21.12.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 337/35 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1535/2007 of 20 December 2007 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the sector of agricultural production 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 2(1) 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 set out in a regulation a ceiling below which aid measures are considered not to meet all the criteria of Article 87(1) of the Treaty and therefore do not fall under the notification procedure provided for in Article 88(3) of the Treaty. (2)  The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty and in particular clarified, in numerous decisions, the notion of aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the Treaty. It has also stated its policy with regard to a de minimis ceiling under which Article 87(1) of the Treaty can be considered not to apply, firstly in its communi- cation on de minimis aid (}) and then in Commission Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid (¥, replaced on 1 January 2007 by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis aid (°). In view of the special rules which apply in the agriculture sector and of the risks that even low levels of aid could fulfil the criteria of Article 87(1) of the Treaty in that sector, Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 excludes the agriculture sector from its scope. Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 also excludes the sector of agricultural production from its scope. () OJ L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1. () O] C 151, 5.7.2007, p. 16. () O] C 68, 6.3.1996, p. 9. * OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 30. () OJ L 379, 28.12.2006, p. 5. G) However, since the experience gained over the years has shown that the very small amounts of aid granted in the agriculture sector may also not meet the criteria of Article 87(1) of the Treaty where certain conditions are met, the Commission laid down rules allowing the grant of de minimis aid in that sector in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 of 6 October 2004 on the appli- cation of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector (°). That Regulation, by virtue of which the total amount of de minimis aid granted to one and the same undertaking is regarded as not meeting all the criteria of Article 87(1) of the Treaty where it does not exceed EUR 3 000 per beneficiary over any period of three years or a cumulative amount laid down for each Member State representing 0,3 % of annual output in the agriculture sector, covers both primary production and the processing and marketing of agricultural products. Given the similarities between activities in the processing and marketing of agricultural products on the one hand and industrial activities on the other, activities in the processing and marketing of agricultural products were included in the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006, which governs de minimis aid for industrial activities. As a result, those activities were excluded from the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004. For the sake of clarity, Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 should be repealed and replaced by a new Regulation applicable only to the agricultural production sector. In the light of the Commission’s experience, the maximum amount of aid of EUR 3 000 per beneficiary over a period of three years may be increased to EUR 7 500 and the ceiling of 0,3 % of annual output in the agriculture sector may be increased to 0,75 % without trade between Member States being affected, without there being any distortion or threat of distortion of competition, and without aid being granted within those limits falling under Article 87(1) of the Treaty, provided that certain conditions are met. This increase will also help to reduce the administrative burden. The years to take into account are the fiscal years as used by the undertaking in the Member State concerned. The reference period of three years should be assessed on a rolling basis so that, for each new grant of de minimis aid, the total amount of de minimis aid granted in the fiscal year concerned, as well as during the previous two fiscal years, needs to be determined. It should not be possible (6 OJ L 325, 28.10.2004, p. 4. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 875/2007 (O] L 193, 25.7.2007, p. 6).