Press Release: CAP reform: Commission introduces simplified agricultural state aid regime

A simplified administration and efficient supervision of agricultural state aids without weakening Commission monitoring - this win-win situation is the objective of a Commission regulation adopted on 10 December 2003. The new regulation allows Member States to grant various types of agricultural state aid without having to seek the Commission's prior clearance. This block exemption will speed up the implementation of new agricultural state aids. This, in turn, will facilitate national programmes aiming at the improvement of environmental, animal welfare and hygiene standards in the agriculture sector. The regulation will not soften the state aid rule in substance and, in particular, will not allow state aid in areas considered incompatible with the Internal Market. The proposal should therefore in no way be misunderstood as a 're-nationalisation' of aid to farmers. The same agricultural state aid rules will continue to apply throughout the EU.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/agriculture/stateaid/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/comm/agriculture/stateaid/index_en.htm

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