Acceptance of the guidelines for the examination of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture (1)

(2005/C 278/05)

In accordance with Article 26(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (2) the Commission announces the following:

Pursuant to point 5.2 of the guidelines for the examination of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture (‘the Guidelines’), Member States were asked to confirm in writing that they accept these proposals for appropriate measures no later than 15 November 2004.

Failure to do so by any Member State would be taken by the Commission to signify acceptance of the proposals, unless that Member State had notified the Commission in writing of their explicit disagreement.

In letters dated 15 November 2004, 20 January 2005 and 14 June 2005, the Finnish authorities indicated that they did not agree to amend two aid schemes in order to bring them in line with the Guidelines. These schemes relate to fishing insurances and transport of fish. They were notified to the Commission by letter of 27 April 1995 on the basis of Article 144(a) of the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Finland to the European Union, and subsequently were deemed to be ‘existing’ aid within the meaning of Article 93(1) of the EC Treaty.

The Commission has not received any letters to this effect from other Member States.

The Commission must therefore assume that all Member States except Finland for the abovementioned schemes have accepted the proposals and that all their current aid schemes were brought in line with the Guidelines by 1 January 2005.

(1)  OJ C 229, 14.9.2004, p. 5.

(2)  OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.