Brussels, 07/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - Upon consultation of the Member States and professionals, the European Commission on Wednesday adopted a regulation on "de minimis" aid which will for the first time apply to the agricultural and fisheries sectors. These rules will lift the obligation on the Member States for the prior notification of national aid not exceeding 3,000 EUR per farmer or fisherman, for a period of three years.
The Member States can allocate "de minimis" aid as they see fit, but in order to avoid competition distortions, the provisions ban all export aid. Furthermore, aid must respect a ceiling which corresponds overall to 0.3% of their production in the agriculture or fishing sectors. The amounts each Member State may grant have been calculated by the Commission and are included in the annexes to the regulation. To provide greater flexibility for the Member States, the regulation sets totals to be complied with over a three-year period (not annually). If all the Member States were to make full use of the possibility on offer, the sum total (for the EU) of de minimis aid would reach an average of 317 million EUR a year for agricultural, and 27 million EUR a year for fisheries.