L 6320 Official Journal of the European Union 28.2.2004 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 363/2004 of 25 February 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid 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 (') and in particular point (a)(iv) of Article 1(1) thereof, Having published a draft of this Regulation (%), Having consulted the Advisory Committee on State Aid, Whereas: (1)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 (}) provides for special conditions in respect of aid to be granted for small and medium-sized enterprises. The definition of small and medium-sized enterprises in Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 is that used in Commission Recommenda- tion 96/280/EC of 3 April 1996 concerning the defini- tion of small and medium-sized enterprises (*). That Recommendation has been replaced by Recommenda- tion 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the defini- tion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (°) with effect from 1 January 2005. In the interests of legal certainty, the definition used in Regulation (EC) No 68/ 2001 should be the same as that used in 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 (°). (2)  Experience has shown that it is desirable to have a unified and simplified reporting system of annual reports adopted pursuant to Article 27 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (). The specific reporting provisions laid down in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 should there- fore only apply until such time as a general reporting system has been adopted. (3) It is necessary to lay down provisions for the assessment of the compatibility with the common market of any training aid granted without prior authorisation of the Commission before the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 68/2001. 1 () OJ L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1. () O] € 190, 12.8.2003, p. 2. () OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 20. () OJ L 107, 30.4.1996, p. 4. () OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36. () OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33. () OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1, Regulation as amended by the 2003 Act of Accession. (4)  Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Atrticle 1 Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 is amended as follows: 1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 1 Scope This Regulation applies to training aid in all sectors, including the activities relating to the production, processing and marketing of products listed in Annex I of the Treaty, with the exception of aid falling within the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 1407/2002 (¥). ) OJ L 205, 2.8.2002, p. 1.; 2. In Article 2 points, (b) and (c) are replaced by the following: ‘(b) “small and medium-sized enterprises” shall mean enter- prises as defined in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 (*); (c) “large enterprises” shall mean enterprises not coming under the definition of small and medium-sized enter- prises; (") OJ L 10, 13.1.2002, p. 33.; 3. In Article 7, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Member States shall compile an annual report on the application of this Regulation in accordance with the imple- menting provisions concerning the form and content of annual reports which are laid down pursuant to Article 27 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 (*). Until such provisions enter into force, Member States shall compile an annual report on the application of this Regu- lation in respect of the whole or part of each calendar year during which this Regulation applies, in the form laid down in Annex III, also in computerised form. Member States shall provide the Commission with such report no later than three months after the expiry of the period to which the report relates. (*) OJ L 83,27.3.1999, p. 1.