Brussels, 29/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has examined the measures that the Czech authorities notified to it in favour of Ceská sporitelna, a.s. ("CS") and concluded that this constitutes existing aid and thus cannot be questioned by the Commission after accession. The other notified measures in favour of CS are not "applicable after accession". State aid is deemed to be "applicable after accession" if the State intervention is not linked to a specific event and the aid is awarded before accession for an indefinite period of time and/or comprises an indefinite amount. Aid is also applicable after accession if the precise economic exposure of the State is not known on the date the aid is granted. In compliance with the "interim mechanism" included provided for in the Accession Treaty, the Czech Republic has notified sixteen banking cases for assessment according to the so-called "interim mechanism" provided for in the Accession Treaty. The first case of Komercní Banka (now owned by French Société Générale) has been deemed not to be "applicable after" on 16 December 2003.