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            EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY DECISION         

No 197/03/COL

of 5 November 2003         

amending for the thirty-ninth time the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid by introducing a new chapter 34: Reference rates and discount rates and interest rates to be applied for the recovery of unlawful state aid

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, Article 5 (2) (b) and Article 1 in Part I of Protocol 3 thereof (3),

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 (4) adopted on 19 January 1994 by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (5),

WHEREAS, on 8 May 2003, the European Commission published a new Communication on the interest rates to be applied when aid granted unlawfully is being recovered (6),

WHEREAS this Communication is also of relevance for the European Economic Area,

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 Commission, acts corresponding to those adopted by the European Commission,

WHEREAS, the former Chapter 33.2 of the State Aid Guidelines on Reference Rates of Interest also deals with interest rates and should therefore become part of the same chapter as the provisions for the interest rates to be applied for the recovery of unlawful aid,

HAVING consulted the European Commission,

RECALLING that the EFTA Surveillance Authority has consulted the EFTA States in a multilateral meeting on 20 June 2003 on the subject,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Done at Brussels, 5 November 2003.

For the EFTA Surveillance Authority

Einar M. BULL            

President

Hannes HAFSTEIN            

College Member

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(1)  Hereinafter referred to as the EEA Agreement.

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

(3)  Protocol 3 to the Surveillance and Court Agreement as amended by the EFTA States on 10 December 2001. The amendments entered into force on 28 August 2003.

(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, last amended by College Decision No 196/03/COL of 5 November 2003, not yet published.

(6)  Commission Communication on the interest rates to be applied when aid granted unlawfully is being recovered (OJ C 110, 8.5.2003, p. 21, corrigendum OJ C 150, 27.6.2003, p. 3).

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ANNEX

‘34.   REFERENCE AND DISCOUNT RATES AND INTEREST RATES TO BE APPLIED FOR THE RECOVERY OF UNLAWFUL AID

34.1.   REFERENCE RATES OF INTEREST (1)

34.2.   INTEREST RATES TO BE APPLIED WHEN AID GRANTED UNLAWFULLY IS BEING RECOVERED (2)

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(1)  This sub-chapter partly corresponds to the Commission notice on the method for setting the reference and discount rates (OJ C 273, 9.9.1997, p. 3), formerly chapter 33.2 of the State Aid Guidelines.

(2)  This chapter corresponds to Commission Communication on the interest rates to be applied when aid granted unlawfully is being recovered (OJ C 110, 8.5.2003, p. 21, corrigendum OJ C 150, 27.6.2003, p. 3).

(3)  Commission notice on the method for setting the reference and discount rates, see footnote 1.

(4)  The subsequent Commission notice on technical adaptions to the method for setting the reference and discount rates (OJ C 241, of 26.8.1999, p. 9), related to entry into the third stage of economic and monetary union on 1 January 1999 and was not relevant for the European Economic Area.

(5)  The calculation of simple interest uses the formula Interest = (Capital × Interest rate × Number of years).

The calculation of compound interest, compounding on a yearly basis uses the formula Interest = (Capital (1 + Interest rate) Number of years) – Capital.

(6)  See in particular Case C-24/95 Land Rheinland-Pfalz v. Alcan [1997] ECR I-1591 and Case T-459/93 Siemens v Commission [1995] ECR II-1675.

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