Article 2 Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation:

1. (a)

   ‘aid’ shall mean any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in Article 87(1) of the Treaty;

2. (b)

   ‘F1small and medium-sized enterprises’ shall mean enterprises as defined in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 ^f1 ;

3. (c)

   ‘ large enterprises ’ shall mean enterprises not coming under the definition of small and medium-sized enterprises;

4. (d)

   ‘specific training’ shall mean training involving tuition directly and principally applicable to the employee's present or future position in the assisted firm and providing qualifications which are not or only to a limited extent transferable to other firms or fields of work;

5. (e)

   ‘general training’ shall mean training involving tuition which is not applicable only or principally to the employee's present or future position in the assisted firm, but which provides qualifications that are largely transferable to other firms or fields of work and thereby substantially improve the employability of the employee. Training shall be considered ‘general’ if, for example,

   • it is jointly organised by different independent enterprises, or if employees of different enterprises may avail themselves of the training,

   • it is recognised, certified or validated by public authorities or bodies or by other bodies or institutions on which a Member State or the Community has conferred the necessary powers.

6. (f)

   ‘aid intensity’ shall mean the gross aid amount expressed as a percentage of the project's eligible costs. All figures used shall be taken before any deduction for direct taxation. Where aid is awarded in a form other than a grant, the aid amount shall be the grant equivalent of the aid. Aid payable in several instalments shall be discounted to its value at the time of granting. The interest rate to be used for discounting purposes and for calculating the aid amount in a soft loan shall be the reference rate applicable at the time of grant;

7. (g)

   ‘disadvantaged worker’ shall mean:

   • any young person under 25 who has not previously obtained his first regular paid employment,

   • any person with serious disabilities which result from physical, mental or psychological impairments and yet capable of entering the labour market,

   • any migrant worker who moves or has moved within the Community or becomes resident in the Community to take up work and who needs professional and/or language training,

   • any person wishing to re-enter working life after a break of at least three years, and particularly any person who gave up work on account of the difficulty of reconciling his working life and family life, for the first six months after recruitment,

   • any person older than 45 who has not attained an upper secondary educational qualification or its equivalent,

   • any long-term unemployed person, i.e. any person who was without work for 12 consecutive months, for the first six months after recruitment.