22.2.2005 Official Journal of the European Union L 49/9 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 16 December 2003 on the State aid granted by France to EDF and the electricity and gas industries (notified under document number C(2003) 4637) (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2005/145EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (') and having regard to their comments, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 10 July 2001, the Commission invited the French authorities to provide information on certain measures in favour of Electricité de France (EDF) which possibly involved State aid. (2)  Between July 2001 and June 2002, many letters were exchanged between the Commission and the French authorities (3. A technical meeting was held on 3 September 2002. () O] C 280, 16.11.2002, p. 8 and O] C 164, 15.7.2003, p. 7. () See O] C 280, 16.11.2002, p. 8. (3) By letter dated 16 October 2002, the Commission informed the French authorities that it had taken three related decisions concerning EDF (%). First, it proposed to the French authorities, as an appropriate measure pursuant to Article 88(1) of the Treaty, that they should withdraw the unlimited State guarantee enjoyed by EDF on all its commitments by virtue of its public enterprise status, which precluded application of the legislation on the administration and compulsory liqui- dation of firms in difficulty. Second, the Commission initiated a formal investigation under Article 88(2) of the Treaty into the advantage resulting from the non- payment by EDF of the corporation tax due, when it restructured its balance sheet in 1997, on some of the accounting provisions created free of tax for the renewal of the high-voltage transmission network (RAG). Third, it issued an injunction requiring the French authorities to supply information it needed in order to examine that tax concession in the context of the formal investigation procedure. (4 In the comments they submitted to the Commission by letter dated 11 December 2002, the French authorities maintained that no State aid was involved in the public enterprise status and refused to implement the proposed appropriate measure. They also denied that EDF had received a tax concession in 1997. A technical meeting was held on 12 February 2003 between the Commission and the French authorities to discuss the issue of the tax concession. () O] C 280, 16.11.2002, p. 8.