(1)

Regulation (EC) No 994/98 empowers the Commission to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that, under certain conditions, aid to small and medium-sized enterprises is compatible with the common market and not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (3) does not apply to activities linked to the production, processing or marketing of fishery and aquaculture products covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products (4).

(3)

The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty in numerous decisions to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products and has also stated its policy, most recently in the Guidelines for the examination of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture (5) (hereafter referred to as the ‘Fisheries Guidelines’). In the light of the Commission's considerable experience in applying those Articles to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products, it is appropriate, with a view to ensuring efficient supervision and simplifying administration without weakening Commission monitoring, that the Commission should make use of the powers conferred by Regulation (EC) No 994/98 also for small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products, insofar as Article 89 of the Treaty has been declared applicable to such products.

(4)

The compatibility of State aid in the fisheries sector is assessed by the Commission on the basis of the objectives of both the Competition Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

(5)

This Regulation should cover types of aid granted in the fisheries sector which have been routinely approved by the Commission for many years. This aid does not require a case by case assessment of its compatibility with the common market from the Commission, provided that it complies with the conditions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (6) and with certain other conditions. Although Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 has only been in force from 4 September 2006, the Commissions has gained on the basis of existing Fisheries Guidelines sufficient experience in applying similar conditions for the type of measures concerned in order to establish that the conditions of that Regulation are sufficiently accurate to justify not requiring case by cases assessment.

(6)

This Regulation should be without prejudice to the possibility for Member States of notifying aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products. Such notifications should be assessed by the Commission in the light of this Regulation and on the basis of the Fisheries Guidelines.

(7)

Aid that Member States intend to grant in the fisheries sector but which do not fall within the scope of this Regulation, or of other Regulations adopted pursuant to Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98, should remain subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty. Such aid will be assessed in the light of this Regulation and the Fisheries Guidelines.

(8)

This Regulation should exempt any aid that meets all the requirements it lays down, and any aid scheme, provided that any aid that could be granted under such scheme meets all the relevant requirements of this Regulation. Aid schemes and individual grants outside any aid scheme should contain an express reference to this Regulation.

(9)

In the interests of coherence with Community-financed support measures, the ceilings of aid covered by this Regulation should be equal to those fixed for the same kind of aid in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(10)

It is essential that no aid is granted in circumstances where Community law, and in particular rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, are not complied with. An aid can therefore only be granted by a Member State in the fisheries sector if the measures financed and their effects comply with Community law. Before granting any aid, Member States should ensure that beneficiaries of State aid comply with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.

(11)

With a view to ensuring that aid is proportionate and limited to the amount necessary, thresholds should, whenever possible, be expressed in terms of aid intensities in relation to a set of eligible costs. For the purpose of calculating aid intensities, aid payable in several instalments should be discounted to its value at the moment of granting. The interest rate to be used for discounting purposes and for calculating the aid amount in aid not taking the form of a grant, should be the reference rate applicable at the time of grant. Because it is based on a form of aid for which eligible costs are difficult to identify, the threshold with regard to aid in the form of risk capital should be formulated in terms of maximum aid amounts.

(12)

In view of the need to strike the appropriate balance between minimising distortions of competition in the aided sector and the objectives of this Regulation, it should not exempt individual grants which exceed a fixed maximum amount, whether or not made under an aid scheme exempted by this Regulation.

(13)

This Regulation should not apply to export-related activities or aid favouring domestic over imported products. In particular, it should not apply to aid financing the establishment and operation of a distribution network in other countries. Aid towards the cost of participating in trade fairs, or of studies or consultancy services needed for the launch of a new or existing product on a new market does not normally constitute export aid.

(14)

Aid granted to undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (7) should be assessed under those Guidelines in order to avoid circumvention of these guidelines.

(15)

The Commission has to ensure that authorised aid does not alter trading conditions in a way contrary to the general interest. Therefore, aid in favour of a beneficiary which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the common market, should be excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

(16)

In order to eliminate differences that might give rise to distortions of competition and to facilitate coordination between different Community and national initiatives concerning small and medium-sized enterprises, the definition of ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ used in this Regulation should be that laid down in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 70/2001.

(17)

For the purpose of transparency, equal treatment and effective monitoring, this Regulation should apply only to aid which is transparent. Transparent aid is aid for which it is possible to calculate precisely the gross grant equivalent ex ante without a need to undertake a risk assessment.

(18)

Having regard to Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, aid should not normally have the sole effect of continuously or periodically reducing the operating costs which the beneficiary would normally have to bear, and should be proportionate to the handicaps that have to be overcome in order to secure the socio-economic benefits deemed to be in the Community interest. State aid measures which simply seek to improve the financial situation of producers but which in no way contribute to the development of the sector, and in particular aid which is granted solely on the basis of price, quantity, unit of production or unit of the means of production are considered to constitute operating aid which are incompatible with the common market. Furthermore, such aid is also likely to interfere with the mechanisms of the common organisations of the markets. It is therefore appropriate to limit the scope of this Regulation to aid for investments, as well as to aid for certain socio-economic measures.

(19)

In order to ensure that the aid is necessary and acts as an incentive to develop certain activities, this Regulation should not apply to aid for activities in which the beneficiary would already engage under market conditions alone.

(20)

In order to determine whether the individual notification thresholds and the maximal aid intensities laid down in this Regulation are respected, the total amount of public support for the aided activity or project should be taken into account, regardless of whether that support is financed from local, regional, national or Community sources.

(21)

This Regulation should cover the following aid: aid for permanent and temporary cessation of fishing activities, aid for the financing of socio-economic measures, aid for productive investments in aquaculture, aid for aqua-environmental measures, aid for public health and animal health measures, aid for inland fishing, aid for processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products, aid for measures of common interest which are implemented with the active support of operators themselves or by organisations acting on behalf of producers or other organisation recognised by the Member States, aid for measures of common interest intended to protect and develop aquatic fauna and flora while enhancing the aquatic environment, aid for investments in public or private fishing ports, landing sites and fishing shelters, aid for measures of common interest intended to implement a policy of quality and value enhancement, development of new markets or promotional campaigns for fisheries and aquaculture products, aid for pilot projects, aid for modification for reassignment of fishing vessels, and aid for technical assistance.

(22)

For the purpose of legal certainty, tax exemptions applicable to the whole fisheries sector which Member States may introduce pursuant to Article 15 of the sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (8), or to Article 14 or Article 15 of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (9) should, to the extent they constitute State aid, be declared compatible with the common market and exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty. Tax exemption which Member States are obliged to introduce according to those provisions do not constitute State aid.

(23)

In order to ensure transparency and effective monitoring, in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98, it is appropriate to establish a standard format in which Member States should provide the Commission with summary information whenever, in pursuance of this Regulation, an aid scheme or individual aid is implemented. The Commission will attribute an identification number to each aid measure which is communicated to it. The fact that such number is attributed to an aid measure does not imply that the Commission has examined whether the aid fulfils the conditions of this Regulation. It creates therefore no legitimate expectations for the Member State or beneficiary as regards the compatibility of the aid measures with this Regulation.

(24)

For the same reasons, the Commission should establish specific requirements as regards the form and the content of the annual reports to be submitted to the Commission by Member States. Moreover, it is appropriate to establish rules concerning the records that Member States should keep regarding the aid schemes and individual aid exempted by this Regulation.

(25)

Having regard to the expiry date of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 and the fact that the conditions for granting aid under this Regulation have been aligned with the conditions established for the application of the European Fisheries Fund, it is appropriate to limit the period of application of this Regulation to the date on which Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 expires. Should this Regulation expire without being extended, aid schemes already exempted by this Regulation should continue to be exempted for six months.

(26)

It is appropriate to lay down transitional provisions for notifications pending on the date of entry into force of this Regulation and for aid which was granted before the entry into force of this Regulation and was not notified in breach of the obligation in Article 88(3) of the Treaty, as well as for aid fulfilling the conditions of 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 (10),

(a)

aid the amount of which is fixed on the basis of price or quantity of products put on the market;

(b)

aid to export-related activities, namely aid directly linked to the quantities exported aid to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current expenditure linked to the export activity of Member States;

(c)

aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods;

(d)

aid granted to undertakings in difficulty;

(e)

aid schemes which do not explicitly exclude the payment of individual aid in favour of a beneficiary which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the common market, as well as individual aid in favour of the same beneficiary;

(f)

ad hoc individual aid in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the common market.

(a)

‘aid’ means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in Article 87(1) of the Treaty;

(b)

‘aid scheme’ means any act on the basis of which, without further implementing measures being required, individual aid awards may be made to undertakings defined within the act in a general and abstract manner and any act on the basis of which aid which is not linked to a specific project may be awarded to one or several undertakings for an indefinite period of time and/or for an indefinite amount;

(c)

‘aid intensity’ means the aid amount expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs;

(d)

‘fisheries product’ means both products caught at sea or in inland waters and the products of aquaculture listed in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 104/2000;

(e)

‘processing and marketing’ means all operations, including handling, treatment, production and distribution, between the time of landing or harvesting and the end-product stage;

(f)

‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ (‘SMEs’) means enterprises as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 70/2001;

(g)

‘transparent aid’ means aid in respect of which it is possible to calculate precisely the gross grant equivalent ex ante without need to undertake a risk assessment.

(a)

any aid that could be awarded under such scheme fulfils all the conditions set out in this Regulation;

(b)

the scheme contains an express reference to this Regulation, by citing its title and publication reference in the Official Journal of the European Union;

(c)

the summary information provided for in Article 24(1) has been submitted.

(a)

aid comprised in loans where the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the basis of market interest rates prevailing at the time of the grant and taking into account the existence of normal securities and/or abnormal risk associated with the loan;

(b)

aid comprised in guarantee schemes where the methodology to calculate the gross grant equivalent has been accepted following notification of this methodology to the Commission and the approved methodology explicitly addresses the type of guarantees and the type of underlying transactions at stake in the context of the application of this Regulation;

(c)

aid comprised in fiscal measures shall be considered as transparent when the measures provides for a cap ensuring that the applicable ceiling is not exceeded.

(a)

aid comprised in capital injections;

(b)

aid comprised in risk capital measures.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 26(3) and 27 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 28 and 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 28 and 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 28 and 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 28 and 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 34 and 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 36 and 37 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 36 and 38 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 36 and 39 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 36 and 40 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 36 and 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Articles 36 and 42 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

(a)

the aid fulfils the conditions of Article 46(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006; and

(b)

the amount of the aid does not exceed, in subsidy equivalent, the total rate of public contributions fixed by Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.

1.

Member State:

2.

Region/Authority granting the aid:

3.

Title of aid scheme/name of company receiving an individual aid:

4.

Legal basis (indicate the precise national legal reference):

5.

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or amount of individual aid granted:

6.

Maximum aid intensity:

7.

Date of entry into force:

8.

Duration of the scheme or individual aid award (not later than 31 December 2013); indicate:

9.

Objective of aid:

10.

Indicate which of Article(s) 4 to 20 is used:

11.

Activity concerned:

12.

Name and address of the granting authority:

13.

Web-address where the full text of the scheme or the criteria and conditions under which individual aid is granted outside of an aid scheme can be found:

14.

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

1.

Member State:

2.

Title:

3.

Aid number:

4.

Year of expiry:

5.

Objective of the aid:

6.

Number of beneficiaries:

7.

Category of aid (e.g. direct grant, loan with reduced interest rate, etc.):

8.

Total annual expenditure:

9.

Remarks: