L 272/36 Official Journal of the European Communities 25.10.2000 COMMISSION DECISION of 21 June 2000 on State aid which Italy is planning to implement for Siciliana Acque Minerali Srl (notified under document number C(2000) 1730) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2000/648EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 10, and the first subpara- graph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (1), Having regard to the Commission communication to the Member States on the transfer of funds to public under- takings (), Having regard to the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (), Having regard to the Commission Decision of 3 June 1999 (%) to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) in respect of aid C 34/99 and to invite the Italian authorities to provide all the necessary information within one month, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above and having regard to their comments, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 19 August 1997 from its Permanent Representation, Italy notified the Commission pursuant to Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty of aid that the Region of Sicily planned to grant to the company Siciliana Acque Minerali Sl (hereafter ‘SAM) to cover its balance- sheet losses, the legal basis for the operation being Article 19 of Regional Law No 46 of 24 December 1997 concerning provisions governing the carrying on of professional activities by travel and tourism agencies in Sicily. On the sole ground that, under Article 22 of () O] L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1. (@) O] C 307, 13.11.1993, p. 3. (}) See point 98 of the new guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (O] C 288, 9.10.1999, p. 2), which provides that aid for SMEs individually notified before 30 April 2000 will be assessed in the light of the guidelines previously in force (O] C 368, 23.12.1994, p. 12). (% O] C 365, 18.12.1999, p. 3. Law No 46/97, Article 19 is subject to prior approval by the Commission within the meaning of Articles 87 et seq. of the Treaty, the measure in question was entered in the register of notified aid under N 576/97. (2) By letter dated 3 June 1999 (SG (99) D/4000), the Commission informed Italy that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the aid, since the recapitalisation of SAM could involve elements of State aid within the meaning of Article 87 of the Treaty and since the extremely small amount of information received obliged the Commission to request that the Italian authorities provide, within one month, all the documents and infor- mation required to assess the compatibility of the measure, including a restructuring plan and a note setting out in detail the procedure regarding any future sale of SAM. (3)  In the same decision, the Commission also informed the [talian authorities that, in the absence of such documen- tation, it would take a decision on the basis of the information available to it. () The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communi- ties (°). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure within one month of the date of publication. (5)  No comments on the matter have been received by the Commission either from interested parties or from the Italian authorities. II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION (6)  Article 19 of Regional Law No 46/97 authorises the member of the Sicilian Regional Executive responsible for tourism, communications and transport to make an outright grant to the Acireale Springs Agency (a public institution set up by Sicilian Presidential Decree No 12 of 30 December 1954) for the recapitalisation of Siciliana Acque Minerali Stl, which is controlled by the above agency. (%) See footnote 4.