13.12.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities L 3373 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment 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 point (a)(iv) and point (b) of Article 1(1) thereof, Having published a draft of this Regulation (%), Having consulted the Advisory Committee on State Aid, Whereas: 1 Regulation (EC) No 99498 empowers the Commission to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that under certain conditions aid for employment is compatible with the common market and not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty. Regulation (EC) No 994/98 also empowers the Commis- sion to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that aid that complies with the map approved by the Commission for each Member State for the grant of regional aid is compatible with the common market and is not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty. The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to employment aid in and outside assisted areas in numerous decisions and has also stated its policy, in the guidelines on aid to employment (%), in the notice on monitoring of State aid and reduction of labour costs (%), in the guidelines on national regional aid () and in 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 (%). In the light of the Commissions experience in applying those provisions, it is appropriate, with a view to ensuring efficient supervision and simplifying admin- istration without weakening Commission monitoring, that the Commission should make use of the powers conferred by Regulation (EC) No 994/98. 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1. 88, 12.4.2002, p. 2. 334,12.12.1995, p. 4. 1,3.1.1997, p. 10. 74,10.3.1998, p. 9. 10, 13.1.2001, p. 33. canNnnn- (4) Le o N W This Regulation is without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to notify aid for employment. Such notifications will be assessed by the Commission in particular in the light of the criteria set out in this Regu- lation, in Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 or in accordance with any relevant Community guidelines or frameworks. This is currently the case for the sector of maritime transport. The guidelines on State aid for employment () cease to apply from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, as do the notice on monitoring of State aid and reduction of labour costs and the notice on an accel- erated procedure for processing notifications of employ- ment aid (). Notifications pending at the entry into force of this Regulation will be assessed in accordance with its provisions. It is appropriate to lay down transitional provisions concerning the application of this Regulation to employment aid granted before its entry into force and in breach of the obligation in Article 88(3) of the Treaty. The promotion of employment is a central aim for the economic and social policies of the Community and of its Member States. The Community has developed a European employment strategy in order to promote this objective. Unemployment remains a significant problem in some parts of the Community, and certain categories of worker still find particular difficulty in entering the labour market. For this reason there is a justification for public authorities to apply measures providing incentives to enterprises to increase their levels of employment, in particular of workers from these disadvantaged cate- gories. This Regulation applies only to employment measures which fulfil all the conditions of Article 87(1) of the Treaty and thus constitute State aid. A number of employment policy measures do not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) because they consti- tute aid to individuals that does not favour certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, or because they do not affect trade between Member States or because they are general measures to promote employment which do not distort or threaten to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods. Such general measures, which may include general reduction of the taxation of labour and social costs, boosting investment in general education and training, measures to provide guidance and counselling, general assistance and training for the 71, 23.12.2000, p. 12. 18, 27.7.1996, p. 4.