Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2391 of 4 October 2023 amending Regulations (EU) No 717/2014, (EU) No 1407/2013, (EU) No 1408/2013 and (EU) No 360/2012 as regards de minimis aid for the processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products, and Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards the total amount of de minimis aid granted to a single undertaking, its period of application and other matters

1 This Regulation applies to aid granted to undertakings active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, with the following exceptions: (a) aid the amount of which is fixed on the basis of price or quantity of products purchased or put on the market; (b) aid granted to export-related activities towards third countries or Member States, namely aid directly linked to the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current expenditure linked to the export activity; (c) aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods; (d) aid for the purchase of fishing vessels; (e) aid for the modernisation or replacement of main or ancillary engines of fishing vessels; (f) aid to operations increasing the fishing capacity of a fishing vessel or equipment increasing the ability of a fishing vessel to find fish; (g) aid for the construction of new fishing vessels or importation of fishing vessels; (h) aid to the permanent or temporary cessation of fishing activities with the exception of aid that meets the conditions laid down in Articles 20 and 21 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (i) aid to exploratory fishing; (j) aid to the transfer of ownership of a business; (k) aid to direct restocking, unless explicitly provided for as a conservation measure by a Union legal act or in the case of experimental restocking.

2 Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products and is also active in one or more of the sectors or has other activities falling within the scope of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 that Regulation shall apply to aid granted in respect of the latter sector or sectors or activities, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products does not benefit from the de minimis aid granted in accordance with that Regulation.

3 Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products as well as in the primary production of agricultural products falling within the scope of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 , this Regulation shall apply to aid granted in respect of the former sector provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of agricultural products does not benefit from de minimis aid granted in accordance with this Regulation.

4 For the purposes of the application of this Regulation, points (d) to (g) of paragraph 1 shall not apply to undertakings located in the Union’s outermost regions referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty in respect of vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres.

‘2 Where an undertaking is active in the sectors referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (aa), (b) or (c), and is also active in one or more of the sectors or has other activities falling within the scope of this Regulation, this Regulation shall apply to aid granted in respect of the latter sectors or activities, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the activities in the sectors excluded from the scope of this Regulation do not benefit from the de minimis aid granted in accordance with this Regulation.’

‘3 Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of agricultural products as well as in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 shall apply to aid granted in respect of the latter sector, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of agricultural products does not benefit from de minimis aid granted in accordance with that Regulation.

‘1 For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions apply: (a) “agricultural products” means products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, with the exception of fishery and aquaculture products covered by Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (b) “primary production of fishery and aquaculture products” means all operations relating to the fishing, rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms, as well as on-farm or on-board activities necessary for preparing an animal or plant for the first sale, including cutting, filleting or freezing, and the first sale to resellers or processors.

‘2 Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of agricultural products as well as in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, de minimis aid granted for activities in the sector of agricultural production in accordance with this Regulation may be cumulated with de minimis aid for activities in the latter sector granted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 up to the relevant ceiling laid down in that Regulation, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of agricultural products does not benefit from de minimis aid granted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 717/2014.’

‘1 Where a Member State intends to grant de minimis aid in accordance with this Regulation to an undertaking, it shall inform that undertaking, in written or electronic form, of the prospective amount of the aid expressed as a gross grant equivalent and of its de minimis character, making express reference to this Regulation and citing its title and publication reference in the Official Journal of the European Union. Where de minimis aid is granted in accordance with this Regulation to different undertakings on the basis of a scheme and different amounts of individual aid are granted to those undertakings under that scheme, the Member State concerned may choose to fulfil that obligation by informing the undertakings of a fixed sum corresponding to the maximum aid amount to be granted under that scheme. In such case, the fixed sum shall be used for determining whether the relevant de minimis ceiling is reached and the relevant national and sector caps are not exceeded. Before granting the aid, the Member State shall obtain a declaration from the undertaking concerned, in written or electronic form, about any other de minimis aid received to which this Regulation or other de minimis regulations apply during the previous 2 fiscal years and the current fiscal year.’

Regulation (EU) No 360/2012 is amended as follows: (1) Article 1(2) is amended as follows: (a) point (a) is replaced by the following: ‘(a) aid granted to undertakings active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products;’; (b) the following point (aa) is inserted: ‘(aa) aid granted to undertakings active in the processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products, where the amount of the aid is fixed on the basis of price or quantity of products purchased or put on the market;’; (c) the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘If undertakings are active in the sectors referred to in points (a), (aa), (b), (c) or (g) of the first subparagraph as well as in sectors not excluded from the scope of application of this Regulation, this Regulation applies only to aid granted in respect of those other sectors or activities, provided that Member States ensure, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the activities in the excluded sectors do not benefit from the de minimis aid under this Regulation.’; (2) Article 1(3) is amended as follows: (a) point (a) is replaced by the following: ‘(a) “agricultural products” means products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, with the exception of fishery and aquaculture products’; (b) the following points (d), (e) and (f) are added: ‘(d) “fishery and aquaculture products” means the products defined in Article 5, points (a) and (b), of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament of the Council ; (e) “primary production of fishery and aquaculture products” means all operations relating to the fishing, rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms, as well as on-farm or on-board activities necessary for preparing an animal or plant for the first sale, including cutting, filleting or freezing, and the first sale to resellers or processors; (f) “processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products” means all operations, including handling, treatment and transformation, performed following the time of landing – or harvesting in case of aquaculture – that result in a processed product, as well as distribution thereof.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.