L 295/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 23.11.2000 COMMISSION DECISION of 12 July 2000 on the State aid ‘Measures to improve the indoor environment’ which Sweden is planning to implement (notified under document number C(2000) 2239) (Only the Swedish text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2000/733/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (1), Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having regard to Commission decision of 18 January 2000 (%), by which the Commission initiated proceedings in accordance with Article 88(2) concerning aid C 2/2000, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to those provisions (}) and having regard to their comments, Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 19 November 1999, registered on 22 November 1999, Sweden notified the Commission of the proposed aid in favour of private and municipal housing companies and real estate owners. (2) By letter dated 29 February 2000, the Commission informed Sweden that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the aid. (3)  The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communi- ties (¥). The Commission called on interested parties to submit their comments. (4)  The Commission received comments from the Swedish authorities by letter dated 19 May 2000, registered on 25 May 2000. No other comments were received. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID (5)  The notified measure is a modification of an environ- mental investment aid scheme last approved on 20 July 1999 based on the Community guidelines on State aid () O] L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1. () Letter to Sweden dated 29 February 2000, published in OJ C 110, 15.4.2000, p. 9. () O] C 110, 15.4.2000, p. 9. (*) See footnote 3. for environmental protection (}). The overall objective of the scheme is to encourage municipalities and enter- prises to carry out projects which improve the ecological sustainability of Swedish society. The scheme lasts until 2001 and the number of beneficiaries is between 101 and 500. (6)  The aid is given in the form of grants. Grants can be given for: — projects carried out by municipalities directly, — proejcts that a municipality administers through a public procurement procedure, in accordance with the applicable rules, — projects that support economic activity in general, and — projects that are carried out by individual enterprises. (7 In the original scheme, six objectives were defined. Eligible projects should aim at reducing impact on the environment, increasing efficiency when using energy or natural resources, supporting the use of renewable raw materials, increasing recycling, supporting and strength- ening biological diversity, encouraging education in environmental matters or, finally, at improving the circulation of plant nutrients. (8)  Eligible projects have to lead to a significant improve- ment on mandatory environmental standards, and the eligible costs are costs for investments in land, buildings and equipment, which can be expected to bring a signifi- cant improvement in the quality of the evironment. They are strictly confined to the extra investment costs necessary to meet environmental objectives. The aid intensity is 30 % gross of the eligible costs. Projects also have to have a likely, positive effect on employment. (9)  The overall budget amounts to SEK 6,8 billion (about EUR 791 million) for the period 1998 to 2001. According to the Swedish authorities about SEK 1 billion remains. The budget will not be increased when the new objective described below is introduced. The grants for indoor environment are expected to amount to about 5% of the remaining budget, ie. SEK 50 million (about EUR 6 million). ) O] C 72, 10.3.1994, p. 3.