L 32/14 Official Journal of the European Union 6.2.2007 COMMISSION DECISION of 19 May 2004 concerning the aid scheme that Italy plans to implement for poultry farms — AIMA programme for the poultry industry — C 59/2001 (ex N 97/1999) (notified under document number C(2004) 1802) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (2007/52/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provision cited above, Whereas: ©) L PROCEDURE By letter dated 17 December 1999, registered as received on 22 December 1999, the Italian Permanent Representa- tion to the European Union notified the Commission, in accordance with Article 88(3) of the Treaty, the above aid scheme relating to assistance from AIMA (Associazione italiana dei mercati agricoli — Italian Association for Agricultural Markets) to the Italian poultry market, which was said to have suffered a drastic fall in the consumption and sales of poultry as a result of the 1999 dioxin crisis. By letters dated 8 August 2000, registered as received on 9 August 2000, 15 November 2000, registered on 21 November 2000, 27 February 2001, registered on 1 March 2001, and 23 May 2001, registered on 28 May 2001, the Italian Permanent Representation to the European Union sent the Commission the additional information sought from the Italian authorities by letters dated 18 February 2000 (ref. AGR 5073), 2 October 2000 (ref. AGR 25123), 10 January 2001 (ref. AGR 000449) and 24 April 2001 (ref. AGR 009825). By letter dated 30 July 2001, the Commission informed Italy of its decision to initiate the procedure provided for in Article 88(2) of the Treaty in respect of this aid. The Commission Decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Commu- nities (!). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. The Italian authorities submitted their comments by letter of 24 October 2001, registered as received on 26 October () OJ C 254, 13.9.2001, p. 2. 2001. The Commission received no comments from other interested parties. 1. DESCRIPTION Legal basis National programme of AIMA assistance for 1999. The legal basis for the proposed aid scheme is Article 3(1)(d) of Law No 610/82, which authorises AIMA, ‘using the financial resources at its disposal and based on the situation on the market and according to availability (...), to provide food products to developing countries, designated in agreement with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and after consulting the national food institute’. Context The Italian Unione nazionale dell'avicoltura (UNA) (National Union of Poultry Farmers) had asked AIMA to intervene on the market in order to offset the serious impact of the dioxin crisis on the consumption of poultrymeat. Initially (see letter dated 17 December 1999), following the refusal of AIMA to purchase 17 000 tonnes of unsold meat, worth ITL 40 billion (approximately EUR 20 million), UNA had proposed selling some of the meat (11 450 tonnes) at reduced prices on the markets of developing countries; the difference between the actual commercial value of the goods and the selling price (approximately ITL 20 billion ie. 50 % of the market value) would have been covered by AIMA. After the Commission had stated in its letter dated 18 February 2000 that the aid appeared to be an export refund covering the difference between the price of poultry in the third world and its price on the Italian market (and, therefore, by its very nature incompatible with the common market, with the Community’s obligations under the World Trade Organisation and with the common organisation of the market), the Italian authorities no longer referred, in their letter dated 10 August 2000, to the initial purpose of the aid, but argued that the losses suffered by Italian poultry farmers were the result of exceptional occurrences (rather than normal market risks) and were therefore eligible for the derogation provided for in Article 87(2)(b) of the Treaty.