EFTA Surveillance Authority
EFTA Surveillance Authority
09/17/2025 | Press release | Archived content
ESA approves Norwegian aid to municipal fitness centre
The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has today approved aid granted to Drøbak Frogn Idrettsarena, a sports complex and fitness centre, to compensate for losses resulting from COVID-19-related restrictions.
The aid was provided by FrognMunicipality, which owns the sports complex and fitness centre, in February 2022 to help offset revenue losses from declining memberships in 2021 and 2022. Membership income fell sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, as frozen contracts were cancelled and new growth stalled. The losses amounted to NOK 3.78 million for 2021 and NOK 2.34 million for 2022.
Under State aid rules, EEA EFTA States may grant support in times of severe economic disruption, such as the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, to address serious disturbances in their economies. The aid enabled the centre to continue operations and providing services to the inhabitants of Frogn municipality.
ESA has today retroactively approved the measure, confirming its compatibility with EEA State aid rules and raising no objections. The Norwegian authorities notified ESA about the measure on 19 September 2025.
A non-confidential version of the decision will be published here in the coming weeks.
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