EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY DECISION

No 313/05/COL

of 7 December 2005

amending for the fifty-second time the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the field of State Aid

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY (1),

HAVING REGARD TO the Agreement on the European Economic Area (2), 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 (3), 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 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 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 Authority considers it necessary,

RECALLING the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid (4) adopted on 19 January 1994 by the Authority (5),

WHEREAS the rules corresponding to the Community framework for state aid to short term export credit insurance (6) are taken into Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines (7),

WHEREAS Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines expires on 31 December 2005,

WHEREAS the European Commission is in the process of adopting before the end of 2005 amendments to the Community framework for state aid to short term export credit insurance,

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

WHEREAS due to time constrains the Authority will not be in the position to adopt by the end of 2005 similar amendments to its Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines, which would correspond to those in the Community,

WHEREAS under such circumstances, in order to avoid a ‘legal vacuum’ due to the expiry of Chapter 17A of the State Aid Guidelines, the Authority finds it desirable to extent the validity of Chapter 17A until 30 June 2006 or until the date the Authority adopts any changes or new guidelines on short term export-credit insurance, whichever comes first,

HAVING consulted the European Commission,

RECALLING that the Authority has consulted the EFTA States in letters to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway dated 11 November 2005 on the subject,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)  Hereinafter referred to as the ‘Authority’.

(2)  Hereinafter referred to as the ‘EEA Agreement’.

(3)  Hereinafter referred to as the ‘Surveillance and Court Agreement’.

(4)  Hereinafter referred to as the ‘State Aid Guidelines’.

(5)  Initially published in OJ L 231, 3.9.1994, and in the EEA Supplement thereto No 32 on the same date. An up-dated version of the State Aid Guidelines is available on the Authority’s website: www.eftasurv.int

(6)  Communication of 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 (OJ C 281, 17.9.1997, p. 4), amended by the Commission in 2001 (OJ C 217, 2.8.2001, p. 2) and in 2004 (OJ C 307, 11.12.2004, p. 12).

(7)  Chapter 17A was re-enacted by the Authority’s Decision No 144/05/COL (OJ L 294, 10.11.2005, p. 9).