24Furthermore, according to the Commission, the definitive transfer to Argentina of the two vessels in question, in the context of the founding of a joint enterprise, constitutes a measure to which the rules of the Community structural policy are applicable. The distinction made by the Kingdom of the Netherlands between permanent transfer to a non-Member State within the meaning of Regulation No 3699/93 and that undertaken in the context of the Fishing Agreement is thus without foundation. That approach is contrary to Regulation No 3699/93, to the Fishing Agreement, to the Commissions decision of 16 December 1996 which granted Community financial assistance to the shipowners concerned (‘the decision of 16 December 1996’), and to the nature of the transfer at issue. The Commissions analysis is, moreover, confirmed by the case-law of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (Joined Cases T-44/01, T-119/01 and T-126/01 Vieira and Others v Commission [2003] ECR II-1209).
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