23.4.2004 Official Journal of the European Union L 119/53 COMMISSION DECISION of 16 December 2003 on the State aid which Italy (Sicily) is planning to implement for the agricultural sector (notified under document number C(2003) 4474) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (2004/342[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 called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the Article cited above (!) and having regard to their comments, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE By letter dated 2 May 1996, registered on 8 May 1996, Italy notified the Commission of the aids provided for by Regional Law No 33/1996 of the Region of Sicily of 18 May 1996. Scrutiny of the notification was divided into four parts: aid No N 340/A[96, involving all sectors other than agriculture and fisheries, aid No N 340/B[96, involving agricultural products listed in Annex I to the EC Treaty, aid No N 340/C/96, involving fishery products and aid No 340/D[96, involving transport. This Decision relates only to the aid for Annex I agricultural products. By letter dated 3 June 1996, registered on 12 June 1996, Italy submitted information sheets on the aid measures provided for by Articles 10, 17 and 18 of Regional Law No 33/1996. By letter dated 3 July 1996, registered on 11 July 1996, Italy submitted the text of Regional Law No 33/1996 as published in the Regional Official Journal of Sicily (No 26 of 21 May 1996). In telexes No VI[027617 of 9 July 1996 and No V146886 of 5 December 1996, the Commission sought further information from the Italian authorities. By () 0] C 201, 1.7.1997, p. 10. (10) letter dated 19 December 1996, registered on 31 December 1996, Italy submitted additional information on Articles 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of Regional Law No 33/1996. By letter dated 21 March 1997 (SG(97) D[2243), the Commission informed Italy that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the Treaty in respect of the aid measures provided for by Articles 1, 9, 10, 13(2) and (3), 17, 18 and 19 of Regional Law No 33/96. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (?). The Commission called on interested parties to submit their comments. The Commission received comments from Italy by letters dated 2 September 1997, registered on 4 September 1997, and 7 November 1997, registered on 17 November 1997. By letter dated 28 January 1998 Italy informed the Commission that the aid measure provided for by Article 18 of Law No 33/1996 could no longer be implemented due to the lack of financial resources allocated to it and undertook to renotify the aid measure under Article 88(3) of the Treaty should it be re-proposed in the future. To finalise its examination of the file, in telex AGR 029182 of 20 November 2000 the Commission asked the Italian autorities for clarifications about the aid in question. In that same telex the Commission also said that if the Italian authorities had taken steps to stop the grant of aid to the agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty in accordance with the provisions in the Commmision Decision to initiate the formal scrutiny (®) See footnote 1.