No L 335/90 Official Journal of the European Communities 23. 12. 94 COMMISSION DECISION of 14 September 1994 on aid in respect of exports of mushrooms, granted in connection with the Market Development Fund in Ireland (Only the English text is authentic) (94/814/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having 'regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 of 18 May 1972 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3669/93 (9, and in particular Article 31 thereof, - Having given formal notice, in accordance with Article 93 (2) of the Treaty, to the parties concerned to submit - their comments (°) and having taken due account of the same, Whereas : (1) The Commission was informed that State aid was being granted to producers of mushrooms in the form of aid related to the quantitiy of mushrooms exported ; this aid, according to the same information, was being granted from the Market Development Fund. By letter dated 17 December 1992, the Commission asked the Permanent Representative of Ireland whether such an aid existed and if so to inform it how this measure could be reconciled with the Market Development Fund, a scheme to which the Commission did not formulate objections in November 1992 (Aid No 644/92). Under the Market Development Pund, assistance to business producing agricultural products covered by common organiza- tions of the market was confined to aid for training, market development or advertising and aid to certain investments and/or short-term operating loans. By letter dated 1 April 1993, the Irish authorities sent the Commission an answer that was not very detailed ; on 7 April 1993, therefore, the Commission asked for additional clarifications in order to avoid any mis- understandings concerning the application of the Market Development Fund to mushroom ‘producers. () OJ No L 118, 20. 5. 1972, p. 1. ) OJ No L 338, 31. 12. 1993, p. 26. () OJ No C 251, 15. 9. 1993, p. S. By telex message of 14 April 1993, the Commission - asked for a reply to its telex message sent on 23 February 1993, to which no reply had been received, asking for precise details on one of the conditions for granting the aid in question. The Irish authorities replied to the request from the Commission of 7 April 1993 by telex message of 7 May 1993. In addition, by telex message of 12 May 1993, the Irish authorities answered the telex message of 23 February 1993. The telex message of 12 May 1993 led the Commission to require more detailed clarifications by telex message of 17 May 1993. The Irish authorities answered the Commission’s telex message of 17 May 1993 by telex message of 23 June 1993. However, despite this telex message, justified doubts continued to exist and a meeting between the Irish authorities and Commission staff took place on 29 June 1993. At the end of this meeting, the doubts concerning the application of the Market Develop- ment Pund to the mushroom sector persisted. (2) According to information reaching the Commission, based especially on a document appearing to be a circular of the Irish Trade Board, of which the Commission has a copy, the recipients of the aid are individual mushroom producers who buy their compost from one or more of the five Irish compost- selling undertakings and who export fresh mush- rooms ; the amount of aid is based on the quantity of mushrooms exported. In fact, according to a complai- nant submitted to the Commission, the aid is between 3,5p and 6,5p per pound and totals £ Irl 1,2 million. The various answers and clarifications provided by the Irish authorities, including the statements that the quantity of mushrooms exported is only a condition of eligibility for aid, that the amount of aid granted is not linked to the quantity of mushrooms exported and that the only aid granted to the mushroom producers under the Market Development Fund is exclusively a - function of 'the producers’ eligible expenditure on training, market development and promotion, are not consistent with the information contained in the document referred to above which appears to be a circular of the Irish Trade Board.