Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (repealed)Show full title

SUBSECTION 2 U.K. Conditions for measures aimed at restructuring and developing physical potential and promoting innovation

Article 26 U.K. Modernisation of agricultural holdings

1. Support provided for in Article 20(b)(i), shall be granted for tangible and/or intangible investments which:

(a) improve the overall performance of the agricultural holding; and

(b) respect the Community standards applicable to the investment concerned.

Where investments are made in order to comply with Community standards, support may be granted only to those which are made in order to comply with newly introduced Community standards. In that case, a period of grace, not exceeding 36 months from the date on which the standard becomes mandatory for the agricultural holding, may be provided to meet that standard.

In the case of young farmers receiving support provided for in Article 20(a)(ii), support may be granted for investments to comply with existing Community standards, when identified in the business plan referred to in Article 22(1)(c). The period of grace within which the standard needs to be met, may not exceed 36 months from the date of setting up.

2. Support shall be limited to the maximum rate laid down in the Annex.

Article 27 U.K. Improvement of the economic value of forests

1. Investment support provided for in Article 20(b)(ii) shall be granted for forests owned by private owners or their associations or by municipalities or their associations. This limitation does not apply to the tropical or subtropical forests and to the wooded areas of the territories of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the smaller Aegean Islands within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 and the French overseas departments.

2. Investments shall be based on forest management plans for forest holdings above a certain size to be defined by the Member States in their programmes.

3. Support shall be limited to the maximum rate laid down in the Annex.

Article 28 U.K. Adding value to agricultural and forestry products

1. Support provided for in Article 20(b)(iii), shall be granted for tangible and/or intangible investments which:

(a) improve the overall performance of the enterprise;

(b) concern:

• (b) the processing and/or marketing of products covered by Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery products, and of forestry products; and/or

• the development of new products, processes and technologies linked to products covered by Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery products, and to forestry products; and

(c) respect the Community standards applicable to the investment concerned.

Where investments are made in order to comply with Community standards, support may be granted only to those which are made by micro-enterprises, as referred in paragraph 2, in order to comply with a newly introduced Community standard. In that case a period of grace, not exceeding 36 months from the date on which the standard becomes mandatory for the enterprise, may be provided to meet the standard.

2. Support shall be limited to the maximum rate laid down in the Annex.

3. Support under paragraph 1 at its maximum rate shall be limited to micro, small and medium- sized enterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (1). For the territories of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the smaller Aegean Islands within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 and the French overseas departments, no size limits apply for the maximum rate. For enterprises that are not covered by Article 2(1) of that recommendation with less than 750 employees or with a turn over of less than EUR 200 million the maximum aid intensity is halved. In the case of forestry, support shall be limited to micro-enterprises.

Support shall not be granted to enterprises in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (2).

Article 29 U.K. Cooperation for development of new products, processes and technologies in the agriculture and food sector and in the forestry sector

1. Support provided for in Article 20(b)(iv) shall be granted to promote the cooperation between primary producers in agriculture and forestry, the processing industry and/or third parties.

2. Support shall contribute to cover costs incurred for the cooperation.

Article 30 U.K. Infrastructure related to the development and adaptation of agriculture and forestry

Support provided for in Article 20(b)(v), may cover notably operations related to access to farm and forest land, land consolidation and improvement, energy supply and water management.

(1)

OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36.

(2)

OJ C 244, 1.10.2004, p. 2.