Withdrawal of notification of request under Article 30 of Directive 2004/17/EC

(2008/C 268/05)

On 10 June 2008, the EFTA Surveillance Authority received a request from Norway pursuant to Article 30(4) of the Act referred to at point 4 of Annex XVI to the EEA Agreement (Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors) (1) to exclude from the scope of application of the Act the exploration for or extraction of oil and gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as well as the transportation of natural gas through the upstream pipeline network in that country.

A Notice regarding Norway's request was published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 180, 17.7.2008, page 18 and in the EEA Supplement No 43, 17 July 2008, page 35.

By letter of 17 July 2008, the Norwegian Government informed the EFTA Surveillance Authority of the withdrawal with immediate effect of the application made by Norway under Article 30 of Directive 2004/17/EC.

The present Notice therefore supersedes the previous Notice and the application is considered by the Authority to have been withdrawn. Consequently, Directive 2004/17/EC continues to apply to the exploration for or extraction of oil and gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as well as the transportation of natural gas through the upstream pipeline network in that country.

(1)  OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 1.