14.9.2004 Official Journal of the European Union L 291/3 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1595/2004 of 8 September 2004 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products 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 Article 1(1)(a)() thereof, Having published a draft of this Regulation, Having consulted the Advisory Committee on State Aid, Whereas: (1) Regulation (EC) No 994/98 empowers the Commission to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that under certain conditions, aid to small and medium- sized enterprises is compatible with the common market and not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty. 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 enter- prises (), does not apply to activities linked to the production, processing or marketing of products listed in Annex I to the Treaty. The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries’ products in numerous decisions and has also stated its policy, most recently in the Guidelines for the exami- nation of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture () (the Fisheries Guidelines). In the light of the Commission’s considerable experience in applying those Articles to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products, it is appropriate, with a view to ensuring efficient supervision and simplifying administration without weakening Commission monitoring, that the Commission should make use of the powers conferred on it by Regulation (EC) No 994/98 also for small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products, insofar L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1. L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 (O] L 63, 28.2.2004, p. 22). () O] C 229, 14.9.2004, p. 5. as Article 89 of the Treaty has been declared applicable to such products. The compatibility of State aid in the fisheries sector is assessed by the Commission on the basis of the objectives of both the Competition Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). This Regulation should cover aid granted in the fisheries sector which has been routinely approved by the Commission for many years. Such aid does not require a case-by-case assessment of its compatibility with the common market from the Commission, provided that it complies with the conditions laid down for structural funds in Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements for Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector (¥) and with certain other conditions. Accordingly, this Regulation should cover the following aid: aid for promotion andfor advertising of fisheries products, aid for producer groups, aid for protection and development of aquatic resources, aid for innovative measures and technical assistance, aid for fishing port facilities, aid for scrapping of fishing vessels, aid for certain socio-economic measures, aid for investments for processing andfor marketing of fisheries products, aid for investments for aquaculture and inland fishing. For the purpose of legal certainty, tax exemptions applicable to the whole of the fisheries sector which Member States introduce pursuant to Article 15 of the sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (%), or to Article 14 or Article 15(1) of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and elec- tricity (°) are, to the extent they constitute State aid, () OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1421/2004 (O] L 260, 6.8.2004, p. 1). () OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/66[EC (O] L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 35). (%) OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51. (Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/75/EC (O] L 157, 30.4.2004, p. 100).