2000/319/EC: Commission Decision of 22 December1999 on the State aid scheme implemented by Italy for the production, processing and marketing of products listed in Annex I to the EC Treaty (Sicilian Regional Law No 68 of 27 September 1995) (Notified under document number C(1999) 5202) (Only the Italian text is authentic)

• Articles: 4

Article 1

The State aid introduced by Articles 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 of Sicilian Regional Law No 68 of 27 September 1995 for agricultural and fisheries enterprises is incompatible with the common market.

Article 2

Italy shall withdraw the aid schemes referred to in Article 1.

Article 3

Italy shall inform the Commission, within two months of notification of this Decision, of the measures taken to comply with it.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 1999.

For the Commission

Franz Fischler

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ C 86, 21.3.1998, p. 3.

(2) See footnote 1.

(3) Application of the guidelines to new aid schemes is currently suspended (see Commission letter to the Member States dated 4 July 1997).

(4) Source: Ministry for Agricultural Policies: data communicated in the context of State aid C 36/98 (decision not yet published).

(5) OJ C 68, 6.3.1996, p. 9.

(6) OJ C 283, 19.9.1997, p. 2; see point 4.4 (Operation and review of the guidelines).

(7) The rules were set out in a Commission working document of 6 March 1989: "Aids intended to reduce the loan burden of investments already carried out; criteria applied to this kind of aid." For recent precedents on their application see the Commission's final decision on State aid C 65/97 (Portugal: consolidation of the debts of intensive livestock units and the relaunch of pig farming, currently being published) and Commission Decision 1999/484/EC (Spain, aid for the Hamsa company) (OJ L 193, 26.7.1999, p. 1).

(8) For these rules see footnote 6.

(9) OJ L 37, 7.2.1997, p. 11.

(10) These rules are set out in the Commission communication on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid granted in the form of guarantees, adopted by the Commission on 24 November 1999 (not yet published). This communication replaces the Commission letters to the Member States (SG(89) D/4328 of 5 April 1989 and SG(89) D/12772 of 12 October 1989).

(11) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.

(12) See footnote 9.

(13) See footnote 4.

(14) OJ C 213, 19.8.1992, p. 2, points 3.2 and 1.6.

(15) See footnote 9.

(16) OJ C 44, 16.2.1996, p. 2.

(17) See footnote 5.

(18) OJ C 334, 12.12.1995, p. 4.

(19) Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case 177/78 Pigs and Bacon Commission v McCarren [] ECR 2161.

(20) XXth Report on Competition Policy, 1990, paragraphs 337 and 347; XXIst Report on Competition Policy, 1991, paragraphs 316 and 317; XXIInd Report on Competition Policy, 1992, paragraphs 503 and 504; XXIIIrd Report on Competition Policy, 1993, paragraphs 547 and 548; XXVth Report on Competition Policy, 1995, pp. 238 to 240; XXVIth Report on Competition Policy, 1996, pp. 251 to 255.

(21) In particular, judgment of the Court of First Instance of 8 June 1995 in Case T-459/93, Siemens v Commission [] ECR II-1675, and the case law cited therein.

(22) See footnote 5.

(23) See footnote 5.

(24) See footnote 18.

(25) See footnote 19.

(26) See footnote 20.