STATE AID: REFORM OF STATE AID RULES FOR AGRICULTURAL SMES UNVEILED

摘要

Two initiatives aimed at simplifying state aid for the farming and fishing industry were unveiled by the European Commission on December 10. The first is a proposal for a Council Regulation which would allow Member States to pay up to Euro 3,000 per year in state aid to farmers and fishermen, without seeking prior approval from the Commission. It could add as much as Euro 290 million to annual farm incomes across the EU, but the Commission insists that it does not fall foul of international trade rules. The second initiative saw the adoption of a Commission Regulation which ends the need for prior approval of a state aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the farm sector. Regulation of the system will be passed on to the Member States for payments up to a threshold of Euro 6 million, although detailed records will have to be published. The Commission insisted that neither the proposed nor the adopted Regulations were tantamount to "re-nationalisation" of the Common Agricultural Policy.