Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty establishing the European Community to certain categories of horizontal State aid^f1, and in particular points (a)(i), (ii),(iv) and point (b) of Article 1(1) thereof,

Having published a draft of this Regulation,

After consulting the Advisory Committee on State Aid,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment^f2, Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises^f3 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid^f4 will expire on 31 December 2006. In its State Aid Action Plan^f5 the Commission has proposed regrouping these Regulations in one single block exemption Regulation and possibly adding other areas referred to in Article 1 and 2 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98.

The contents of the future block exemption Regulation depends in particular on the results of the public consultations initiated by the State aid action plan on less and better targeted State aid: a roadmap for State aid reform 2005^f6 and the consultation paper on aid for innovation. Discussions with representatives of Member States are also necessary in order to define the categories of aid which might be considered compatible with the Treaty. In order to proceed with the current consultations and the analysis of their results, it is appropriate to extend the period of application of Regulations (EC) No 2204/2002, (EC) No 70/2001 and (EC) No 68/2001 until 30 June 2008.

Regulations (EC) No 2204/2002, (EC) No 70/2001 and (EC) No 68/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.

In addition it is appropriate not to request Member States to send in new summary information sheets for measures which are prolonged under this Regulation without being modified in substance,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: