L 111/24 Official Journal of the European Union 6.5.2003 COMMISSION DECISION of 11 December 2002 on the measures implemented by Spain in the agricultural sector following the increase in fuel prices (notified under document number C(2002) 4378) (Only the Spanish text is authentic) (2003/293/EC) 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 invited interested parties to submit comments in accordance with the above Article (!), and taking account of such comments, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE By letter of 29 September 2000, the Spanish authorities notified the Commission, in accordance with Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty, of measures to support agriculture following the increase in fuel prices, as set out in the decision to initiate the procedure. By fax of 20 November 2000, the Commission asked for further information. That information was supplied by letters of 9 January and 13 March 2001. Since most of the measures covered by the notification had already been adopted, they were accordingly transferred to the register of unnotified aid measures (aid NN 19/2001). The notified measures which had not yet been adopted were entered in the register of notified aid (N 681/A/2000). By letter of 11 April 2001, amended on 25 April 2001, the Commission notified Spain of its decision to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the Treaty concerning some of the measures, and to consider that others did not meet the requirements to fall within the scope of Article 87 of the Treaty. () O] C 172, 16.6.2001, p. 2. () (13) (14) The Commission’s decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (?). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measures concerned. By letters of 6 June and 20 December 2001, Spain sent a series of comments. The Commission has received comments from interested parties. It passed on those comments to Spain, giving it the opportunity to comment on them, and received its comments by letters of 1 and 30 October 2001. II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID Name of scheme: measures to support agriculture following the increase in fuel prices. Budget: not specified. Duration: varies according to the measures. Beneficiaries: farmers and agricultural cooperatives. Aim of the measures: to compensate the agricultural sector for the increase in fuel prices. Possible impact of the measures: distorting competition, favouring the production of certain agricultural products and infringing the rules of the relevant common organisations of the market. Rate of aid, costs qualifying for subsidies, accumulation: various according to the measures. () See footnote 1.