The presence of State aid. 1.1. State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) EEA Agreement Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the produc- tion of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, between Contracting Parties, be incompa- tible with the functioning of this Agreement’. Aid falling within this provision is, as a rule, incompatible with the EEA Agreement and hence prohibited, provided that the following four conditions are fulfilled:
The presence of State aid. State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’ The criteria will be assessed below, first in relation to the noti- fied amendments to the Harbour Act and second in relation to the 2003 Harbour Act, which was never notified to the Autho- rity.
The presence of State aid. (35) Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the function ing of this Agreement.’
The presence of State aid. 2.1. State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: “Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement”. To be termed State aid, within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement a measure must meet the following four cumulative criteria: The measure must (i) confer on recipients an economic advantage which is not received in the normal course of business; (ii) the advantage must be granted by the State or through State resources and must (iii) be selective by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods; and
The presence of State aid. State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) EEA
The presence of State aid. State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) EEA Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’ It follows from this provision that, for State aid within the meaning of the EEA to be present, the following conditions must be met: – the aid must be granted through State resources, – the aid must favour certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, i.e. the measure must confer an economic advan- tage upon the recipient(s), which must be selective, – the beneficiary must be an undertaking within the meaning of the EEA Agreement, – the aid must be capable of distorting competition and affect trade between contracting parties. The fulfilment of these conditions will be considered further below.
The presence of State aid. 1.3.1. S t a t e r e s o u r c e s In order to qualify as state aid, the measure must be granted by the State or through state resources. The concept of the State does not only refer to the central government but embraces all levels of the state administration (including municipalities) as well as public undertakings. If the municipality sold the buildings below their market price, it would have foregone income. Under this assumption, Haslemoen AS should have paid more for the buildings and therefore there would be a transfer of resources from Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxx. For these reasons, the Authority considers that if the sale did not take place in accordance with conditions acceptable for a private market investor, as set out above, state resources within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement would be involved.
The presence of State aid. 1.1. State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) EEA Agreement Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’ To be termed State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement, the following four cumulative conditions must be meet: The measure must (i) be granted by the State or through State resources; (ii) confer a selective economic advan- tage on the recipients; (iii) distort or threaten to distort competi- tion; and (iv) be liable to affect trade between the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement.
The presence of State aid. Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’ It follows from this provision that, for State aid within the meaning of the EEA Agreement to be present, the following conditions must be met: — the aid must be granted through state resources, — the aid must favour certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, i.e. the measure must confer an economic advantage upon the recipient(s), which must be selective, — the beneficiary must be an undertaking within the meaning of the EEA Agreement, — the aid must be capable of distorting competition and affect trade between contracting parties. The Court of Justice of the European Communities (hereinafter the Court of Justice) has consistently held that the concept of an undertaking covers any entity engaged in an economic activity, regardless of the legal status of the entity or the way in which it is financed (72). It has also consistently held that any activity consisting in offering goods and services on a given market is an economic activity (73). Accordingly, Stáltak (as well as Stálsmiðjan hf. before and later Stálsmiðjan ehf.) is an undertaking in the meaning of Article 61(1) EEA. Whether the remaining conditions are met must be assessed individually with respect to each of the transactions described above.
The presence of State aid