Article 172

1. From the date of accession, the new Member States shall ensure that any relevant notification or information transmitted to the EFTA Surveillance Authority or to the Standing Committee of the EFTA States under the EEA Agreement before accession is transmitted without delay to the Commission. Such transmission shall be deemed to be notification or information to the Commission for the purposes of the corresponding Community provisions.

2. From the date of accession, the new Member States shall ensure that cases which are pending before the EFTA Surveillance Authority immediately prior to accession under Articles 53, 54, 57, 61 and 62 or 65 of the EEA Agreement or Articles 1 or 2 of Protocol 25 to that Agreement and which fall under the Commission's competence as a result of accession, including cases in which the facts came to an end before the date of accession, are transmitted without delay to the Commission, which shall continue to deal with them under the relevant Community provisions while ensuring that the right of defence continues to be observed.

3. Cases which are pending before the Commission under Articles 53 or 54 of the EEA Agreement or Articles 1 or 2 of Protocol 25 to that Agreement and which fall under Articles 85 or 86 of the EC Treaty or Articles 65 or 66 of the ECSC Treaty as a result of accession, including cases in which the facts came to an end before the date of accession, shall continue to be dealt with by the Commission under the relevant Community provisions.

4. Any individual exemption decisions taken and negative clearance decisions taken before the date of accession under Article 53 of the EEA Agreement or Article 1 of Protocol 25 to that Agreement, whether by the EFTA Surveillance Authority or the Commission, and which concern cases which fall under Article 85 of the EC Treaty or Article 65 of the ECSC Treaty as a result of accession shall, on accession, remain valid for the purposes of Article 85 of the EC Treaty or, as the case may be, Article 65 of the ECSC Treaty until the time limit specified therein expires or until the Commission takes a duly motivated decision to the contrary, in accordance with the basic priciples of Community law.

5. All decisions taken by the EFTA Surveillance Authority before the date of accession pursuant to Article 61 of the EEA Agreement and which fall under Article 92 of the EC Treaty as a result of accession shall, on accession, remain valid with respect to Article 92 of the EC Treaty unless the Commission decides otherwise pursuant to Article 93 of the EC Treaty. This paragraph shall not apply to decisions subject to the proceedings provided for in Article 64 of the EEA Agreement. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 above, state aids granted by new Member States during 1994 but which, in contravention of the EEA Agreement or arrangements made thereunder, either have not been notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority or have been notified but granted before the EFTA Surveillance Authority took a decision, shall not as a consequence be considered as existing state aids under Article 93 (1) of the EC Treaty.

6. From the date of accession, the new Member States shall ensure that all other cases, where the EFTA Surveillance Authority has been seized in the framework of the surveillance procedure under the EEA Agreement before accession, are transmitted without delay to the Commission which shall continue to deal with them under the relevant Community provisions while ensuring that the right of defence continues to be observed.

7. Without prejudice to paragraphs 4 and 5, the decisions taken by the EFTA Surveillance Authority remain valid after accession unless the Commission takes a duly motivated decision to the contrary in accordance with the basic principles of Community law.