Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001

2009/C 124/04

Aid No: XA 64/09

Member State: Latvia

Region: —

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving an individual aid: ‘Atbalsts ciltsdarbam’

Legal basis: Annex 2 to draft Cabinet Regulation ‘Noteikumi par ikgadējo valsts atbalstu lauksaimniecībai un tā piešķiršanas kārtību’

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Annual expenditure planned under the scheme is LVL 15 000 000

Maximum aid intensity: Pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation 1857/2006:

Pursuant to Article 15 of Regulation 1857/2006:

Date of implementation:

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2013.

Until 31 December 2011 in the case of aid relating to the introduction at farm level of innovative breeding methods and practices, except for expenditure relating to artificial insemination

Objective of aid: The purpose of the aid for small and medium-sized enterprises is:

to encourage breeders to take part in the evaluation of breeding stock by offspring and in other selection programmes

to increase livestock yield and improve genetic potential, and to increase the number of herds of high breeding value

to establish records of livestock yield and origins and improve software relating to breeding activities and animal selection programmes using a common IT network

to modernize technologies for assessing livestock yields and meat quality

to encourage stock breeders to rear animals of high breeding value and to improve their breed characteristics

to maintain and improve pedigree animals and their gene pool in Latvia

to carry out evaluations of pedigree animals and organise exhibitions and work-capacity tests/competitions for horses

Articles 15 and 16 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 apply.

Eligible expenditure under the criteria for granting aid:

Sector(s) concerned: The aid is intended for small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in the primary production of agricultural products.

The aid is intended for the animal production sector.

Name and address of the granting authority:

Website: Annex 2 to draft Cabinet Regulation ‘Noteikumi par ikgadējo valsts atbalstu lauksaimniecībai un tā piešķiršanas kārtību’ at: http://www.zm.gov.lv/index.php?sadala=1546&id=8055

Other information: This aid scheme will replace aid scheme XA 150/2008 (published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 222, 30.8.2008, 8 pp).

Amendments to the programme are based on the criterion that aid in the form of subsidised services for determining the genetic quality of livestock will be granted only for dairy cows whose milk yield during the last standard lactation period was at least 5 000 kg, or at least 4 000 kg in the case of organic farming.

The aid scheme will ensure that expenditure is covered for the administrative costs involved in establishing a herd book and determining the genetic quality of livestock in the relevant rearing sectors.

Aid for small and medium-sized enterprises active in the primary production of agricultural products will be granted in accordance with Article 16(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001: the aid will be granted in kind in the form of subsidised services and will not involve direct payments of money to producers, and aid will not be granted retroactively in respect of activities which have already been carried out by the beneficiary.

We hereby confirm that aid will not be granted retroactively, since the relevant scheme entitled ‘aid for breeding activities’ (Summary No XA 150/2008, published in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 222, 30.8.2008, 8pp) also contains a chapter on Aid for the collection, transportation, processing and destruction of animal carcasses. Aid scheme no XA 150/2008 remains in force until this scheme (provisional scheme No 22786) is published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Expenditure relating to the organisation of, and participation in, competitions, exhibitions, fairs and forums with a view to exchanging information in the sector will be made in accordance with Article 15(4) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001, and the aid will be accessible to all those eligible in the area concerned, based on objectively defined conditions.

The planned breakdown of the aid scheme budget into sub-measures is as follows:

aid for the development of cattle rearing — LVL 14 000 000;

aid for the collection, transportation, processing and destruction of carcasses — LVL 1 000 000;

Aid for the development of cattle rearing will be granted to around 10 service providers (organisations of pedigree breeders), and services will be provided to some 10 000 farmers.

Aid for the collection transportation, processing and destruction of animal carcasses will be granted to three service providers.

Aid No: XA 455/08

Member State: Cyprus

Region: Cyprus

Title of aid scheme or name of company receiving individual aid: Προγράμματα εκρίζωσης και επιτήρησης Βρουκέλωσης Βοοειδών και Αιγοπροβάτων.

Legal basis:

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: EUR 0,46 million

Maximum aid intensity: 100,00 %

Date of implementation: The programme will be implemented only after it has been published by the European Commission in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31.12.2009

Objective of aid: Animal diseases (Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006). Τhe scheme concerns: (i) aid to compensate farmers for the costs of prevention and eradication of animal diseases (Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006) and (ii) aid to compensate farmers for losses caused by animal diseases (Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006).

Sector(s) concerned: NACE code

A10401— Raising of dairy cattle

A10405— Raising of sheep and goats

A10407— Raising of poultry

Name and address of the granting authority:

Website: http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/vs/vs.nsf/DMLinfo_gr/DMLinfo_gr? OpenDocument

http://www.publicaid.gov.cy/publicaid/publicaid.nsf/All/8C33E1F6FE7EC4C0C2257545002A533E/$file/Απόφαση%20Αρ.%20305.pdf

Other information: The objective of the aid is to implement the bovine, ovine and caprine brucellosis eradication and monitoring programmes, in accordance with the provisions of Community legislation (Directive 64/432/EEC — bovine animals, Directive 91/68/EEC — sheep and goats). The diseases are included in the list of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and in the Annex to Council Decision 90/424/EEC (list of diseases that can receive cofinancing). The expenditure planned for 2009 for the bovine, ovine and caprine eradication and monitoring programmes was notified to the European Commission under the cofinancing programmes. The beneficiaries of aid under this measure are cattle, sheep and goat farmers in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. Under the brucellosis eradication programme aid will be paid to livestock farmers on whose holdings the presence of the disease is suspected or confirmed. The brucellosis monitoring programme will include the collection and laboratory testing of samples from all cattle, sheep and goat stock farms.