FrancophonIA/DGT-Translation_Memory huggingface dataset:
English: As mentioned above, the amount of compensation paid in the form of the three measures was not granted in a transparent manner in the context of the tender but was the result of bilateral renegotiation carried out years after the conclusion of the contract. When granting aid in the form of public service compensation, the Norwegian authorities must ensure that that aid is compatible with the rules applicable to such aid.
French: Comme indiqué plus haut, le montant de la compensation octroyée sous la forme des trois mesures n’a pas été établi de manière transparente dans le cadre de l’appel d’offres, mais a résulté d’une renégociation bilatérale menée des années après l’adjudication du marché.Lorsqu’elles octroient une aide sous la forme d’une compensation de service public, les autorités norvégiennes doivent s’assurer que l’aide est compatible avec les règles applicables en la matière.
Spanish: Como se ha mencionado anteriormente, el importe de la compensación pagada en forma de las tres medidas no se concedió de manera transparente en el contexto de la licitación, sino que fue el resultado de una renegociación bilateral realizada años después de la celebración del contrato.Al conceder ayudas en forma de compensación por servicio público, las autoridades noruegas deben garantizar que esta ayuda sea compatible con las normas aplicables a la misma.
Portuguese: Como acima se disse, o montante da compensação paga sob a forma das três medidas não foi concedido de uma forma transparente no âmbito do concurso mas foi, sim, o resultado de uma renegociação bilateral realizada anos após a conclusão do contrato.Ao conceder um auxílio sob a forma de compensação de serviço público, as autoridades norueguesas têm de se certificar de que o auxílio é compatível com as regras aplicáveis a esse tipo de auxílio.
English: In the Authority's view, this argument cannot be assessed as rescue aid under Article 61(3)(c) and the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, as rescue aid under the guidelines is by nature a temporary and reversible assistance. The three measures are not.
French: L’autorité estime qu’il ne peut s’agir d’une mesure de sauvetage au titre de l’article 61, paragraphe 3, point c), et des lignes directrices «sauvetage et restructuration», car l’aide de sauvetage prévue par lesdites directives est par nature temporaire et réversible, ce que ne sont pas les trois mesures.
Spanish: En opinión del Órgano, este argumento no puede evaluarse como ayuda de salvamento de conformidad con el artículo 61, apartado 3, letra c), y con las Directrices de salvamento y reestructuración, ya que según las directrices la ayuda de salvamento es por naturaleza una ayuda temporal y reversible, mientras que las tres medidas no lo son.
Italian: Secondo il parere dell’Autorità, l’intervento non può essere valutato come aiuto per il salvataggio ai sensi dell’articolo 61, paragrafo 3, lettera c) e degli orientamenti in materia di salvataggio e ristrutturazione, in quanto l’aiuto per il salvataggio ai sensi degli orientamenti è per sua natura una forma di assistenza temporanea e reversibile, mentre le tre misure non lo sono.
Portuguese: Na opinião do Órgão de Fiscalização, as medidas tomadas não podem ser consideradas um auxílio de emergência na aceção do artigo 61.o, n.o 3, alínea c), nem tão-pouco das Orientações relativas aos auxílios de emergência e à reestruturação, uma vez que, à luz das Orientações, o auxílio de emergência constitui por natureza um apoio temporário e reversível, o que não é o caso das três medidas.
English: Moreover, in connection with this route, Hurtigruten also provides transport services in the Geiranger fjord, outside the scope of the Hurtigruten Agreement. Furthermore, Hurtigruten operates a number of different cruises in different European states, Russia, Antarctica, Spitsbergen and Greenland.
Estonian: Peale selle osutab ettevõtja Hurtigruten kõnealuse liiniga seoses k. Ettevõtja Hurtigruten korraldab ka mitmeid erinevaid ristlusi erinevates Euroopa riikides, Venemaal, Antarktikas, Lääne-Teravmägedes ja Gröönimaal.
English: Alternatively, in case the Authority were to find that the three measures do constitute state aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement, the Norwegian authorities put forward that the measures constitute necessary compensation for a public service obligation in accordance with Article 59(2) of the EEA Agreement. In order to substantiate that Hurtigruten has not been excessively compensated for the provision of a public service under Article 59(2) of the EEA Agreement, the Norwegian authorities have provided the Authority with one report commissioned from PWC and two from BDO Noraudit.
Estonian: Kui järelevalveamet peaks siiski leidma, et kõnealused kolm meedet kujutavad endast riigiabi vastavalt EMP lepingu artikli 61 lõikele 1, siis sellega seoses väitsid Norra ametiasutused teise võimalusena, et kõnealused meetmed kujutavad endast hüvitist, mis on vajalik avaliku teenindamise kohustuse täitmiseks vastavalt EMP lepingu artikli 59 lõikele 2.Põhjendamaks väidet, et ettevõtjale Hurtigruten ei ole avaliku teenuse osutamise eest makstud ülemäärast hüvitist vastavalt EMP lepingu artikli 59 lõikele 2, on Norra ametiasutused esitanud järelevalveametile ühe audiitorfirmalt PricewaterhouseCoopers (edaspidi „PwC”) tellitud aruande ja kaks audiitorfirmalt BDO Noraudit tellitud aruannet.
English: On the other hand, the Norwegian authorities have argued that the text of Article 8 must be interpreted on the basis of its context, purpose and objective of striking a fair balance between the parties’ rights and obligations [41]. However, even when those factors are taken into account, the concrete application of the clause in the case at hand, as explained in the following, demonstrates that it does not meet the requirements of transparency and objectivity of the second Altmark criterion.
French: Par ailleurs, les autorités norvégiennes ont allégué que ce texte devait être interprété en tenant compte de son contexte et de son objectif, à savoir établir un juste équilibre entre les droits et les obligations des parties [41].
Swedish: Å andra sidan hävdar de norska myndigheterna att texten i artikel 8 måste tolkas med utgångspunkt i sammanhanget, syftet och målet att nå en rättvis balans mellan parternas rättigheter och skyldigheter.
Estonian: Teisest küljest on Norra ametiasutused väitnud, et artikli 8 teksti tuleb tõlgendada selle sisu, eesmärgi ja püüde põhjal saavutada õiglane tasakaal poolte õiguste ja kohustuste vahel [41].
English: The argument appears to be that when the costs of the public service are calculated strictly on the basis of the costs related to operating a hypothetical ‘minimum fleet’, the cost of which is likely to be lower than the cost of operating the actual Hurtigruten fleet, the compensation will not exceed the actual costs incurred in the operation of the public service. However, this method does not take into consideration the fact that the activities outside the public service remit must carry a proportionate share of the common costs.
Estonian: Nad näivad väitvat, et kui avalike teenuse osutamise kulud ja tulud arvutatakse rangelt hüpoteetilise n-ö miinimumlaevastiku käitamisega seotud kulude alusel, mis on tõenäoliselt väiksemad ettevõtja Hurtigruten tegeliku laevastiku käitamise kuludest, ei ületa hüvitis avaliku teenuse osutamisel kantud tegelikke kulusid.Selle meetodi puhul ei võeta siiski arvesse asjaolu, et avaliku teenuse osutamisega mittehõlmatud tegevus peab kandma proportsionaalse osa ühistest kuludest.
English: Furthermore, neither the two memoranda from the legal counsel of Hurtigruten nor the subsequent submission from the Norwegian authorities have supported the conclusion that the authorities were in possession of a restructuring plan when they took their decision regarding the three measures in 2008. In summary, the information provided by the Norwegian authorities in the case at hand seems to demonstrate that when granting the three measures in 2008, the State did not take any restructuring consideration into account but were only concerned with the coverage of additional costs linked to the provision of a public service obligation [92].
Estonian: Peale selle ei toetanud ettevõtja Hurtigruten juristi koostatud kaks märgukirja ega Norra ametiasutuste poolt sellele järgnevalt esitatud teave järeldust, et 2008. aastal kõnealuse kolme meetme kohta otsuse tegemise ajal ei olnud ametiasutuste käsutuses restruktureerimiskava.Kokkuvõtteks võib öelda, et Norra ametiasutuste poolt antud juhtumiga seoses esitatud teave näib tõendavat, et kõnealuse kolme meetme võimaldamise ajal 2008. aastal ei võtnud riik arvesse mingeid restruktureerimisega seonduvaid kaalutlusi, vaid eesmärk oli üksnes katta avaliku teenuse osutamisega seotud lisakulud [92].
English: When it comes to public services, the compensation shall be given on the basis of the costs of the provider and not on the basis of the value of the service for the state.1.3.2. Public service compensation – the private market operator principle and Altmark The ECJ has explicitly clarified what can and cannot be considered as state aid within the realm of public service compensation.
Dutch: Volgens de Altmark-jurisprudentie vormt overheidscompensatie voor het verlenen van een openbare dienst die aan alle vier de in dat arrest [32] vastgelegde criteria voldoet (hierna "de Altmark-criteria" genoemd) geen staatssteun in de zin van artikel 61 van de EER-Overeenkomst [33].
Finnish: Altmark-oikeuskäytännön mukaan valtion julkisen palvelun tuottamisesta maksama korvaus, joka täyttää kumulatiivisesti asiassa [32] vahvistetut neljä arviointiperustetta, jäljempänä ’Altmark-kriteerit’, ei ole ETA-sopimuksen 61 artiklassa tarkoitettua valtiontukea [33].
English: In that regard, the Authority notes that the Norwegian authorities have only made general remarks on how they had to implement the measures due to Hurtigruten’s weak financial position [35] in order to ensure that it would continue to provide the public service, as it would be difficult, for the Norwegian authorities, to find another undertaking to provide the service (at least in the short to medium term). The Norwegian authorities have not made any attempt at comparing their actions to that of a private market operator in any detail, but have only made a general reference to the fact that the three measures represented the least costly alternative and that the negotiations were carried out on the basis of the findings in the underlying material of the PWC Report. Furthermore, they have submitted ex post explanations (the two BDO Reports) as to how the three measures do not involve any over-compensation, without comparing their actions to that of a private market operator in any detail. 1.3.3. Public service compensation – assessment of the Altmark criteria
Dutch: Voorts hebben zij verklaringen achteraf verstrekt (de twee BDO-rapporten) over hoe de drie maatregelen geen overcompensatie behelzen, zonder hun acties op welke manier dan ook met die van een particuliere marktexploitant te vergelijken.1.3.3 Compensatie voor openbaredienstverlening – beoordeling van de Altmark-criteria
Finnish: Lisäksi ne ovat toimittaneet jälkikäteen selityksiä (kaksi BDO:n raporttia) siitä, miten kyseessä oleviin kolmeen toimenpiteeseen ei sisälly liiallisia korvauksia, vertaamatta toimiaan yksityiskohtaisesti yksityisen markkinatoimijan toimiin.1.3.3 Julkisesta palvelusta maksettava korvaus – Altmark-kriteerien arviointi
English: PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS Pursuant to Article 1(3) of Part I of Protocol 3, ‘the EFTA Surveillance Authority shall be informed, in sufficient time to enable it to submit its comments, of any plans to grant or alter aid (…). The State concerned shall not put its proposed measures into effect until the procedure has resulted in a final decision’. The Norwegian authorities did not notify the three measures to the Authority.
Finnish: MENETTELYÄ KOSKEVAT VAATIMUKSET
English: Firstly, the grant of the aid must be conditional on implementation of a restructuring plan [87], which should be notified and endorsed by the Authority [88]. The Norwegian authorities did not notify a restructuring plan to the Authority, although negotiations were carried out with Hurtigruten in application of Article 8 of the Agreement.
Finnish: Ensinnäkin tuen myöntämisen edellytyksenä on rakenneuudistussuunnitelman täytäntöönpano [87].
English: Article 8 of the Hurtigruten Agreement contains a revision clause, whereby both parties may initiate a renegotiation procedure. The revision clause reads as follows (translation by the Authority):
French: L’article 8 de l’accord Hurtigruten contient une clause en vertu de laquelle les deux parties peuvent entamer une procédure de renégociation, qui est rédigée comme suit (traduction de l’Autorité):
English: The additional payments do not constitute state aid or are a necessary compensation for the provision of a public service under Article 59(2) EEA The Norwegian authorities have argued that the three measures do not constitute state aid.
French: Les versements supplémentaires ne constituent pas une aide d’État ou sont une compensation nécessaire de la prestation d’un service public prévue à l’article 59, paragraphe 2, de l’accord EEE
Italian: I pagamenti supplementari non costituiscono aiuti di Stato o sono una compensazione necessaria per la fornitura di un servizio pubblico ai sensi dell’articolo 59, paragrafo 2, dell’accordo SEE
English: The reports note that Hurtigruten has not implemented a proper separation of accounts for the public service activities and other activities outside the public service remit [17]. Due to this, an ex post cost and income allocation is simulated. These three reports contain the following:
French: Comme il y est constaté que Hurtigruten n’a pas dûment séparé les comptes afférents à ses activités de service public et ceux afférents à ses autres activités [17], une ventilation des coûts et des recettes y est simulée ex post.Ces trois rapports contiennent les éléments suivants:
English: The first method involves using the costs and revenues of one ship ‘MS Narvik’ for the year 2006 to demonstrate how Hurtigruten has been undercompensated for the provision of the public service. The second method is similar to the first, but instead of restricting the assessment to MS Narvik, the costs and revenues of the whole Hurtigruten fleet for 2006 is used as a basis for the calculations. The third method involves not distinguishing between the public service and the commercial activities.
French: La première utilise les coûts et recettes d’un seul navire (le «MS Narvik») pendant l’exercice 2006 pour montrer que Hurtigruten a été sous-compensée pour la prestation du service public; la deuxième procède de même, sauf qu’au lieu de limiter l’évaluation au MS Narvik, elle prend les coûts et recettes de l’ensemble de la flotte Hurtigruten pendant l’exercice 2006 comme base de calcul.
English: In other words, fixed costs common to the public service and the commercial activities tend to be allocated to the public service side. On the other hand, the income generated by the public service activities is allocated to the public service side, whilst the revenue stemming from the activities outside the public service remit is allocated to the commercial side.
French: En d’autres termes, les coûts fixes qui sont communs aux activités de service public et aux activités commerciales sont généralement imputés au seul volet service public; en revanche, le revenu généré par les activités de service public est imputé au volet service public, tandis que les recettes découlant des activités ne relevant pas du service public sont imputées au volet commercial.
English: THE PRESENCE OF STATE AID 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, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’
French: L’EXISTENCE D’UNE AIDE D’ÉTAT
English: State resources The payments under the first two measures involve state resources within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement as they are financed through budgetary allocations from the national budget [26]. As concerns the third measure, the reduction from 11 to 10 vessels during the winter season without a corresponding decrease in compensation implies that the service is reduced but not the payment.
French: Ressources d’État
English: Hurtigruten offers transport and cruise services (NACE Codes 50.1 and 50.2). Consequently, Hurtigruten is an undertaking within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.1.3.
French: Hurtigruten offrant des services de transport et des croisières (Codes NACE 50.1 et 50.2), elle est une entreprise au sens de l’article 61, paragraphe 1, de l’accord EEE.1.3.
English: The Court found that the payment to Linde AG to fulfil engagements the German authorities had entered into in a contract with a third party represented a normal commercial transaction where the German authorities acted as rational market operators in a market economy and that the transaction was justified on commercial grounds [31]. The case does not in any way concern public service compensation, which is what the three measures under assessment in this decision represent.
French: Le Tribunal a conclu que le paiement fait à Linde AG pour qu’elle remplisse les engagements que les autorités allemandes avaient pris aux termes d’un contrat avec un tiers constituait une transaction commerciale normale, dans le cadre de laquelle lesdites autorités se sont comportées comme des opérateurs rationnels en économie de marché, et que cette transaction se justifiait par des considérations commerciales [31].
English: Given that the application of Article 8 in this case – under which ‘considerable changes of costs’ and ‘radical changes of prices of input factors’ permit renegotiation – has had the effect that the State’s remuneration in favour of Hurtigruten has been substantially increased [40] by virtue of the three measures contained in the Supplementary Agreement, the Authority is of the view that such an increase in the compensation could in principle have triggered a call for a new tender procedure.The Authority is of the view that the increased state remuneration under the three measures contained in the Supplementary Agreement cannot be held to be covered by the original tender. The Authority does not necessarily hold that any extraordinary compensation granted under a renegotiation clause of a contract that has been put out to tender will fail to clear the fourth Altmark criterion and hence involve state aid.
French: Étant donné que l’application de l’article 8 en l’espèce - en vertu duquel une renégociation est possible s’il y a «des changements importants au niveau des coûts» et «des changements radicaux du prix des intrants» - a entraîné une augmentation substantielle de la compensation en faveur de Hurtigruten [40] au moyen des trois mesures figurant dans l’avenant, l’Autorité estime qu’une telle augmentation de la compensation aurait pu en principe déclencher un nouvel appel d’offres.L’Autorité est d’avis que l’augmentation de la compensation publique résultant des trois mesures décrites dans l’avenant ne peut être considérée comme étant couverte par les conditions du marché public initial.
English: With regard to the NOx tax specifically, the Norwegian authorities have explained that the outcome of the negotiations with Hurtigruten set the level for reimbursements at 90 % [42] and that the Norwegian authorities did not wish to take away any incentive on Hurtigruten’s side to reduce NOx emissions by fully reimbursing all NOx tax-related expenses. However, the Norwegian authorities have not provided the Authority with an explanation of the parameters for the calculation.
French: Toutefois, même si l’on tient compte de ces facteurs, l’application concrète de la clause en l’espèce montre, comme expliqué ci-après, qu’elle ne satisfait pas aux exigences de transparence et d’objectivité constituant le deuxième critère Altmark.Pour ce qui concerne plus précisément la taxe NOx, les autorités norvégiennes ont expliqué qu’à l’issue des négociations avec Hurtigruten, le taux des remboursements a été fixé à 90 % [42] parce qu’elles n’ont pas voulu supprimer toute incitation susceptible de pousser Hurtigruten à réduire ses émissions de NOx en remboursant intégralement l’ensemble des dépenses liées à la taxe NOx.
English: In addition, the Norwegian authorities have not shown that the ‘efficiency’ criterion of the fourth Altmark criterion has been satisfied. The authority therefore concludes that the fourth Altmark criterion is also not met in the present case.
French: En outre, les autorités norvégiennes n’ont pas montré que le critère «d’efficacité» défini dans le quatrième critère Altmark est rempli, et l’Autorité conclut donc que ce quatrième critère Altmark n’est pas non plus été respecté en l’espèce.
English: However, in the case of Hurtigruten, the Norwegian authorities decided to limit the reimbursement to what they held to constitute 90 % of the NOx tax/NOx Fund contribution related to the public service obligation. Fully covering the NOx costs was found to be undesirable as it would result in Hurtigruten having less of an incentive to lower emissions [59].The courts have found tax measures conferring advantages on certain undertakings to be non-selective as they have been justified by the nature and overall structure of the general system of which they are part [60].
French: Dans le cas de Hurtigruten, toutefois, elles ont décidé de limiter le remboursement à, selon elles, 90 % des taxes et contributions NOx liées aux obligations de service public, jugeant un remboursement intégral inopportun parce qu’il inciterait moins Hurtigruten à réduire ses émissions [59].Les juridictions UE et AELE ont jugé qu’une mesure fiscale favorisant certaines entreprises n’est pas sélective lorsqu’elle se justifie par la nature ou l’économie générale du système dans lequel elle s’inscrit [60].
Italian: Tuttavia, nel caso della Hurtigruten, le autorità norvegesi hanno deciso di limitare il rimborso al 90 % dell’imposta NOx /contributo al fondo NOx relativi all’obbligo di servizio pubblico, ritenendo che la piena copertura dei costi NOx fosse indesiderabile in quanto sarebbe risultata in un minore incentivo per la Hurtigruten a ridurre le emissioni [59].Misure fiscali vantaggiose per talune imprese non sono state ritenute selettive dai tribunali perché giustificate dalla natura e dalla struttura generale del sistema a cui appartengono [60].
English: The purpose of the NOx tax is to lower NOx emissions [63]. The question is whether the reimbursement of the NOx tax/NOx Fund contribution to public service providers is justified by the nature or general scheme of the NOx tax system.
French: L’on peut faire les mêmes observations en l’espèce: la taxe NOx a pour but de réduire les émissions de NOx [63], et il convient de se demander si le remboursement des taxes et contributions NOx aux prestataires de service public est justifié par la nature ou l’économie générale du régime fiscal NOx.
English: The NOx tax system has the objective of encouraging undertakings to lower their NOx emissions and thereby reduce environmental pollution. These considerations that underlie the NOx tax do not justify treating public service providers differently to those not providing a public service.
French: Or, ce régime vise à encourager les entreprises à réduire leurs émissions de NOx et, partant, à réduire la pollution de l’environnement, et ces considérations ne justifient pas une différence de traitement entre les prestataires de service public et les autres.