EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 3.6.2015 C(2015) 3613 final PUBLIC VERSION This document is made available for information purposes only. Subject: State Aid SA. 41618 (2015/N) – France Amendment to the Regional aid map 2014-2020 – First use of the population reserve Sir, 1. PROCEDURE (1) On 7 May 2014, the Commission approved the French Regional aid map (SA.38182) for the period from 1 July 2014 until 31 December 2020. This approved aid map contained a population reserve equivalent to 233,757 inhabitants. (2) By electronic notification of 20 April 2015, the French authorities notified an amendment to their map in order to make a first use of the population reserve 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE: (3) In their notification, the French authorities propose six extra municipalities to be eligible for regional aid under the derogation provided in Article 107(3)(c) of the TFEU until 31 December 2020. These municipalities are notified as non-predefined 'c' area. 2.1. Population reserve: (4) In the approved regional aid map for the period 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2020, a population reserve is foreseen in accordance with paragraph 180 of the RAG. This population reserve is equivalent to 0.36% of the national population (or Son Excellence Monsieur Laurent FABIUS Ministre des Affaires étrangères et du Développement international 37, Quai d'Orsay F - 75351 – PARIS Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles – Belgique Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel – België Téléphone: 00 32 (0) 2 299.11.11. 233,757 inhabitants), based on the most recent data on the resident population as published by the national statistical office1. (5) The paragraphs 181 and 182 of the RAG provide that if a Member State decides to use the reserve to add new ‘c’ areas in its map, this is possible until its national coverage ceiling is reached. For this purpose, a Member State may refer to the most recent socioeconomic data provided by Eurostat or by its national statistical office or other recognised sources. The population of the ‘c’ areas concerned should be calculated on the basis of the population data used for establishing the initial map. The Member State must notify the Commission each time it intends to use its population reserve to add new ‘c’ areas prior to putting into effect such amendments. 2.2. Non-predefined Article 107(3)(c) area: (6) The French authorities propose to use this population reserve to designate six extra municipalities as non-predefined 'c' areas for eligibility on the basis of the regional aid derogation laid down in Article 107(3)(c) TFEU for the period from the date of adoption of this decision until 31 December 2020. (7) The French authorities propose to include these 6 municipalities as a non- predefined 'c' area in accordance with Criterion 1 as set out in paragraph 168 of the RAG. Table 1 below presents the proposed non-predefined 'c' areas along with the maximum aid intensity to be applied in that area: Table 1: non-predefined 'c' area proposed under Criterion 1 Name of zone NUTS Code Name of LAU 2 Population2 Max. aid intensity Picardie - Marne FR213 Marne Châlons-en-Champagne 45 299 10% GGE - Ardennes Sud Haut Jura - Côte FR261 Côte- Crimolois 642 10% GGE D'Or d'Or Chevigny Saint Sauveur 9 969 10% GGE Fénay 1 582 10% GGE Neuilly-lès-Dijon 1 869 10% GGE Sennecey-lès-Dijon 2 189 10% GGE Total 61 550 2.3. Maximum aid intensities for SMEs: (8) In accordance with paragraph 177 of the RAG, the French authorities propose that the maximum aid intensities applicable to large enterprises can be increased by up to 20 percentage points for small enterprises or by up to 10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises. However, the increased maximum aid intensities for SMEs will not apply to aid awarded for large investment projects with eligible expenditure above EUR 50 million. 1 France - population census of 2010. 2 France – population census 2010 2 3. ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURE 3.1. Proposed first use of the population reserve: (9) In accordance with the decision of 9 April 2014, France can designate areas with a population of up to 0.36% of the national population (or 233,757 inhabitants) as non-predefined ‘c’ areas using its population reserve. (10) France proposes 6 additional municipalities with a total population of 61,550 inhabitants, which leaves a reserve of 172,207 inhabitants for future use. (11) According to paragraph 168 of the RAG, a Member State may designate as non- predefined ‘c’ areas under Criterion 1 contiguous areas of at least 100,000 inhabitants located in NUTS 2 or NUTS 3 regions that have a GDP per capita below or equal to the EU-27 average or an unemployment rate above or equal to 115 of the national average. (12) According to paragraph 169 of the RAG, for the purpose of applying the criteria set out in paragraph 168, the notion of contiguous areas refers to whole local administrative unit 2 (LAU 2) areas or to a group of whole LAU 2 areas. A group of LAU 2 areas will be considered to form a contiguous area if each of those areas in the group shares an administrative border with another area in the group. (13) The Commission considers that the newly proposed municipalities fulfil the conditions of Criterion 1 for the following reasons: • The municipality of Châlons-en-Champagne is a LAU 2 area located within the NUTS 2 region FR21 Champagne-Ardenne, which has a GDP of 94.00 per capita which is below the EU27 average. The municipality is part of the zone "Picardie-Marne-Ardenne Sud" which has now (with the addition of the municipality) a total population of 845,108 inhabitants; • The municipalities of Crimolois, Chevigny Saint Sauveur, Fénay, Neuilly-lès- Dijon and Sennecey-lès-Dijon are LAU 2 areas located within the NUTS 2 of FR26 Bourgogne which has a GDP of 91.00 per capita which is below the EU27 average. The municipalities are part of the zone Haut Jura – Côte d'Or which has now (with the addition of the municipalities) a total population of 124,562 inhabitants. (14) In view of the above, the municipalities proposed satisfy all the conditions for eligibility as a non-predefined 'c' area under the Criterion 1 and comply with paragraph 169 of the RAG with regard to the notion of contiguous areas. 3.2. Respect of population reserve: (15) In its decision on the French regional aid map 2014-2020 of 7 May 2014, the Commission noted that France established a population reserve for non-predefined ‘c’ areas in accordance with paragraph 180 of the RAG. This reserve was quantified at 0.36% of the total national population of France. The extra non- predefined ‘c’ areas proposed by France in the present notification have a total resident population of 61,550 inhabitants. It is therefore well below the population reserve set out in the decision on the French Regional aid map of 7 May 2014 and leaves a further 172,207 inhabitants for future use of the reserve. 3 3.3. Maximum aid intensities proposed for 'c' areas: (16) In accordance with paragraphs 174 to 176 of the RAG, France proposes to limit the maximum aid intensity in all 'c' areas proposed to 10% GGE. Therefore, the maximum aid intensities for regional investment aid in the 'c' areas notified by France for the period till 31 December 2020 are in line with the maximum aid intensities allowed for under the RAG. 3.4. Increased maximum aid intensities for SMEs: (17) In accordance with paragraph 177 of the RAG, the maximum aid intensities applicable to large enterprises can be increased by up to 20 percentage points for small enterprises or by up to 10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises. However, the increased maximum aid intensities for SMEs will not apply to aid awarded for large investment projects as defined in paragraph 20(l) of the RAG. 3.5. Other commitments made by the French authorities: (18) The Commission takes note of the following commitments made by the French authorities in the notification with regard to the amended map: (a) The French authorities confirmed that all intentions to grant regional aid will be notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 108(3) TFEU, either as an aid scheme, or as an individual notification, unless a block exemption regulation applies. (b) The French authorities confirmed that all regional investment aid will respect the maximum aid intensities of the region concerned as defined in the regional aid map approved by the Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. (c) The French authorities confirmed that for large investment projects (as defined in paragraph 20(l) of the RAG) the aid ceilings of the region concerned as defined in the regional aid map approved and published by the Commission, will be adjusted according to the formula in paragraph 20(c) of the RAG. 3.6. Conclusion: (19) In view of the above, the Commission concludes that the amendment of the regional aid map till 31 December 2020, as notified by France, is in line with the RAG. (20) The Commission recalls that the maximum aid intensities specified in the regional aid map apply only to investments carried out in sectors that fall within the scope of the RAG, as defined in paragraph 10 thereof. In particular, these aid ceilings apply to the processing and marketing of agricultural products only to the extent laid down in the European Union Guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas3, or in any guidelines replacing them.