RIIGIABI – TAANI

Riigiabi SA.57991 (2021/C) (ex 2021/NN) – Taani

Post Danmarkile universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitmise eest 2020. aastal makstud hüvitis

Riigiabi SA.55918 (2020/FC) – Taani

Väidetav riigiabi Post Danmarkile universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitmise eest 2020. aastal

Kutse märkuste esitamiseks vastavalt Euroopa Liidu toimimise lepingu artikli 108 lõikele 2

(EMPs kohaldatav tekst)

(2021/C 469/02)

Käesoleva kokkuvõtte järel autentses keeles esitatud 23. juuli 2021. aasta kirjas teatas komisjon Taanile oma otsusest algatada Euroopa Liidu toimimise lepingu artikli 108 lõikega 2 ette nähtud menetlus seoses osaga eespool nimetatud meetmest.

Huvitatud isikud võivad saata oma märkused meetme kohta, mille suhtes komisjon algatab menetluse, ühe kuu jooksul alates käesoleva kokkuvõtte ja sellele järgneva kirja avaldamisest järgmisel aadressil:

European Commission Directorate-General Competition State Aid Greffe 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel Faks + 32 22961242 Stateaidgreffe@ec.europa.eu

Märkused edastatakse Taanile. Märkusi esitavad huvitatud isikud võivad kirjalikult taotleda neid käsitlevate andmete ja/või esitatud märkuste osade konfidentsiaalsust, täpsustades taotluse põhjused.

MENETLUS

Taani transpordi- ja logistikaühing Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S esitas 22. detsembril 2019 riigiabi käsitleva kaebuse, milles väitis, et ettevõtjale Post Danmark A/S universaalse postiteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitmise eest makstav hüvitis kujutab endast siseturuga kokkusobimatut riigiabi.

Pärast teatise esitamisele eelnenud kontakte teatasid Taani ametiasutused 21. märtsil 2021 hüvitisest, mida maksti Post Danmarkile universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitmise eest 2020. aastal.

MEETME KIRJELDUS

Meede hõlmab Post Danmarkile universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitmise eest makstavat 225 miljoni Taani krooni (30 miljonit eurot) suurust hüvitist. Hüvitis põhineb kahel individuaalsel litsentsil, millest üks allkirjastati 20. detsembril 2019 ja teine 25. juunil 2020, transpordiministri määrusel ning Post Danmarki ja Taani ametiasutuste vahel sõlmitud kokkuleppel.

Post Danmark asutati selle praegusel kujul 2009. aastal pärast ühinemist Rootsi postiettevõttega Posten AB. Ühinemise järel loodi valdusettevõtja PostNord AB, mis kuulub ühiselt Rootsile (60 % aktsiatest) ja Taanile (40 % aktsiatest). Hääleõigus jaguneb võrdselt.

Post Danmark tegutseb Taani postiturgudel ja pakub mitmesuguseid postiteenuseid, nagu kirjade ja postipakkide kättetoimetamine, kiirkulleri- ja kulleriteenused, e-posti- ja kaubaveoteenused ning postkontorite võrgustiku käitamine. Kooskõlas postidirektiiviga on Post Danmark koos teiste postiettevõtjatega tegutsenud vaba konkurentsi tingimustes alates Taani postiteenuste turu liberaliseerimisest 2011. aastal. Universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitjana on Post Danmark kohustatud tagama juurdepääsu kõigile universaalsetele postiteenustele, sealhulgas näiteks kuni 2 kg kaaluvate kirjade ja kuni 20 kg kaaluvate postipakkide kättetoimetamisele taskukohase hinnaga kogu Taani territooriumil vähemalt viiel päeval nädalas.

MEETME HINDAMINE

Taani ametiasutused leiavad, et meede kujutab endast abi ELi toimimise lepingu artikli 107 lõike 1 tähenduses ning et see on ELi toimimise lepingu artikli 106 lõike 2 kohaselt siseturuga kokkusobiv, kuna vastab kõigile nõuetele, mis on sätestatud komisjoni teatises „Euroopa Liidu raamistik riigiabi jaoks, mida antakse avalike teenuste eest makstava hüvitisena“ (1) (edaspidi „üldist majandushuvi pakkuvate teenuste raamistik“).

Komisjon leiab samuti, et meede kujutab endast riigiabi ELi toimimise lepingu artikli 107 lõike 1 tähenduses, kuid kahtleb, kas kõik üldist majandushuvi pakkuvate teenuste raamistiku kohased kokkusobivusnõuded on täidetud.

Komisjon on jõudnud esialgsele järeldusele, et universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse täitmise eest makstav hüvitis vastab mitmele üldist majandushuvi pakkuvate teenuste raamistiku sättele. Hüvitist makstakse tegeliku majandushuvi pakkuva teenuse eest, ülesande andmise akt sisaldab nõutavaid elemente, kestus on ajaliselt piisavalt piiratud, järgitakse asjakohaseid riigihanke-eeskirju, Taani on kehtestanud piisavad stiimulid universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse tõhusaks täitmiseks ja täidetud on ka läbipaistvusnõuded.

Komisjonil on siiski kahtlusi, kas täidetud on üldist majandushuvi pakkuvate teenuste raamistiku teatavad muud sätted:

— näiteks kooskõla komisjoni 16. novembri 2006. aasta direktiiviga 2006/111/EÜ liikmesriikide ja riigi osalusega äriühingute vaheliste finantssuhete läbipaistvuse ning teatavate ettevõtjate finantsläbipaistvuse kohta (2) (üldist majandushuvi pakkuvate teenuste raamistiku punkt 18). Rigsrevisionen (Taani riigikontroll) avaldas 15. jaanuaril 2021 aruande, milles seati kahtluse alla Post Danmarki raamatupidamisaruannete regulatiivne järelevalve ja nende kinnitamine välisaudiitorite poolt. Taani on kõnealuse aruande edastanud ka komisjonile ja kuniks Taani ametiasutused ei ole Rigsrevisioneni tõstatatud probleeme nõuetekohaselt lahendanud, on komisjon sunnitud jagama Rigsrevisioneni väljendatud kahtlusi. See on eriti oluline, arvestades asjaolu, et Taani on Post Danmarkile pandud universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuse netokulude arvutamiseks kasutanud raamatupidamisandmeid. Netokulude arvutamine on Post Danmarkile makstava hüvitise aluseks.

— Kulude netokokkuhoiu meetodi rakendamine (üldist majandushuvi pakkuvate teenuste raamistiku punktid 25–27): kulude netokokkuhoiu meetodi kohaselt on vaja selgitada, kuidas Post Danmark oleks tegutsenud ilma universaalteenuse osutamise kohustuseta, et jõuda nn vastupidise stsenaariumini. Komisjonil on kahtlusi, millist hinnangulist mõju oleksid mõned vastupidise stsenaariumi eeldused avaldanud kirjade või postipakkide kättetoimetamise kuludele.

Vastavalt nõukogu määruse (EL) 2015/1589 (3) artiklile 16 võib ebaseaduslikult antud abi selle saajalt tagasi nõuda.

KIRJA TEKST

(1) ELT C 8, 11.1.2012, lk 15.

(2) ELT L 318, 17.11.2006, lk 17.

(3) Nõukogu 13. juuli 2015. aasta määrus (EL) 2015/1589, millega kehtestatakse üksikasjalikud eeskirjad Euroopa Liidu toimimise lepingu artikli 108 kohaldamiseks (ELT L 248, 24.9.2015, lk 9).

(4) Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 9), ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/1589/oj

(5) Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community (OJ 17, 6.10.1958, p. 385).

(6) Lov om Post Danmark, Nr 88 of 8 February 1995, https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/1995/88

(7) Lov om postvirksomhed, Nr 89 of 8 February 1995, https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/1995/89

(8) Lov om Post Danmark A/S, Nr 409 of 6 June 2002, https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2002/409

(9) See: https://www.cvc.com/media/press-releases/2009/02-02-2009-123603833

(10) The legal basis for the merger was in Denmark provided by: Lov om ændring af lov om Post Danmark A/S, LOV nr 542 of 17 June 2008, available at: https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=120348

(11) Commission Decision of 21 April 2009, Case No COMP/M.5152 — Posten AB / Post Danmark A/S. Notification of 26.2.2009 pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation No 139/2004, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_5152.

(12) Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service (OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, p. 14).

(13) See Postloven, LOV nr 1536 of 21 December 2010, available at: https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=135208. The law has been amended several times.

(14) Both licenses have as title ‘Midlertidig tilladelse til Post Danmark A/S’.

(15) Danish Transport and Construction Agency, Ny individuel tilladelse til Post Danmark A/S, 2 June 2016, available at: https://www.trafikstyrelsen.dk/da/Post/Lister/Publikationsliste

(16) Commission Decision SA.47707(2018/N) of 28 May 2018, State compensations granted to PostNord for the provision of the universal postal service — Denmark, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=3_SA_47707

(17) Judgment of the General Court of 5 May 2021, ITD, Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S and Danske Fragtmænd A/S v European Commission, Case T-561/18, ECLI:EU:T:2021:240.

(18) See: https://uk.rigsrevisionen.dk/about-us

(19) See: https://uk.rigsrevisionen.dk/our-work

(20) The report is available on the website of the Rigsrevisionen: Beretning om tilsynet med Post Danmarks regnskabspraksis, beretning nr. 10/2020, 15 January 2021, https://rigsrevisionen.dk/revisionssager-arkiv/2021/jan/beretning-om-tilsynet-med-post-danmarks-regnskabspraksis

(21) Communication from the Commission — European Union framework for State aid in the form of public service compensation (OJ C 8, 11.1.2012, p. 15).

(22) The decree is dated 19 August 2020 (nr 2020-6466) and was endorsed by the Financial Committee on 27 August 2020.

(23) Kontrakt vedrørende midlertidig kompensation til Post Danmark A/S for befordringspligten i Danmark, dated 25 June 2020.

(24) Claims unrelated to the USO compensation are not the subject of this Decision.

(25) Judgment of the General Court of 5 May 2021, ITD, Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S and Danske Fragtmænd A/S v European Commission, Case T-561/18, ECLI:EU:T:2021:240, paragraph 86-93.

(26) The transformation plan is referred to as the new production model in Section 2.2 of the 2018 Decision.

(27) Referred to in the 2018 Decision.

(28) Judgment of the General Court of 5 May 2021, ITD, Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S and Danske Fragtmænd A/S v European Commission, Case T-561/18, ECLI:EU:T:2021:240, paragraph 94.

(29) ITD explains that the vehicles financed by Post Danmark for the USO will only be used for the USO for 60 % of their capacity while the remaining (40 %) will be used for PostNord Logistics’ freight services, without Post Danmark billing PostNord Logistics for the use of the vehicles. In addition, Post Danmark’s employees would provide services for PostNord Logistics without remuneration, the customer service of PostNord Logistics would be carried out by Post Danmark without payment and Post Danmark would pay for IT (software and hardware) that is used by PostNord Logistics without remuneration.

(30) In this regard, ITD refers to Article 20 of Danish Law no. 1040 of 30 August 2017 (the Danish Postal Act), which provides that ‘[t]he company holding the Universal Service Obligation must issue stamps (with “Denmark” printed on them)’ and Article 15(4) of the same law which provides that ‘[t]he Transport Minister authorises the price of the stamps for letters weighing up to 50 grams’.

(31) ITD refers to a PostNord press release ‘Billigere pakker på posthuset fra 2019’ dated 28 September 2018 where it is stated ‘og derfor justerer vi priserne fra årsskiftet’.

(32) See recital (137) of the 2018 Decision.

(33) Commission Decision 2012/21/EU of 20 December 2011 on the application of Article 106(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to certain undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest, OJ L 7, 11.1.2012, p. 3, available at: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2012/21(1)/oj

(34) This conclusion was later upheld by the General Court, see footnote 14.

(35) To further substantiate this, Denmark refers to the political agreement of 27 May 2010 on ensuring the universal service in a liberalised market, which was attached to the preliminary works of the Postal Act adopted on 21 December 2010 (LOV nr 1536 af 21/12/2010) and contains the following wording: ‘The designated Universal Service Provider… has an exclusive right and an obligation to issue stamps with “Denmark” printed on them’ (translation provided by Denmark). In Danish this reads as: ‘Den til enhver tid befordringspligtige virksomhed …, har eneret og forpligtelse til at udstede frimærker påtrykt ’Danmark’’. Only the obligation to issue stamps is mentioned in the wording of the Postal Act (and not the exclusive right). In addition, the license for Post Danmark to provide postal services mentions only an obligation to issue stamps.

(36) See Article 8 of Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. In addition, recital (20) of the same Directive states: ‘for reasons of public order and public security, Member States […] are entitled to appoint the entity or entities responsible for issuing postage stamps identifying the country of origin’.

(37) Denmark explains that the word used in Section 15(4) of the Postal Act is ‘godkender’, which rather translates as ‘approves’.

(38) The Commission considers that the architecture of the SGEI package would be rendered ineffective if it were to be considered that entrusting exactly the same service in two different consecutive periods (within the same year) suffices to define two separate SGEIs. The Commission recalls that, below the threshold of EUR 15 million, the SGEI Decision applies, with no notification obligation and lighter compatibility rules; over this threshold, the stricter requirements of the SGEI Framework must be respected.

(39) Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 December 1996, Compagnie nationale Air France v Commission of the European Communities, Case T-358/94, ECLI:EU:T:1996:194, paragraph 56.

(40) Judgment of the Court of 14 October 1987, Federal Republic of Germany v Commission of the European Communities, Case 248/84, ECLI:EU:C:1987:437, paragraph 17; Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 6 March 2002, Territorio Histórico de Álava — Diputación Foral de Álava (T-92/00), Ramondín, SA and Ramondín Cápsulas, SA (T-103/00) v Commission of the European Communities, joined Cases T-92/00 and T-103/00, ECLI:EU:T:2002:61, paragraph 57.

(41) Judgment of the Court of 12 September 2000, Pavel Pavlov and Others v Stichting Pensioenfonds Medische Specialisten, Joined Cases C-180/98 to C-184/98, ECLI:EU:C:2000:428, paragraph 74.

(42) Judgment of the Court of 23 April 1991, Klaus Höfner and Fritz Elser v Macrotron GmbH, Case C-41/90, ECLI:EU:C:1991:161, paragraph 21; Judgment of the Court of 12 September 2000, Pavel Pavlov and Others v Stichting Pensioenfonds Medische Specialisten, Joined Cases C-180/98 to C-184/98, ECLI:EU:C:2000:428, paragraph 74.

(43) Judgment of the Court of 16 June 1987, Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic, Case 118/85, ECLI:EU:C:1987:283, paragraph 7.

(44) Judgment of the Court of 11 July 1996, Syndicat français de l'Express international (SFEI) and others v La Poste and others, Case C-39/94, ECLI:EU:C:1996:285, paragraph 60; Judgment of the Court of 29 April 1999, Kingdom of Spain v Commission of the European Communities, Case C-342/96, ECLI:EU:C:1999:210, paragraph 41.

(45) Judgment of the Court of 24 July 2003, Altmark Trans GmbH and Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg v Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Altmark GmbH, and Oberbundesanwalt beim Bundesverwaltungsgericht, Case, C-280/00, ECLI:EU:C:2003:415, paragraph 87 to 95.

(46) See cases Judgment of the Court of 4 June 2015, European Commission v MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyrt, C-15/14 P, ECLI:EU:C:2015:362, paragraph 60; Judgment of the Court of 30 June 2016, Kingdom of Belgium v European Commission, C-270/15 P, ECLI:EU:C:2016:489, paragraph 49; Judgment of the General Court of 13 December 2017, Hellenic Republic v European Commission, T-314/15, ECLI:EU:T:2017:903, paragraph 79.

(47) Judgment of the Court of 17 September 1980, Philip Morris Holland BV v Commission of the European Communities, Case 730/79, ECLI:EU:C:1980:209, paragraph 11; Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 15 June 2000, Alzetta Mauro and others v Commission of the European Communities, joined cases T-298/97, T-312/97, T-313/97, T-315/97, T-600/97 to 607/97, T-1/98, T-3/98 to T-6/98 and T-23/98 ECLI:EU:T:2000:151, paragraph 80.

(48) Judgment of the Court of 17 September 1980, Philip Morris Holland BV v Commission of the European Communities, Case 730/79, ECLI:EU:C:1980:209, paragraphs 11 and 12; Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 30 April 1998, Het Vlaamse Gewest (Flemish Region) v Commission of the European Communities, Case T-214/95, ECLI:EU:T:1998:77, paragraphs 48-50.

(49) Communication from the Commission on the application of the European Union State aid rules to compensation granted for the provision of services of general economic interest (OJ C 8, 11.1.2012, p. 4).

(50) Article 3(1) of Directive 97/67/EC provides: ‘Member States shall ensure that users enjoy the right to a universal service involving the permanent provision of a postal service of specified quality at all points in their territory at affordable prices for all users.’

(51) Communication from the Commission: European Framework for State aid in the form of public service compensation (OJ C 8, 11.1.2012, p. 15).

(52) For example, in France (La Poste), Italy (Poste Italiane), Spain (Correos) and Greece (ELTA), the period of entrustment is up to 15 years.

(53) Commission Directive 2006/111/EC of 16 November 2006 on the transparency of financial relations between Member States and public undertakings as well as on financial transparency within certain undertakings.

(54) Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 15 October 2020, První novinová společnost a.s., venant aux droits de Mediaservis s. r. o. v European Commission, Case T-316/18, ECLI:EU:T:2020:489, paragraph 198.

(55) Business to Consumer

(56) Business to Business

(57) Consumer to other

(58) Proclaim return receipt (postforkyndelse in Danish) are letters containing a writ or other document to be served on the recipient. Only the courts, public authorities other than the courts, and approved private boards of complaint or appeal can sent proclaim return receipt.

(59) Danish Value Added Tax Act, LBK nr 1021 of 26.9.2019 (link: https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2019/1021).

(60) Assessment made by annalect (January 2020).

(61) Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243), ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/25/oj

(62) Danske Fragtmænd A/S's labour productivity is something of an outlier. This can be explained by the fact that Danske Fragtmænd A/S is a transport and logistics company, which transports goods and offers warehouse facilities to customers. Delivery costs and the average price of goods are significantly higher than delivery costs and average prices on letters and parcels.

(63) Cost of delivering one letter or one parcel.

(64) One could buy one or multiple codes online and write them on the envelope or print the code and stick it on the envelope.

(65) Judgment of the General Court of 5 May 2021, ITD, Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S and Danske Fragtmænd A/S v European Commission, Case T-561/18, ECLI:EU:T:2021:240.

(66) This may be illustrated by the following simplified calculations. Assume the cost of delivery of parcels nationwide is 200 and the revenue is 150, such that it is a loss- making activity. Now assume that the cost of delivery in urban areas is 75 while the revenue is 100, such that parcel delivery in urban areas is actually profitable. By discontinuing the entire activity, Post Danmark’s NAC on this activity would be equal to the avoided costs (200) minus the foregone revenues (150) = 50. If Post Danmark were to discontinue only the non-urban delivery of parcels, its NAC for the activity would be equal to the avoided costs (200-75) minus the foregone revenues (150-100) = 125 – 50 = 75.

(67) Ibid, paragraph 123-124.

(68) Ibid, paragraph 138-159.

(69) Ibid, paragraph 155.

(70) Ibid, paragraph 148.

(71) See in this regard also recital (119)(e) where it is explained that Post Danmark would optimize these quality measurements in the absence of the USO.

(72) Recital (70).

(73) See recital (28) of the 2018 Decision.

(74) Paragraph 40 of the SGEI framework.

(75) Judgment of the General Court of 5 May 2021, ITD, Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S and Danske Fragtmænd A/S v European Commission, Case T-561/18, ECLI:EU:T:2021:240, paragraph 164-165.

(76) See footnote 12.

(77) Judgment of the General Court of 5 May 2021, ITD, Brancheorganisation for den danske vejgodstransport A/S and Danske Fragtmænd A/S v European Commission, Case T-561/18, ECLI:EU:T:2021:240, paragraphs 170 and 172.

(78) Ibid, paragraph 176.