93/254/EEC: Commission Decision of 9 December 1992 on Italian Decree-Law No 14 of 21 January 1992 relating, inter alia, to the overall refinancing of the aid measures provided for by Law No 64 of 1 March 1986 on special aid to the Mezzogiorno (Only the Italian text is authentic)
The Lit 24 000 billion refinancing of the aid measures provided for by Law No 64 of 1 March 1986 on aid to the Mezzogiorno, as envisaged in Decree-Law No 14 of 21 January 1992 and in the recapitulating and amending decree-laws, is hereby approved subject to the conditions laid down in the following Articles.
The aid may be granted only in so far as the various provinces still qualify for aid under Law No 64 of 1 March 1986, with due regard to the deadlines laid down in the Commission Decision of 2 March 1988 on the compatibility of that Law.
The refinancing shall not cover the reductions in social security contributions provided for in Article 1 of Decree-Law No 14 of 21 January 1992.
The intensity of aid for productive investment by firms, expressed in net grant equivalent, shall not exceed the following ceilings:
(a) in zone A as defined in the Commission Decision of 2 March 1988 on aid to the Mezzogiorno:
- 65 % for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as defined in the Community guidelines on State aid for SMEs adopted on 20 May 1992,
- 50 % for other firms;
(b) in zone B:
- 55 % for SMEs as defined in the abovementioned guidelines,
- 40 % for other firms;
(c) in zone C:
- 40 % for SMEs as defined in the abovementioned guidelines,
- 25 % for other firms.
The intensity of aid for research shall not exceed the maximum gross ceiling of:
- 60 % for basic research and 35 % for applied research carried out by SMEs as defined in the Community guidelines on State aid for SMEs adopted on 20 May 1992,
- 50 % for basic research and 25 % for applied research carried out by other firms.
The tax aid provided for in Article 14 of Law No 64 of 1 March 1986 and Article 102 (1) and (2) and Article 105 of Presidential Decree No 218 of 6 March 1978 shall be converted into tax credits that are in proportion to the investments made by each firm.
These credits shall be taken into account in calculating the net grant equivalent of the total aid for the purpose of ensuring that the ceilings for aid intensity laid down in Articles 2 and 3 are not exceeded; they shall be reduced if necessary to keep the overall intensity of the aid below those ceilings.
The national provisions implementing this Article shall be adopted not later than 31 December 1992. They shall apply to all aid applications covered by this Decision, with the exception of those referred to in Article 5.
Within the Lit 24 000 billion refinancing referred to in Article 1, a sum of Lit 10 000 billion may, pursuant to the Commission Decision of 2 March 1988 on the compatibility of the Law on the Mezzogiorno and by way of derogation from Articles 2 and 3 of this Decision, be used for pending aid applications before the Italian authorities on the date of entry into force of Decree-Law No 363 of 14 August 1992.
That amount shall be used as a matter of priority to finance programme contracts and projects for which the administrative examination and approval procedure has been completed or, in the absence of such a procedure, which are at an advanced stage of implementation, in which case they shall be not less than 30 % implemented.
The Italian Government shall submit to the Commission, before 1 July 1993, a detailed written report on the allocation of the amount in question, which the Commission reserves the right to scrutinize.
The individual decisions granting the aid shall be taken by the Italian authorities by 31 December 1993.
This Decision does not relate to the refinancing of the reductions in social security contributions provided for by Law No 64 of 1 March 1986, which is the subject of a separate examination.
The provisions of Decision 88/318/EEC on the compatibility of Law No 64 of 1 March 1988 shall continue to apply in so far as they are not affected by this Decision.
Italy shall inform the Commission, by 31 January 1993, of the measures it has taken to comply with this Decision.
This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.
Done at Brussels, 9 December 1992.
For the Commission
Leon BRITTAN
Vice-President
(1) OJ No L 143, 10. 6. 1988, p. 37.
(2) OJ No C 240, 19. 9. 1992, p. 7.
(3) OJ No C 213, 19. 8. 1992, p. 2.
(4) OJ No C 83, 11. 4. 1986, p. 2.
(5) OJ No C 31, 3. 2. 1979, p. 9.
(6) OJ No C 3, 5. 1. 1985, p. 2.
(7) OJ No C 213, 19. 8. 1992, p. 10.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), Β© European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
