EFTA Surveillance Authority Decision No 166/08/COL of 12 March 2008 on alleged State aid with regard to the Norwegian reindeer slaughter industry (Norway)
Date: 2008-03-12
Institutions: EFTA Surveillance Authority
Subjects: EFTA, Norway, State aid, cervidae, control of State aid, exchange of information, farming sector, reindeer, slaughter of animals

L 41/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.2.2009

IV

(Other acts)

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA

EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY

EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY DECISION

No 166/08/COL

of 12 March 2008

on alleged State aid with regard to the Norwegian reindeer slaughter industry (Norway)

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY (1),

HAVING REGARD to the Agreement on the European Economic
Area (2), in particular to Articles 8 and 61 to 63 and Protocol 3
and 26 thereof,

7,2 million (approximately EUR 910 000) was granted to the
reindeer slaughtering company Boalvvir BA from ‘Reindriftens
Utviklingsfond’ (4) between July 2004 and November 2006. The
grants were approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The complainant has not submitted information indicating that
Boalvvir BA is involved in other activities than reindeer slaugh­
tering.

HAVING REGARD to the Agreement between the EFTA States on
the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of
Justice (3), in particular Articles 5 and 24 thereof,

By letter dated 16 October 2007 (Event No 447285),
Authority acknowledged the receipt of the complaint.

the

HAVING REGARD to Article 1(3) of Part I and Article 4(2) of
Part II of Protocol 3 to the Surveillance and Court Agreement,

Whereas:

1. Facts

On 11 October 2007 (Event No 446496),
the Authority
received a complaint concerning possible State aid granted to
the Norwegian reindeer slaughter industry. In the complaint, it
was claimed that State aid amounting to approximately NOK

that

complainant

the
By letter dated 6 December 2007 (Event No 456147),
the Authority’s
Authority informed the
Competition and State Aid Directorate (5) had reached the preli­
minary conclusion that
the complaint concerned products
which fall outside the scope of the EEA Agreement, and that
the Authority therefore did not have competence to act on the
matter. The complainant was advised that unless he submitted
further information which could convince the CSA that the
measure complained about was within the scope of the EEA
Agreement within two months from the receipt of the letter,
the CSA would propose to the College of the Authority that the
case be closed without further action.

The complainant did not respond to the Authority’s letter of
6 December 2007.

(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) ‘The development fund for reindeer husbandry’.
(5) Hereinafter referred to as ‘the CSA’.

12.2.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 41/25

2. Assessment

The Authority notes that for the State aid provisions in Articles
61 to 63 of the EEA Agreement to apply, the State aid must be
granted to undertakings involved in the production of products
which fall within the product coverage of the EEA Agreement.

Article 8(3) of the EEA Agreement provides that:

‘Unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this Agreement
shall apply only to:

(a) products

falling within Chapters 25 to 97 of

the
Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System,
excluding the products listed in Protocol 2;

(b) products specified in Protocol 3, subject
arrangements set out in that Protocol.’

to the specific

Article 8(3) of the EEA Agreement limits the material scope of
the application of the EEA Agreement to the above products,
unless otherwise specified in the Agreement. Reindeers and
in so far as they do not
products processed from reindeers,
fall under Chapters 25 to 97 of the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (HS) or are specified in Protocol
3 to the EEA Agreement, fall outside the general scope of the
application of the Agreement.

slaughtering of

The alleged aid recipient in the present case is a company
reindeers. The products
involved in the
fall under
produced by reindeer
the Harmonized
Chapters 02, 05, 15, 16 and 23 of
Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) and are thus
outside the product coverage of the EEA Agreement. Nor are
the products covered by Protocol 3 to the EEA Agreement.

slaughtering companies

the above,
the subject matter of

the Authority has reached the
On the basis of
conclusion that
falls
outside the scope of the EEA Agreement, and that therefore,
the Authority has no competence to assess any potential State
aid involved (1).

the complaint

3. Conclusion

The Authority has therefore concluded that there are evidently
no grounds to pursue the case further.

Against this background, the Authority has decided to close the
case,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The EFTA Surveillance Authority considers that the grants to
the Norwegian reindeer slaughter industry do not constitute
State aid within the meaning of Article 61 of
the EEA
Agreement.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Norway.

Article 3

Only the English version is authentic.

Done at Brussels, 12 March 2008.

Hence, the complaint concerns alleged State aid to companies
involved in the production of products which fall outside the
product coverage of
the EEA Agreement, as defined in
Article 8(3) of the EEA Agreement.

For the EFTA Surveillance Authority

Per SANDERUD
President

Kurt JAEGER
College Member

(1) Cf.

the Authority's Decision No 176/05/COL of 15 July 2005

concerning alleged State aid in the fisheries sector.