Brussels, 15/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to initiate a state aid examination procedure into a planned scheme to assist investment in agriculture in the province of Campobasso in Italy. The scheme provides for the financing of agricultural activities to improve the quality of products and farmers' quality of life. The recipients are farmers who are owner-occupiers for whom farming is their main occupation, whether as individuals or in groups. The total planned budget for the aid is EUR 77 468.
In the draft submitted by the Campobasso authorities, it seems that aid is focused on adaptation to minimum standards which should already be respected. The Commission points out that aid is only possible for adaptation to standards going beyond the minimum Community requirements or to newly introduced standards and in view of this problem, the Commission "doubts, at this stage, that the aid defined in the draft it compatible with the single market". When they receive the official notification of this decision, the Italian authorities will have a month to communicate their comments and provide all necessary clarifications.