Handling of a complaint

After a preliminary assessment of a complaint, the Authority will decide whether or not to take further action. If the Authority considers that the complaint has merit, it will inform the EFTA State concerned about the complaint and request information in order to assess compliance with the state aid rules. The Authority may also ask the complainant to supply further information. The complainant will be informed about the outcome of the investigation.

In cases where the Authority considers a complaint to be unfounded or outside the Authority's competence, the complainant will be informed that no further action will be taken unless additional relevant information can be provided. If the complainant does not provide additional information within a specified period of time that changes the Authority's initial view, the matter will be closed and the complainant informed accordingly.

Confidentiality

The identity of complainants will be kept confidential by the Authority, unless they agree otherwise. With the agreement of a complainant, the Authority may send a copy of the complaint to the EFTA State concerned for comment. The Authority will not divulge information validly claimed to be confidential or to contain business secrets.

 Procedures

The framework for the Authority's procedures in state aid matters is the Surveillance and Court Agreement Protocol 3, part II: Section II regulates notified aid, Section III unlawful aid, Section IV misuse of aid and Section V existing aid and schemes.