18.9.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 249/15 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 4 June 2008 concerning the State aid scheme that France intends to implement in favour of the processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products (Fonds d’Intervention Stratégique des Industries Agro-Alimentaires (agri-food industries strategic intervention fund)) (notified under document number C(2008) 2257) (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2008/738EC) 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 that Article (1), Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE On 24 April 2007 France notified the Commission of its intention to implement an aid scheme to subsidise undertakings processing and marketing fisheries and aquaculture products. In the framework of the preli- minary examination provided for in Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (%), a request for additional information was sent to France on 7 June 2007, in order to obtain further information about the beneficiaries of the aid and the legal basis of the scheme. The French authorities replied on 11 July 2007. The Commission sent them a further request for additional information on 11 September 2007, to which France replied on 26 October 2007. On the basis of the documents in its possession, the Commission considered that the aid scheme notified raised doubts as to its compatibility with the common market. It informed France, on 16 January 2008, of its decision to open the formal investigation procedure provided for in Article 88(2) of the Treaty and Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 659/1999. () O] C 61, 6.3.2008, p. 8. () O] L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1. G) The decision of the Commission to open the formal investigation procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (}). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measures in question within a month. France submitted its comments in the form of a note sent in a letter dated 18 February 2008. The Commission did not receive any other comments from interested parties. 2. DESCRIPTION According to the information contained in the notifi- cation, the aid scheme in question aims to subsidise, through the use of purely public funds, undertakings which process and market fisheries and aquaculture products. The purpose of this scheme is to grant aid to under- takings other than small and medium-sized undertakings, so that they can enjoy the same support as that available to the SMEs under Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (4. The aid would come from the Fonds d’Intervention Stra- tégique des Industries Agro-Alimentaires (FISIAA) (agri- food industries strategic intervention fund). This fund set up by the French authorities consists of a budget entry in the State budget which is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. All undertakings which process and market products included in Annex I to the Treaty may benefit from the subsidies granted from the FISIAA. Consequently, both undertakings in the agriculture sector and those in the fisheries and aquaculture sector could () See footnote 1. (4 O] L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1.