L 282/60 Official Journal of the European Communities 19.10.2002 COMMISSION DECISION of 7 May 2002 on the aid Italy is planning to grant under Article 21 of Region of Sardinia Law No 21/2000 to agricultural holdings using fuel other than methane (notified under document number C(2002) 1785) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (2002/785/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the above Article, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE By letter dated 11 January 2001, received on 16 January 2001, Italy notified the Commission, in accordance with Article 88(3) of the Treaty, of the aid measures provided for in Region of Sardinia Law No 21 of 14 November 2000. By letters dated 7 May 2001 and 22 June 2001, received respectively on 10 May 2001 and 25 June 2001, Italy provided the Commission with further information. By letter dated 25 July 2001, the Commission informed Italy of its decision not to raise any objection in respect of the measures provided for in Articles 1 to 12 and 14 to 20 of Law 21/2000 and to initiate the procedure provided for in Article 88(2) of the Treaty in respect of the aid provided for in Article 21 of that law. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (1). The Commission invited interested par- ties to submit their comments on the aid. The Commission received no comments from interested parties. (1) OJ C20,23.1.2002, p. 7. (6) The Italian authorities sent comments on the initiation of the procedure by letter dated 11 February 2002. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE AID Regional Law 21/2000 governs the grant of a wide range of aid to the agricultural and forestry sectors in the Region of Sardinia. The Law, comprising 28 Articles, replaces a number of regional laws applicable in the agricultural sector to bring regional legislation into line with the Community Guidelines for State aid in the agriculture sector (2) Article 21 of Law 21/2000 provides for aid for the reduction of production costs linked to the use of fuels other than methane. The regional authorities are authorised to grant aid to agricultural holdings to cover the difference in cost between methane and the fuel used, provided that this does not benefit from any other concession. In their letter dated 11 February 2002 in reply to the initiation of the procedure the Italian authorities said that the aid was paid only to greenhouse growers. The wording of the Article is, however, general and does not exclude any type of undertaking. The aid is to be withdrawn on completion of the ‘Programme for the construction of a methane supply network in Sardinia’ referred to in Article 6 of Law No 73 of 31 March 1998. According to the information provided by the Italian authorities, this measure is justified by the fact that diesel is much more expensive than methane, which is not available on the island because there is no distribution network there. According to the calculations made by the Italian authorities, 10 calories of energy from diesel on the island cost 1,125 lire compared with 0,63 lire from methane. (2) O] C 28,1.2.2000, p. 2.