Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty

Cases where the Commission raises no objections

(2005/C 280/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Date of adoption of the decision:

Member State: France

Aid No: E 20/2004

Title: The fiscal provisions applicable to mutual sickness and insurance companies and personal protection institutions

Objective: The abolition of tax exemption with regard to insurance contracts concluded by ‘mutuelles et institutions de prévoyance’

Legal basis: Articles 995-2 et 999-2 du Code général des Impôts

Duration: Unlimited

Other information: Pursuant to Article 88(1) of the EC Treaty, the Commission has decided to propose appropriate measures in respect of aid scheme No E 20/2004 — France: Dispositions fiscales applicables aux mutuelles et institutions de prévoyance. France has accepted these measures.

Date of acceptance by the Member State:

The authentic text of the decision, from which all confidential material has been removed, can be found at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#aides

Date of adoption of the decision:

Member State: Denmark

Aid No: N 5/2005

Title: Tax reduction on donations to cultural institutions

Objective: culture and heritage conservation

Legal basis: Lov nr. 1389 af 20.12.2004»Lov om ændring af afskrivningsloven, ligningsloven og skattekontrolloven (Fradrag for gaver til kulturinstitutioner og udvidelse af reglerne for afskrivning på kunstkøb)«

Budget: foregone tax revenue estimated at DKK 35 million per year (EUR 4,7 million)

Aid intensity or amount: measure not constituting aid

Duration: as of 1.1.2005, unlimited

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/state_aids/

Date of adoption of the decision:

Member State: Belgium

Aid No: N 249/2004

Title: Aid scheme for combined transport

Legal basis: Loi relative à la promotion du transport ferroviaire combiné de marchandises; Arrêté royal portant exécution de la loi relative à la promotion du transport ferroviaire combiné de marchandises.

Wet betreffende de bevordering van het gecombineerd goederenvervoer per spoor; koninklijk besluit houdende toepassing van de wet betreffende de bevordering van het gecombineerd goederenvervoer per spoor

Objective: The purpose of the aid scheme is to develop combined rail transport for routes of 51 kilometres or more within Belgium. The aim is to help maintain existing rail traffic levels of 300 000 ITU (intermodal transport units), rather than lose it to the roads, and to increase the level of rail traffic by 20 % over a period of three years

Budget: EUR 30 million per year (EUR 15 million in 2005)

Duration: The period covered by the aid scheme is from 1.1.2005 to 31.12.2007

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/state_aids/