FrancophonIA/DGT-Translation_Memory huggingface dataset:
English: The ECON report had prepared a list of sectors which were allegedly not affected by intra-EEA trade on the basis of the assessment of the competition interfaces. The Authority expressed doubts in the opening decision with regard to the method followed in the ECON report for collecting data, which did not seem systematic.
Estonian: Järelevalveamet avaldas menetluse alustamise otsuses kahtlust ECONi aruandes kasutatud andmete kogumise meetodi suhtes, mis ei tundunud olevat järjekindel.
English: However, the Authority cannot endorse this approach. An aid scheme must be precise enough to ensure that the application of its rules to any potential individual aid beneficiary does not infringe the rules of the EEA Agreement.In the Authority’s opinion, the method for choosing economic sectors supposedly not affected by inter-state trade does not ensure that aid would not be granted to undertakings engaged in activities that would affect trade within the EEA.
Estonian: Abikava peab olema piisavalt täpne, tagamaks, et selle reeglite rakendamine iga potentsiaalse abisaaja suhtes ei riku EMP lepingu norme.Järelevalveameti arvates ei taga meetod, mida kasutati riikidevahelise kaubanduse poolt väidetavalt mittemõjutatavate majandusharude valimiseks, seda, et abi ei anta ettevõtetele, mille tegevus mõjutab kaubandust EMPs.
English: Settled case law of the ECJ has established that ‘in the case of an aid scheme, the Commission may confine itself to examining the general characteristics of the scheme in question without being required to examine each particular case in which it applies.’ [59].
Swedish: I EG-domstolens etablerade rättspraxis fastställs att ”vad beträffar ett stödprogram kan kommissionen begränsa sig till att granska det ifrågavarande programmets särdrag för att bedöma om detta innebär en avsevärd fördel för stödmottagarna i förhållande till deras konkurrenter och om det huvudsakligen gynnar företag som deltar i handeln mellan medlemsstaterna.”
Polish: Na podstawie przyjętego orzecznictwa ETS uznaje się, że „w przypadku programu pomocy Komisja może ograniczyć się do zbadania ogólnych cech danego programu bez konieczności badania każdego poszczególnego przypadku, w którym ma on zastosowanie.”
Estonian: Euroopa Kohtu praktika kohaselt „võib komisjon abikava puhul piirduda kõnealuse kava üldiste omaduste uurimisega, ilma et tal oleks kohustust uurida iga üksikut rakendamisjuhtumit”. [59] Seda tõlgendust on kinnitanud EFTA kohus.
English: Einar M. Bull
Estonian: president
Latvian: Prezidents
English: Kurt Jäger
Estonian: kolleegiumi liige
Latvian: Kolēģijas loceklis
English: Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement reads as follows: ‘Save as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through state resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, insofar as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’ According to settled caselaw, the classification as aid requires that all the four conditions set out in Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement are fulfilled [34]: (1) there must be an intervention by the State or through state resources; (2) it must confer a selective advantage on the recipients; (3) this intervention must distort or threaten to distort competition and (4) in order to be caught by the prohibition of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement, the aid measure must affect trade between the Contracting Parties.The Norwegian scheme of reduced rates of social security contributions has been subject to several decisions taken by the Authority [35].
Finnish: Vakiintuneen oikeuskäytännön mukaan toimenpiteen luokittelu tueksi edellyttää kaikkien seuraavien ETA-sopimuksen 61 artiklan 1 kohdassa vahvistettujen edellytysten täyttymistä [34]: 1) toimenpiteen on oltava valtion toteuttama tai valtion varoista myönnetty, 2) sen on annettava valikoiva etu edunsaajille, 3) sen on vääristettävä tai uhattava vääristää kilpailua ja 4) kuuluakseen ETA-sopimuksen 61 artiklan 1 kohdan kiellon soveltamisalaan tukitoimenpiteen on vaikutettava sopimuspuolten väliseen kauppaan.Norjan noudattama alennettujen sosiaaliturvamaksujen ohjelma on ollut monien valvontaviranomaisen päätösten kohteena [35].
English: In order to be caught by the prohibition of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement, the aid measure must be liable to affect trade between the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement. This provision does not distinguish between causes or objectives but defines state aid in relation to the effects [39].In the following, the Authority will assess whether the limitations of the notified scheme to certain sectors hinders the aid from being capable of affecting trade between the Contracting Parties and hence brings it outside the scope of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.
Finnish: Kyseisessä kohdassa ei erotella toimenpiteitä niiden syiden tai tavoitteiden mukaisesti, vaan ne määritellään vaikutustensa mukaan [39].Valvontaviranomainen arvioi seuraavassa, estääkö ilmoitetun ohjelman rajaaminen tiettyihin aloihin sen, että tuki voi vaikuttaa sopimuspuolten väliseen kauppaan, ja jääkö ohjelma tämän vuoksi ETA-sopimuksen 61 artiklan 1 kohdan soveltamisalan ulkopuolelle.
English: Zone 4 [14] is made up of the most northern part of South Norway as well as North Norway south of Zone 5. Zone 4 covers 9,4 % of the total population.
French: La zone 4 [14] est constituée des régions les plus septentrionales de la partie sud de la Norvège ainsi que des régions de la partie nord de la Norvège situées au sud de la zone 5 et couvre 9,4 % de la population totale.
Italian: La zona 4 [14] comprende la parte più settentrionale della Norvegia meridionale e la Norvegia settentrionale a sud della zona 5, riguardando il 9,4 % della popolazione complessiva.
English: The Court dismissed the application for annulment on 20 May 1999 [19] and upheld the Authority’s decision. The Court confirmed that the system of differentiated social security contributions constituted State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.With a view to complying with the Authority’s decision of 2 July 1998, the Norwegian authorities proposed new regulations on regionally differentiated social security contributions.
French: La Cour a rejeté la demande en annulation le 20 mai 1999 [19] et maintenu la décision de l’Autorité, confirmant que le régime de cotisations de sécurité sociale différenciées constituait une aide d’État au sens de l’article 61, paragraphe 1, de l’accord EEE.Afin de se conformer à la décision de l'Autorité du 2 juillet 1998, les autorités norvégiennes ont proposé de nouveaux règlements en matière de cotisations de sécurité sociale différenciées sur une base régionale.
English: In the decision, the Commission pointed out that Norway, by letter dated 27 July 2000, not only submitted comments to the decision to initiate the procedure regarding the Swedish case but also confirmed that it operated a similar scheme. In light of the Swedish decision, the Norwegian system was thereafter discussed at several meetings between the Norwegian authorities and the Authority, as well as between the Authority and the European Commission.
French: À la lumière de la décision prise au sujet de la Suède, le régime norvégien a été examiné à l'occasion de plusieurs réunions organisées entre les autorités norvégiennes et l’Autorité, et entre l’Autorité et la Commission européenne.
English: The Authority observed that a gradual phasing out of the differentiated tax rates over a period of three years would mean that the annual cost increase for the undertakings would be spread over the period. On the contrary, an immediate abolishment of the current system would have implied a cost shock to the undertakings concerned.
French: Elle observait que l’élimination progressive des taux différenciés sur une période de trois ans signifiait que les augmentations de coûts annuelles pour les entreprises s’étaleraient sur cette période, alors qu'en revanche, une élimination immédiate du régime aurait entraîné une brusque augmentation des coûts pour les entreprises.
Italian: L’Autorità osservava che con la graduale eliminazione del regime di differenziazione delle aliquote d’imposta nell’arco di tre anni gli incrementi annui dei costi delle imprese sarebbero stati distribuiti sul triennio, mentre un’immediata abolizione del regime in vigore avrebbe comportato per le imprese interessate un brusco incremento dei costi.
English: The notified measure will only be applicable to certain economic sectors which, according to the Norwegian authorities, are not exposed to competition from undertakings in other EEA States. The Norwegian authorities alleged that there was no trade effect in the economic sectors benefiting from the intended application of reduced social security rates.
French: La mesure notifiée ne s'appliquera qu'à certains secteurs économiques qui, selon les autorités norvégiennes, ne sont pas exposés à la concurrence d'entreprises établies dans d'autres États membres de l'EEE.
English: On the basis of the conclusions of the ECON report, the Norwegian authorities stated that the probability that undertakings situated more than 150 km from a competitor are exposed to competition from undertakings in other EEA States is low. The Norwegian authorities acknowledge that whether there is actual competition depends on the assortment of goods offered.
French: Se fondant sur les conclusions du rapport ECON, les autorités norvégiennes ont affirmé qu'il était peu probable que des entreprises situées à plus de 150 km d’un concurrent soient exposées à la concurrence d'entreprises d’autres États de l’EEE, tout en admettant que c’est l’éventail de produits proposés qui fait qu’il y a ou non réellement concurrence.
English: As far as the content of the notification is concerned, the Norwegian authorities clarified that regarding the standard industrial classifications 52.120 (other retail in non-specialised stores), 52.420 (retail sale of clothing) and 52.443 (retail sale of furniture), the notification covered undertakings located in all three zones included in the measure. Due to an inaccuracy, this was only indicated for undertakings in Zone 4.
French: S'agissant du contenu de la notification, elles ont premièrement précisé que, pour les codes de la nomenclature des secteurs industriels 52.120 (commerce de détail en magasin non spécialisé sans prédominance alimentaire), 52.420 (commerce de détail d'habillement) et 52.443 (commerce de détail de meubles), la notification couvrait les entreprises situées dans chacune des trois zones auxquelles la mesure s'applique et non les seules entreprises de la zone 4, ainsi qu'il résultait d'une imprécision.
English: Therefore, no State aid can be involved in non-economic activities such as purely state administrative activities, justice and judicial activities or in compulsory social security activities, amongst other examples. Thus this decision does not cover such activities.The remaining question is therefore whether aid granted under the notified scheme, which is applicable to a certain number of sectors allegedly not exposed to competition from undertakings in other EEA States, has an effect on trade between the Contracting Parties.
French: En conséquence, il n'est pas question d'aide d'État pour les activités non économiques telles qu'entre autres les activités purement administratives de l'État, la justice et la sécurité sociale obligatoire, qui ne sont donc pas couvertes par la présente décision.Reste dès lors à savoir si l'aide accordée au titre du régime notifié, applicable à un certain nombre de secteurs prétendument non exposés à la concurrence des entreprises des autres États de l'EEE, a ou non un effet sur les échanges entre les parties contractantes.
English: In areas where secondary legislation has been adopted to open and regulate the establishment of the internal market, such as financial services (NACE 65), telecommunications (NACE 64), etc. or in areas which are subject to specific State aid rules, such as shipbuilding (NACE 35) [53], the Authority generally considers that the respective activity is not sheltered from intra-EEA trade.Mobile telecommunication carriers (NACE 64.220), Internet service providers (NACE 64.230) and courier activities other then national post activities (NACE 64.120) are prime examples of trans-border activities. Most of these activities are carried out by companies which operate internationally [54].As far as the construction sector (NACE 45) is concerned, activities such as construction of motorways or of water projects must be carried out by highly specialised large undertakings which compete with other companies within the EEA [55].
French: Dans les domaines où une législation dérivée a été adoptée pour mettre en place et réglementer le marché intérieur, comme les services financiers (NACE 65), les télécommunications (NACE 64), etc. ou encore dans les domaines soumis à des règles spécifiques en matière d'aides d'État, comme la construction navale (NACE 35) [53], l'Autorité considère généralement que les activités ne sont pas à l'abri des effets des échanges intra-EEE.Les opérateurs de télécommunication mobile (NACE 64.220), les fournisseurs de services Internet (NACE 64.230) et les activités de courrier autres que les postes nationales (NACE 64.120) sont autant d'exemples classiques d'activités transfrontalières exercées, pour l'essentiel, par des sociétés opérant au niveau international [54].Pour ce qui est du secteur de la construction (NACE 45), des activités telles que la construction d'autoroutes ou les travaux maritimes et fluviaux doivent être menées par de grandes entreprises hautement spécialisées qui sont en concurrence avec d'autres sociétés au sein de l'EEE [55].
English: The EFTA Court has also endorsed this interpretation [60].Hence, the Authority must assess the scheme as such. If the scheme as such provides for State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement, it is caught by this provision.
French: La Cour AELE s’est ralliée à cette interprétation [60].L’Autorité doit donc apprécier le régime en tant que tel. Si celui-ci constitue en soi une aide d’État au sens de l’article 61, paragraphe 1, de l’accord EEE, il tombe sous le coup de cette disposition.
English: The Authority considers that it is impossible to ensure that all potential beneficiaries within each of the more than 200 notified NACE sectors are not — and will not be — exposed to trade within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.There are other economic sectors which comprise activities often carried out at a local level. Regarding these sectors it can nonetheless not be excluded a priori that trade may be affected.
French: L’Autorité estime qu’il est impossible de s’assurer que tous les bénéficiaires potentiels dans chacun des 200 secteurs et plus de la NACE notifiés ne sont — et ne seront — pas exposés aux échanges au sens de l’article 61, paragraphe 1, de l’accord EEE.Il existe d’autres secteurs économiques couvrant des activités qui s'exercent souvent à un niveau local, mais dans lesquels il n'est toutefois pas exclu a priori que les échanges puissent être affectés.
English: This was the case, for example, in the Commission’s Decisions on the Brighton Pier and the Dorsten swimming pool [64]. The existence of trade effect has also been denied in the Authority’s Decision on the establishment of private day-care facilities on public sites with subsidised real estate leasehold fees in Oslo [65].
French: Cela a été le cas, par exemple, des décisions de la Commission concernant le Brighton Pier et la piscine de Dorsten [64] ainsi que de la décision de l'Autorité sur la création de centres privés de soins de jour sur des sites publics avec subventionnement des redevances emphytéotiques par la municipalité d’Oslo [65] laquelle n’a pas reconnu l’existence d’un effet sur les échanges.
English: Zone 4 [14] is made up of the most northern part of South Norway as well as North Norway south of Zone 5. Zone 4 covers 9,4 % of the total population. Zone 5 [15] covers the very northernmost part of the country.
Hungarian: A 4. zóna [14] Dél-Norvégia leginkább északi részéből, valamint az 5. zónától délre eső észak-norvégiai részből áll. A 4. zóna a teljes népesség 9,4 %-ára terjed ki Az 5. zóna [15] az ország legészakibb részét foglalja magában.
English: I de fleste tilfellene har vi måttet bygge på faglige vurderinger støttet av intervjuer med utvalgte bedrifter.
Hungarian: I de fleste tilfellene har vi mĺttet bygge pĺ faglige vurderinger střttet av intervjuer med utvalgte bedrifter.
Lithuanian: I de fleste tilfellene har vi måttet bygge på faglige vurderinger stųttet av intervjuer med utvalgte bedrifter.
English: Skjevheter i informasjonen kan derfor forekomme i våre vurderinger av enkeltbransjer.
Hungarian: Skjevheter i informasjonen kan derfor forekomme i vĺre vurderinger av enkeltbransjer.
English: The Court confirmed that the system of differentiated social security contributions constituted State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.With a view to complying with the Authority’s decision of 2 July 1998, the Norwegian authorities proposed new regulations on regionally differentiated social security contributions. On 22 September 1999, the Authority approved the new regulations for a limited period of time, not going beyond 31 December 2003 [20].
Italian: Ha confermato inoltre che il sistema di contributi previdenziali differenziati costituiva un aiuto di Stato ai sensi dell’articolo 61, paragrafo 1, dell’accordo SEE.Al fine di attenersi alla decisione dell’Autorità del 2 luglio 1998, le autorità norvegesi hanno proposto nuove disposizioni relative a contributi previdenziali differenziati su base regionale, le quali sono state approvate dall’Autorità il 22 settembre 1999 per un periodo limitato di tempo non superiore al 31 dicembre 2003 [20].
English: However, the Authority authorised the notified three-year transitional period for the regionally differentiated social security contributions in Zones 3 and 4 by Decision No 218/03/COL of 12 November 2003. In this decision, the Authority noted that without a transitional period, the increase in the social security payments would lead to adverse employment effects.
Italian: Tuttavia, l’Autorità ha autorizzato il periodo di transizione di tre anni per i contributi previdenziali differenziati su base regionale nelle zone 3 e 4 con la decisione n. 218/03/COL del 12 novembre 2003, nella quale l’Autorità osservava che, senza un periodo di transizione, l’aumento dei versamenti di contributi previdenziali avrebbe avuto effetti negativi sull’occupazione.
English: Undertakings situated in the counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal can benefit from reduced social security rates since they are not exposed to competition from other EEA States. Undertakings in other counties are excluded.
Italian: Le imprese situate nelle contee di Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane e Møre og Romsdal possono beneficiare delle aliquote previdenziali ridotte in quanto non sono esposte alla concorrenza di altri Stati del SEE, mentre le imprese situate nelle altre contee sono escluse.
English: According to settled caselaw, the classification as aid requires that all the four conditions set out in Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement are fulfilled [34]: (1) there must be an intervention by the State or through state resources; (2) it must confer a selective advantage on the recipients; (3) this intervention must distort or threaten to distort competition and (4) in order to be caught by the prohibition of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement, the aid measure must affect trade between the Contracting Parties.The Norwegian scheme of reduced rates of social security contributions has been subject to several decisions taken by the Authority [35]. The EFTA Court also assessed the scheme [36] and came to the conclusion that such a scheme constituted State aid.As mentioned above, the current proposal intends to reintroduce the former scheme, the only difference being that the proposed scheme is narrowed down to certain sectors.
Italian: Dalla costante giurisprudenza risulta che la classificazione in quanto aiuto presuppone che siano soddisfatte tutte e quattro le condizioni dell’articolo 61, paragrafo 1, dell’accordo SEE [34]: 1) vi deve essere un intervento dello Stato o mediante risorse statali; 2) l’aiuto deve conferire un vantaggio selettivo ai beneficiari; 3) l’intervento in questione falsa o minaccia di falsare la concorrenza e 4) per essere assoggettata al divieto di cui all’articolo 61, paragrafo 1), dell’accordo SEE, la misura di aiuto deve incidere sugli scambi tra le Parti contraenti.L’Autorità ha emesso diverse decisioni [35] in merito al sistema norvegese di aliquote ridotte dei contributi previdenziali e anche la Corte EFTA, dopo averlo valutato [36], è giunta alla conclusione che si trattava di un aiuto di Stato.Come indicato sopra, l’attuale proposta intende reintrodurre il precedente sistema, con l’unica differenza che esso viene limitato ad alcuni settori.
English: As shown in the examples above, undertakings in many of the sectors covered by this scheme are not only subject to but face competition from undertakings in other EEA States. Aid granted to undertakings active in these sectors will therefore have an effect on trade.
Italian: Come indicano gli esempi di cui sopra, le imprese di molti settori inclusi nel sistema non solo risentono della concorrenza da parte di altre imprese degli Stati del SEE, ma vi sono soggetti, per cui gli aiuti concessi alle imprese attive in questi settori avranno un’incidenza sugli scambi.
English: Hence, the Norwegian authorities have respected their obligations pursuant to Article 1(3) in Part I of Protocol 3 to the Surveillance and Court Agreement. 2. The notified measure
Latvian: Norvēģijas iestādes ir paziņojušas par savu “nodomu turpināt sākot no 2005. gada 1. janvāra diferencētās sociālās apdrošināšanas maksājumu shēmu, kas ir piemērojama līdz 2004. gada 1. janvārimnozarēs, kas nav pakļautas konkurences ietekmei no citās EEZ valstīs esošiem uzņēmumiem.”
English: The Norwegian authorities have notified a report on the basis of which they intend to reintroduce the old scheme of regionally differentiated and reduced rates of social security contributions in favour of certain sectors. Although it states that the identification of competition interfaces could be used to draft a proposal for rules, the ECON report does neither contain any proposal for rules as would normally be the case for an aid scheme nor is such a proposal made in the notification.
Latvian: Lai gan tajā ir apgalvots, ka konkurences saskarņu identificēšana varētu tikt izmantota, lai sastādītu noteikumu priekšlikuma projektu, ECON ziņojumā nav ietverts ne noteikumu priekšlikums, kāds tiek parasti izstrādāts attiecībā uz atbalsta shēmām, ne arī šāds priekšlikums ir sniegts paziņojumā.
English: Article 1 The notified proposal for regionally differentiated rates of social security contributions for undertakings active in certain economic sectors which the Norwegian authorities are planning to implement constitutes State aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.
Dutch: Het aangemelde voorstel voor regionaal gedifferentieerde tarieven voor de werkgeversbijdragen voor de sociale zekerheid voor ondernemingen die actief zijn in bepaalde economische sectoren, dat de Noorse autoriteiten voornemens zijn ten uitvoer te leggen, vormt staatssteun in de zin van artikel 61, lid 1, van de EER-Overeenkomst.