Compatibility. At this stage of the procedure, the Authority is not in the position of determining whether the gran- ting of aid to the projects related to the further development of the software programme Turbo- router can be considered compatible on the basis of the provisions of the R&D Guidelines as amended by the Authority with Decision No 53/96/COL (25). For this reason, in the following, the Authority will only recall provisions which may seem relevant for a possible assessment of these grants in light of the R&D Guidelines. On the basis of the provisions of Chapter 14 of the State Aid Guidelines ‘Aid for research and develop- ment’, aid granted to firms for R&D may be regarded as compatible with the functioning of the EEA Agreement by virtue of Article 61(3)(c) of the EEA Agreement which provides a derogation for aid that facilitates the development of certain economic activities as long as it does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
