L 201/16 Official Journal of the European Union 30.7.2008 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 736/2008 of 22 July 2008 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the 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)(@)() 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 (SMEs) is compatible with the common market and not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty. (2)  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 fishery and aqua- culture products covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17 December 1999 on the common organ- isation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products (*). (3)  The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty in numerous decisions to SMEs active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries () O] L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1. () O] C 248, 23.10.2007, p. 13. () OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1976/2006 (O] L 368, 23.12.2006, p. 85). () OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1759/2006 (O] L 335, 1.12.2006, p. 3). products and has also stated its policy, most recently in the Guidelines for the examination of State aid to fisheries and aquaculture (°) (hereafter referred to as the ‘fisheries guidelines’). In the light of the Commission’s considerable experience in applying those Articles to SMEs 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 moni- toring, that the Commission should make use of the powers conferred by Regulation (EC) No 994/98 also for SMEs active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products, in so far 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 types of aid granted in the fisheries sector which have been systematically approved by the Commission for many years. This 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 in Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (°) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 498/2007 of 26 March 2007 laying down detailed rules for the imple- mentation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (") and with certain other conditions. Although Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 has only been in force from 4 September 2006, the Commission has gained on the basis of existing fisheries guidelines sufficient experience in applying similar conditions for the type of measures concerned in order to establish that the conditions of that Regu- lation are sufficiently accurate to justify not requiring case-by-case assessment. This Regulation should be without prejudice to the possi- bility for Member States of notifying aid to SMEs active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products. Such notifications should be assessed by the Commission in the light of this Regulation and on the basis of the fisheries guidelines. 229, 14.9.2004, p. 5. 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1. 120, 10.5.2007, p. 1. [anll onlien)