ISSN 1725-2423

Official Journal

of the European Union

C 58
European flag  

English edition

Information and Notices

Volume 49
10 March 2006

Notice No

Contents

page

 

I   Information

 

Commission

2006/C 058/1

Euro exchange rates

1

2006/C 058/2

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 of 25 February 2004, on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises ( 1 )

2

2006/C 058/3

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under 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 ( 1 )

6

2006/C 058/4

Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M. 4122 — Burda/Hachette/JV) — Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )

10

2006/C 058/5

Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case COMP/M.3787 — Heinemann/HDS Retail/JV) ( 1 )

11

 

European Central Bank

2006/C 058/6

Opinion of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank of 2 March 2006 on a recommendation from the Council of the European Union on the appointment of a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (CON/2006/14)

12

 

 

(1)   Text with EEA relevance

EN

 

I Information

Commission

10.3.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/1

Euro exchange rates (1)

9 March 2006

(2006/C 58/01)

1 euro=

 

Currency

Exchange rate

USD

US dollar

1,1920

JPY

Japanese yen

140,10

DKK

Danish krone

7,4596

GBP

Pound sterling

0,68580

SEK

Swedish krona

9,4299

CHF

Swiss franc

1,5635

ISK

Iceland króna

82,67

NOK

Norwegian krone

8,0235

BGN

Bulgarian lev

1,9558

CYP

Cyprus pound

0,5747

CZK

Czech koruna

28,700

EEK

Estonian kroon

15,6466

HUF

Hungarian forint

257,25

LTL

Lithuanian litas

3,4528

LVL

Latvian lats

0,6960

MTL

Maltese lira

0,4293

PLN

Polish zloty

3,8763

RON

Romanian leu

3,4939

SIT

Slovenian tolar

239,54

SKK

Slovak koruna

37,527

TRY

Turkish lira

1,6015

AUD

Australian dollar

1,6194

CAD

Canadian dollar

1,3793

HKD

Hong Kong dollar

9,2513

NZD

New Zealand dollar

1,8328

SGD

Singapore dollar

1,9396

KRW

South Korean won

1 170,60

ZAR

South African rand

7,4667

CNY

Chinese yuan renminbi

9,5932

HRK

Croatian kuna

7,3178

IDR

Indonesian rupiah

11 089,77

MYR

Malaysian ringgit

4,434

PHP

Philippine peso

61,233

RUB

Russian rouble

33,4270

THB

Thai baht

46,568

(1)  

Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

10.3.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/2

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 of 25 February 2004, on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises

(2006/C 58/02)

(text with EEA relevance)

Aid No

XS 78/04

Member State

Netherlands

Region

Gelderland

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

Machinefabriek Kersten Beheer B.V.

Legal basis

Gemeente Brummen, raadsbesluit d.d. 27 maart 2003

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of aid granted to the company

Aid scheme

Annual overall amount

 

Loans guaranteed

 

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

EUR 0,29 million

Loans guaranteed

 

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Articles 4(2)-(6) and 5 of the Regulation

Yes

 

Date of implementation

10.8.2004

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

Until 1.7.2005

Objective of aid

Aid to SMEs

Yes

 

Economic sectors concerned

Limited to specific sectors

 

Steel

Yes

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

Gemeente Brummen

 

Address:

Postbus 5

6970 AA Brummen

Netherlands

 

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 6 of the Regulation

Yes


Aid No

XS 4/05

Member State

Slovak Republic

Region

Bratislava autonomous region. Within the region, only the territory of three districts: (Malacky, Pezinok and Senec) and the territory of five boroughs of the Slovak capital, Bratislava: (Vajnory, Záhorská Bystrica, Jarovce, Rusovce and Čunovo). According to the regional state aid map for the Slovak Republic, the assisted area falls under Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty.

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

Aid scheme for SMEs under SPD 2 (state aid scheme) — Appendix 1

Legal basis

Zákon NR SR č. 503/2001 Z. z. o podpore regionálneho rozvoja

Jednotný programový dokument NUTS II Bratislava cieľ 2 na obdobie rokov 2004 – 2006

Nariadenie Komisie (ES) č. 70/2001 z 12. januára 2001 o použití článkov 87 a 88 Zmluvy o založení ES na štátnu pomoc malým a stredným podnikom, publikované v Úradnom vestníku Európskeho spoločenstva (Ú. v. ES L 10 z 13. januára 2001) v znení nariadenia Komisie (ES) č. 364/2004 z 25. februára 2004

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

Aid scheme

Annual overall amount 2004

Note: the amount not utilised in 2004 is included in the amount for 2005

 

Annual overall amount 2005

EUR 8, 75 million

Annual overall amount 2006

EUR 4,522 million

Total for 2004 — 2006

EUR 13,272 million

Loans guaranteed

 

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

 

Loans guaranteed

 

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Articles 4(2)-(6) and 5 of the Regulation

Yes

For investment projects: 30 % gross (which represents 20 % net + 10 percentage points gross as a bonus for SMEs) of total eligible expenditure;

For first-time participation in a trade fair, exhibition or trade mission and for advisory and consulting services received: 50 % of total eligible expenditure.

Date of implementation

27.5.2005

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

Until 31.12.2006

Objective of aid

Aid to SMEs

Yes

 

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for aid to SMEs, except for ore-mining, coal-mining, steel manufacture, shipbuilding, manufacture of synthetic fibres, healthcare and transport, and the scheme is inapplicable in accordance with Article 1(2)(a), (b) and (c) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001.

Yes

Limited to specific sectors

Yes

—

All manufacturing

Yes

Other manufacturing

Yes

Other services

Advisory and consulting;

First-time participation in a trade fair, exhibition or trade mission.

Yes

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

The Ministry of Construction and Regional Development SR

Address:

The Ministry of Construction and Regional Development SR

Prievozská 2/B

SK-816 44 Bratislava

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 6 of the Regulation

 Yes


Aid No

XS 49/05

Member State

Cyprus

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid

Programme for access to research infrastructure abroad

Legal basis

Απόφαση του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου του Ιδρύματος Προώθησης Έρευνας με ημερομηνία 2 Σεπτεμβρίου 2004

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

Aid scheme

Annual overall amount

EUR 0,46 million

Loans guaranteed

 

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

 

Loans guaranteed

 

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Articles 4(2)-(6) and 5 of the Regulation

Yes

—

75 % for basic research,

—

up to 75 % for industrial research and

—

up to 50 % for pre-competitive research.

 

Date of implementation

24 February 2005

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

Until 31 October 2005

Objective of aid

Aid to SMEs

Yes

 

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for aid to SMEs

Yes

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

Ίδρυμα Προώθησης Έρευνας

Address:

Απελλή και Νιρβάνα

Άγιοι Ομολογητές,

Λευκωσία

Τ.Κ.2342, 1683

Κύπρος

Large in ividual aid grants

In conformity with Article 6 of the Regulation

 

maximum amount grantable is EUR 0,15 million


Aid No

XS 59/05

Member State

Italy

Region

Lazio

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

Meccano Aeronautica SpA, Via Nettuno n. 288, Cisterna di Latina (LT), Italy.

Legal basis

Art. 17 della Legge Finanziaria Regionale per l'esercizio 2002 del 16 aprile 2002 n. 8, pubblicata nel Bollettino Ufficiale Lazio del 20 aprile 2002, n. 11 S.O. n. 8

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

The assistance given to Meccano Aeronautica SpA amounts to EUR 3 450 000.

This figure consists of

(a)

EUR 3 200 000 in aid towards investment in tangible assets within the meaning of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 70/2001;

(b)

EUR 250 000 in aid towards services provided by outside consultants within the meaning of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 70/2001.

The assistance will be paid out on the basis of a six-monthly check on the costs actually borne by Meccano Aeronautica SpA for staff (a) and services (b). Full payment is to be made no later than 31 December 2009.

Maximum aid intensity

The maximum intensity will be within the ceilings laid down in the aid map approved by the Commission for Italy for the period 2000-2006, which was published in OJ L 105, 20.4.2003, over and above the rates provided for in Article 4(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 70/2001.

Date of implementation

The contract granting the aid is to be concluded on 15 March 2005. It provides that the aid is to be granted only in respect of eligible costs actually borne, and only provided regular checks establish that the recipient is meeting the other obligations it has undertaken, in particular that the aid will not be combined with aid under any other scheme, that the investment will be no less than 75% of the assistance (a), that the services (b) will not be of a routine nature, and that the increase in jobs will be maintained for at least five years. For the performance of the other obligations there are properly secured guarantees.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

Full payment is to be made no later than 31 December 2009.

Objective of aid

The aid is intended primarily as aid to an SME. It also pursues the broader objective of reindustrialisation and reuse of the industrial plant of Goodyear Italia SpA in order to provide new jobs for the former Goodyear employees who have been dismissed or are in redeployment in a disadvantaged area covered by Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty.

Economic sectors concerned

Limited to specific sectors:

manufacturing

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

Regione Lazio

Address:

Via Cristoforo Colombo 212

I-00147 Rome

10.3.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/6

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under 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

(2006/C 58/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No

XS 107/03

Member State

United Kingdom

Region

North East of England

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council — Exchange for Manufacturing Resources

Legal Basis

Section 11(1) of the Industrial Development Act 1982

Regional Development Agencies Act 1998

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

Public aid planned under the scheme is:

 

ERDF: 2003 — GBP 23 400

 

2004 — GBP 63 000

 

Single programme: 2003 — GBP 52 000

Maximum aid intensity

50 % of the costs of consultancy from the combination of public sources. No one SME will receive more than EUR 15 million in assistance

Date of implementation

1 October 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

30 September 2004

Objective of aid

‘Soft Aid’ scheme (consultancy, dissemination of knowledge)

The aid will fund the cost of high-level consultancy from brokers with engineering expertise who will visit SMEs in order to identify new business opportunities and new markets for businesses by advising SMEs on how to trade otherwise idle resources between each other using a web-based trading platform acting as a credit system. This system will also allow SMEs to increase their own levels of competitiveness

Economic sectors

All eligible industry sectors without prejudice to special rules concerning state aid in certain sectors — Article 1(2) of SME block exemption Regulations

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

ERDF Contact

Neil McGuinness

European Programmes Secretariat

Government Office for the North East

Wellbar House

Address:

Gallowgate

Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 4TD

United Kingdom


Aid No

XS 48/04

Member State

Italy

Region

Veneto

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

Local Development Plan ‘From the Sile to the Tagliamento rivers’

Action 1: New services

GAL Venezia Orientale

Legal basis

Programma Regionale LEADER + della Regione Veneto approvato con Dec. CE n. C(2001)3564 del 19.11.2001

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

Aid scheme

Annual overall amount

EUR 40 000

Loans guaranteed

 

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

 

Loans guaranteed

 

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Articles 4(2)-(6) and 5 of the Regulation

Yes

 

Date of implementation

11.11.2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

Until 31.12.2006

Objective of aid

Aid to SMEs

Yes

 

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for aid to SMEs

Yes

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

GAL Venezia Orientale

Address:

Sede legale: Piazza della Repubblica 1,

Portogruaro (VE) CAP I-30026

Sede operativa: Borgo S. Agnese 89,

Portogruaro (VE) CAP I-30026

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 6 of the Regulation

The measure excludes awards of aid or requires prior notification to the Commission of awards of aid,

a)

if the total eligible costs are at least EUR 25 million and

—

the gross aid intensity is at least 50 %,

—

in areas which qualify for regional aid, the net aid intensity is at least 50 %; or

b)

if the total gross aid amount is at least EUR 15 million

Yes

 


Aid No

XS 120/04

Member State

Italy

Region

Sardinia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

Financial aid for the purchase or lease of new production machines and tools

Legal basis

Legge 28 novembre 1965, n. 1329

Direttive di attuazione approvate con Decreto dell'Assessore dell'Industria della Regione Sardegna n. 553 del 22.10.2004

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

Aid scheme

Annual overall amount

EUR 1 500 000

Loans guaranteed

 

Individual aid

Annual overall amount

 

Loans guaranteed

 

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Articles 4(2)-(6) and 5 of the Regulation

Yes

 

Date of implementation

1.11.2004

Duration of scheme or individual aid award

Until 31.12.2006

Objective of aid

Aid to SMEs

Yes

 

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for aid to SMEs

No

Limited to specific sectors

Yes

—

All manufacturing

Yes

Other services

Yes

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

Regione Autonoma della Sardegna — Assessorato dell'Industria

Address:

Viale Trento 69

I-09123 Cagliari

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 6 of the Regulation

The measure excludes individual aid grants or requires prior notification to the Commission of awards of aid,

a)

if the total eligible costs are at least EUR 25 million and

—

the gross aid intensity is at least 50 %,

—

in areas which qualify for regional aid, the net aid intensity is at least 50 %; or

b)

if the total gross aid amount is at least EUR 15 million

Yes

 


Aid No

XS 123/04

Member State

Austria

Region

Land of Carinthia

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid

Small firms guidelines for promoting small firms in trade and industry

Legal basis

Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungsgesetz

LGBl. Nr. 6/1993 idgF

Annual expenditure planned or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company

Aid scheme

Annual overall amount

EUR 2,5 million

Loans guaranteed

 

Individual aid

Overall aid amount

 

Loans guaranteed

 

Maximum aid intensity

In conformity with Articles 4(2)-(6) and 5 of the Regulation

Yes

 

Date of implementation

From 1 January 2004

Duration of the scheme or individual aid award

Until 30 September 2004

Objective of aid

Aid to SMEs

Yes

 

Economic sectors concerned

All sectors eligible for aid to SMEs

Yes

Name and address of the granting authority

Name:

Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds

Address:

Heuplatz 2

A-9020 Klagenfurt

Large individual aid grants

In conformity with Article 6 of the Regulation

The measure excludes awards of aid or requires prior notification to the Commission of awards of aid,

a)

if the total eligible costs are at least EUR 25 million and

—

the gross aid intensity is at least 50 %, or

—

in areas which qualify for regional aid, the net aid intensity is at least 50 %; or

b)

if the total gross aid amount is at least EUR 15 million

Yes

 

10.3.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/10

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M. 4122 — Burda/Hachette/JV)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(2006/C 58/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

1.

On 3 March 2006, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Burda Verlag Osteuropa GmbH (‘BVO’, Germany), belonging to the Hubert Burda Media group and Hachette Filipacchi Presse (‘HFP’, France), belonging to the Lagardère group acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Council Regulation joint control of a newly created company constituting a joint venture (JV) by way of subscription of capital and transfer of assets.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—

for BVO: publishing of magazines in Eastern European countries;

—

for HFP: publishing of consumer magazines all over the world;

—

for JV: publishing of magazines in Poland.

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (No (32-2) 296 43 01 or 296 72 44) or by post, under reference number COMP/M. 4122 — Burda/Hachette/JV, to the following address:

European Commission

Competition DG

Merger Registry

J-70

B-1049 Brussels

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

(2)  OJ C 56, 5.3.2005, p. 32.

10.3.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/11

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case COMP/M.3787 — Heinemann/HDS Retail/JV)

(2006/C 58/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 8 February 2006, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004. The full text of the decision is available only in German and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

—

from the Europa competition website (http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

—

in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32006M3787. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law. (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex)

European Central Bank

10.3.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58/12

OPINION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 2 March 2006

on a recommendation from the Council of the European Union on the appointment of a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank

(CON/2006/14)

(2006/C 58/06)

1.

By letter of 15 February 2006, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union requested the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) to deliver its opinion on Council Recommendation 2006/108/EC of 14 February 2006 on the appointment of a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (1).

2.

The above-mentioned recommendation, which will be submitted for decision to the Heads of State or Government of the Member States which have adopted the euro after consultation of the Governing Council of the ECB and the European Parliament, recommends that Mr Jürgen Stark be appointed as member of the Executive Board of the ECB for a term of office of eight years with effect from 1 June 2006.

3.

The Governing Council of the ECB is of the opinion that the proposed candidate is a person of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters as required by Article 112(2)(b) of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

4.

The Governing Council of the ECB has no objection to the Council's recommendation on the appointment of the proposed candidate as member of the Executive Board of the ECB.

5.

The Governing Council of the ECB has adopted this opinion in accordance with Article 112(2)(b) of the Treaty and Article 11.2 and Article 43.3 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 2 March 2006.

The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET

(1)  OJ L 47, 17.2.2006, p. 58.