At the conclusion of the seminar, the decision was made to form a workgroup which will have to draft a document to submit to the european Commission and, eventually, to other Community institutions. The draft will take into consideration all of the contributions coming; that draft will then be sent, exclusively by e-mail (we ask those who have not already sent us their e-mail address to do so), to all the participants of the seminar that, within 10 days, will be asked to make comments.

The workgroup was formed as follows:
Prof. Carlo E. Baldi - COORDINATOR (Università di BO - Europroject)
Dott. Alessandro Chili (Regione Emilia-Romagna)
Dott. Enzo De Biasi (Regione Veneto)
Dott.ssa Rossana Gardoni (Regione Lombardia)
Dott. Luigi Malfa (Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta)
Dott. Orazio Mancinelli (Regione Marche)
Dott. Paolo Nicoletti (Provincia Autonoma di Trento)
Dott. Adriano Ramella (Ass. Reg. Piemontese Esercenti Impianti a Fune)
Dott. Stefano Sciandra (Regione Liguria)
Arch. Patrizio Tancredi (Regione Toscana)

According to the results of the seminar, the workgroup will develop the four following points:

1. Identification of businesses in the tourist sector, classifiable among those that don't affect trade between member States, according to the meaning of point 2.1 of the Community guidelines on State aids for small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) (for example: hotels situated in deprived urban areas; alpine huts, lifeguards), to which is not applied, therefore, art. 87, I.
2. Identification of a classification criterium of the different enterprises in the tourist sector, that would incorporate the definition of SMEs. It would have to take into account not only the structural parameters, but also the other factors, such as, the business sector, the localization, the public service component, etc. Such a classification could then be applied to establish an intensity of aid higher than the normal standard (different than the ceiling set for the SMEs, that would not have been altered).
3. Classification of the tourist businesses for categories, taking into account not only the sector (receptiveness, complementary structures, chairlifts, recreational facilities, promotions), but also the context in which they operate (cities, mountain areas, areas of large and small tourist influx, etc.) or the fact that the intervention regards already existing areas or the birth of new areas. For each category the goal is to hypothesize on the level of intensity of admissible aid, as applicable under the derogation provided for in art. 87, III, c), taking into account the hypothetical impact on the market from each type of aid (and therefore from its distorting effect) and from eventual compensating justifications (dimensions, diverse types of investment, development or protection of the economy in areas lacking adequate alternatives, etc.). Moreover, to be considered, is the importance of the effectiveness of the investements within an area-planning ("concertazione d'area").
4. Identifications of situations leading to the hypothesis of a natural calamity, according to art. 87, III, b) (like the absence of snow, natural disasters, etc.) and of standards for estimating damage, applying, as an analogy, the adopted standards of the Community guidelines for State aids in the agricoltural sector.

We're waiting for contributions at the e-mail forum@europroject-online.it