EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY DECISION

No 144/05/COL

of 17 June 2005

amending, for the 50th time, the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid, by re-enacting Chapter 17a: short-term export-credit insurance

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY,

HAVING REGARD to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (1), in particular to Articles 61 to 63 and Protocol 26 thereof,

HAVING REGARD to the Agreement between the EFTA States on the establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice (2), in particular to Article 24 and Article 5(2)(b) thereof and Article 1 in Part I of Protocol 3 thereof,

WHEREAS under Article 24 of the Surveillance and Court Agreement, the EFTA Surveillance Authority shall give effect to the provisions of the EEA Agreement concerning State aid;

WHEREAS under Article 5(2)(b) of the Surveillance and Court Agreement, the EFTA Surveillance Authority shall issue notices or guidelines on matters dealt with in the EEA Agreement, if that Agreement or the Surveillance and Court Agreement expressly so provides or if the EFTA Surveillance Authority considers it necessary;

RECALLING the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid (3) adopted on 19 January 1994 by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (4);

WHEREAS, on 11 December 2004, the Commission of the European Communities (5) published a communication concerning the prolongation of the Communication on short-term export-credit insurance (6);

WHEREAS this communication is also of relevance for the European Economic Area;

WHEREAS the rules corresponding to the Communication on short-term export-credit insurance were taken into Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines;

WHEREAS Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines expired on 31 December 2004;

WHEREAS a uniform application of the EEA State aid rules is to be ensured throughout the European Economic Area;

WHEREAS, according to point II under the heading ‘GENERAL’ at the end of Annex XV to the EEA Agreement, the EFTA Surveillance Authority is to adopt, after consultation with the EC Commission, acts corresponding to those adopted by the EC Commission;

HAVING consulted the EC Commission;

RECALLING that the EFTA Surveillance Authority has consulted the EFTA States in letters on the subject to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway dated 22 April 2005,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)  Hereinafter referred to as the EEA Agreement.

(2)  Hereinafter referred to as the Surveillance and Court Agreement.

(3)  Hereinafter referred to as the State Aid Guidelines.

(4)  Guidelines on the application and interpretation of Articles 61 and 62 of the EEA Agreement, adopted and issued by the EFTA Surveillance Authority on 19 January 1994, published in OJ L 231, 3.9.1994, p. 1, and EEA Supplement to the OJ No 32, 3.9.1994, last amended by the Authority’s Decision No 371/04/COL, published in the OJ L 63, 10.3.2005, p. 29, and EEA Supplement to the OJ No 11, 10.3.2005; hereinafter the ‘State Aid Guidelines’.

(5)  Hereinafter referred to as the EC Commission.

(6)  Commission communication concerning the prolongation of the Communication from the Commission to the Member States pursuant to Article 93(1) of the EC Treaty applying Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty to short-term export-credit insurance, published in OJ C 307, 11.12.2004, p. 12.

(7)  The Annex to this Decision is not published in the Official Journal of the European Union. For a full text of the unchanged Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines, please refer to the publication in OJ L 120, 23.4.1998, p. 27.