Commissie veroordeelt Italiaans steunprogramma voor de perziken- en mandarijnensector (en)

The European Commission has declared an Italian aid scheme designed to remedy the crisis of peach and nectarine growing in Piedmont to be incompatible with State aid rules. The aid of € 108 752 that Italy awaited, was to fund a withdrawal operation of peaches and nectarines from the market.

The aid had been presented by the Italian authorities as justifiable by bad weather conditions. Upon closer inspection of the document, it emerged that it was in fact to be used to compensate for losses due to an unfavourable development in the market. Furthermore, it was assigned to cover an operation which should not have been permitted in the framework of mechanisms managing the common organisation of the markets in the fruit and vegetable sector.

Given that the Commission, by virtue of its rules on State aid, cannot authorise an aid which disrupts the smooth running of a common market organisation, it has decided to declare such an aid incompatible with the common market.

Italy has a time limit of two months, calculated from the notification date of the Commission's decision, to communicate the measures it has taken to comply with this.