veneto regional administration and Veneto regional fishing industry trade groups within Federcoopesca, Lega pesca and AGCI.

The legal basis for implementing this agreement at regional level is Law No 41 of 17 February 1982 and the Sixth Three-year Plan for Fisheries and Aquaculture 2000-02, approved by Decreto Ministeriale of 25 May 2000 (Italian State Gazette No 174 of 27 July 2000). The Agreement is funded by resources allocated by central government to the Veneto (Decreti Ministeriali of 29 December 2000 and 1 August 2002).

The measures contained in the Programming Agreement are in line with Regulation (EC) No 2792/99, Article 15(2) — Operations by members of the trade. This paragraph stipulates that ‘the Member States may encourage short-term operations of collective interest with a broader scope than operations normally undertaken by private businesses, carried out with the active contribution of members of the trade themselves or carried out by organisations acting on behalf of the producers or by other organisations having been recognised by the management authority, and serving to attain the objectives of the common fisheries policy’.

The aid covers the provisions contained in Law No 41/82 and in subsequent three-year plans for Fisheries and Aquaculture, which give trade groups the role of implementing Programming Agreements that target the following objectives:

to obtain the best return from regional fishery products;

to safeguard and foster employment;

to protect natural resources in coastal areas.

The Programming Agreements approved by national legislation as detailed above are also implemented at regional level given the following considerations:

the special historic and social value of trade groups in the fisheries sector in Veneto, both as representative of the overall business fabric of the Region and in terms of economic importance;

the need to strengthen the role of associations to steer and manage business restructuring, in light of the priorities set in the Sixth Three-year Plan for Fisheries;

the need to assign to these associations a range of practical tasks covering production services (marketing, publishing, development assistance) to support all commercial fishermen, until the proper authorised centres for assistance — similar to the well-established system of agricultural services — have been set up.

Recipient groups must provide their competent regional technical office with the following information by the deadline set in the Programming Agreement:

annual business plans, for scrutiny and approval by the regional authorities, together with statements concerning effective operational capacity;

biannual technical progress reports on the approved Programming Agreement (costs incurred, intermediate results and any other information relevant to the biannual audit of work carried out);

final technical reports (and corresponding statements of accounts) no later than 15 days after the annual programme ends, as provided for in the Programming Agreement, along with supporting documents (duly paid invoices and a copy of bank statements recording these transactions).

Competent regional authority:

Telephone No (Segreteria dell'Unità Complessa Politiche Faunistico-Venatorie e della Pesca):

Lead manager:

Lead official: