(1)

Under Article 24 of the Surveillance and Court Agreement, the Authority shall give effect to the provisions of the EEA Agreement concerning State aid.

(2)

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.

(3)

On 19 January 1994, the Authority adopted the procedural and substantive rules in the field of State aid comprising a chapter with guidelines on the conversion of national currencies into ECUs (1).

(4)

On 5 November 2003, these guidelines were amended following the introduction of the euro (2).

(5)

It follows from these guidelines that any amounts expressed in euros will be converted into the currencies of EEA EFTA States throughout any calendar year at the exchange rates prevailing on the first day of the year on which exchange values for euros into all currencies of the EEA are available.

(6)

These guidelines no longer correspond to the guidelines and practices of the European Commission, which in general applies monthly/daily currency conversion rates.

(7)

The Authority has consulted with the EEA EFTA States and the European Commission and will align its system for currency conversions with that of the European Commission going forward.

(8)

Accordingly, the Authority has decided to delete its guidelines on the conversion of national currencies into euro,