L 28718 Official Journal of the European Union 1.11.2007 (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory) DECISIONS COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 29 October 2007 exempting the production and sale of electricity in Sweden from the application of Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (notified under document number C(2007) 5197) (Only the Swedish text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2007/706EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (), and in particular Article 30(4) and (6) thereof, Having regard to the request submitted by the Kingdom of Sweden by e-mail of 29 June 2007, After consulting the Advisory Committee for Public Contracts, Whereas: I. Facts (1) On 29 June 2007, Sweden transmitted a request pursuant to Article 30(4) of Directive 2004/17[EC to the Commission by e-mail. The Commission requested (") OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2006/97[EC of the Council (O L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 107). additional information by e-mail of 20 July 2007, which, following a prolongation of the initial deadline, was transmitted by the Swedish authorities by e-mail of 17 August 2007. The request submitted by the Kingdom of Sweden concerns production and sale (wholesale and retail) of electricity. The request is accompanied by the conclusions of the independent national authority, Konkurrensverket (the Swedish Competition Authority), that the conditions for the applicability of Article 30(1) of Directive 2004/17/EC would be met. II. Legal framework Article 30 of Directive 2004/17/EC provides that contracts intended to enable the performance of one of the activities to which the Directive applies shall not be subject to the Directive if, in the Member State in which it is carried out, the activity is directly exposed to compe- tition on markets to which access is not restricted. Direct exposure to competition is assessed on the basis of objective criteria, taking account of the specific charac- teristics of the sector concerned. Access is deemed to be unrestricted if the Member State has implemented and applied the relevant Community legislation opening a