natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Kommissionen har modtaget bemærkninger fra interesserede parter, som den har videresendt til Frankrig ved skrivelse af 26. september 2003 med anmodning om eventuelle kommentarer, og den modtog disse kommentarer ved skrivelse af 26. november 2003.
The Commission received observations on this matter from interested parties which it forwarded to France by letter of 26 September 2003 asking it to comment, which it did by letter of 26 November 2003.
Nedenfor gives en beskrivelse af den omhandlede støtte.
What follows is a brief description of the aid.
For yderligere oplysninger henvises der til beslutning af 23. maj 2001 og beslutningen af 30. april 2003 om at indlede proceduren.
For more details, please refer to the decision of 23 May 2001 and the decision of 30 April 2003 to initiate the procedure.
Sernams struktur
Sernam’s structure
Som angivet i beslutningen af 23. maj 2001 blev Sernam oprettet i 1970 som en intern afdeling af SNCF til at varetage alle opgaver inden for pakketransport.
As indicated in the decision of 23 May 2001, Sernam was set up in 1970 as part of the SNCF bringing together all activities involved in parcel services.
Gruppen, der blev dannet i 1993 og bestod af Sernam Transport SA og datterselskaberne (herefter »Gruppen Sernam Transport«), har hele tiden haft mere eller mindre finansiel ligevægt.
The group established in 1993 consisting of Sernam Transport SA and its subsidiaries (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Sernam Transport group’) has always more or less been in financial equilibrium.
Derimod blev resultaterne i den interne tjeneste Sernam Domaine gradvist dårligere allerede fra 1992, men det var først i 1996, delvis på grund af arbejdskonflikterne i SNCF, at der blev iværksat en genopretningsplan.
However, the business results of Sernam Domaine steadily deteriorated from 1992 but it was only in 1996, partly because of considerable industrial unrest within SNCF, that a recovery plan could be drawn up.
På grund af de stadig dårligere resultater besluttede SNCF imidlertid at træffe yderligere foranstaltninger for at få Sernam Domaine på rette vej.
Nevertheless, the SNCF has studied ways and means of improving Sernam Domaine’s situation as its performance continued to get worse.
Denne enhed kom til at bestå af anlægsaktiverne fra det tidligere Sernam Domaine og kapitalandelene fra Sernam Transport SA. SNCF’s datterselskab Sernam Transport SA er således blevet et helejet datterselskab under SCS Sernam, men er samtidig forblevet en selvstændig virksomhed, der fungerer som holding for de 24 datterselskaber.
Consequently, SNCF’s subsidiary Sernam Transport SA has become a 100% subsidiary of SCS Sernam while nevertheless remaining a separate company and the holding company of its 24 subsidiaries.
Omstruktureringen, der er genstand for nærværende beslutning, vedrører SCS Sernam (selv om denne enhed blev omdannet til et aktieselskab i henhold til en aftale mellem SNCF og Geodis af 21. december 2001, og selv om SNCF overtog de 15 % af SCS Sernam, der var blevet solgt til henholdsvis Geodis og Cogip).
The present decision concerns the restructuring of SCS Sernam (even though it was transformed into a Société Anonyme following the memorandum of understanding signed between SNCF and Geodis on 21 December 2001 and though 15% of SCS Sernam sold to Geodis and Cogip respectively was taken over by SNCF).
Sernams aktiviteter
Sernam’s activities
Siden oprettelsen i 1970 har Sernam hovedsagelig beskæftiget sig med pakketransport (detailtransport) på markedet for samlegods, der hovedsagelig omfatter almindelig kurertransport (levering som regel inden for mellem 24 og 48 timer) og ekspres kurertransport (levering som regel inden for 24 timer), samt i mindre omfang på markedet for spedition (transport af varer i fulde vognlæs fra et punkt til et andet) og logistik (opbevaring, lagring, klargøring af ordrer og samling).
Since its inception in 1970, Sernam has mainly been engaged in parcel services (less-than-truckload transport) on the groupage market which basically includes traditional mail services (delivery normally between 24 and 48 hours) and express mail services (delivery normally in less than 24 hours) and, to a lesser extent, on the charter market (point-to-point full truckload transport) and in logistics (warehousing, storage, order picking, assembly).
Som anført i Sernam 1-beslutningen kan »samlegodstransport generelt defineres som en aktivitet, der består i at afhente varerne hos afsenderkunden, at samle varerne i en ekspeditionscentral, at fragte varerne til en modtagelsescentral og endelig i at levere varerne til modtagerkunderne.
As indicated in the Sernam 1 decision, ‘groupage may generally be defined as an activity which consists of collecting the goods from the sending customer, concentrating the goods at a sending agency, carrying them to the destination agency and finally delivering them to the destination customers.
Samlegodsaktiviteterne er nødvendige for at optimere brugen af transportmidler, idet samlegodsvirksomheden står for transporten af pakker, der er samlet fra forskellige afsendere og beregnet til forskellige modtagere.
Groupage operations are necessary to optimise the use of means of transport; the groupage company ensures the transport of grouped parcels coming from various shippers and intended for several recipients.
Selv om samlegodstransport er beslægtet med markedet for varetransport, udgør denne transportform et marked for sig, der er kendetegnet ved størrelsen af de enheder, der transporteres (fra små pakker til partier på flere ton), og ved, at der foretages transport af enheder fra forskellige befragtere til forskellige modtagere«.
While it is related to the goods transport market, groupage constitutes a market by itself, characterised by the size of the units transported (from one package to batches of several tonnes) and by the fact that it involves the transport of parcels from various shippers to several recipients’.
Sernam har i forbindelse med alle sine aktiviteter hovedsagelig benyttet sig af landevejstransport (lastbiler).
For all of its activities, Sernam has made use essentially of transport by road (lorries).
Man er gået bort fra at foretage transport af gods med almindelig jernbane med indførelsen af den nye transportplan, der er nævnt i omstruktureringsplanen.
The carriage of parcels by conventional railways was abandoned with the introduction of the new transport plan mentioned in the restructuring plan.
Sernam har siden udviklet et nyt koncept for jernbanetransport kaldet »Train bloc express« (herefter »TBE«), der anvendes til den centrale del af transporten i forbindelse med almindelig kurertransport og ekspres kurertransport på afstande over 400 km, herunder transport af bagage tilhørende passagerer, der benytter SNCF, og transport af aviser og blade mellem Paris og Sydfrankrig.
Since then, Sernam has developed a new railway transport concept known as ‘Train Bloc Express’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘TBE’) which is used as the key element in transporting traditional and express mail flows over distances exceeding 400 km including the transport of SNCF customer baggage and the transport of newspapers between the Paris region and southern France.
I 2000 hidrørte ca. 58 % af den samlede omsætning på 552 mio. EUR fra samlegodsaktiviteterne i Frankrig (hovedsagelig almindelig kurertransport og ekspres kurertransport samt natlevering).
In 2000 about 58% of the total turnover of €552 million was connected with groupage activities in France (basically conventional and express mail services and night-time deliveries).
Ca. 18 % af omsætningen hidrørte fra spedition, 10,7 % fra logistik, 6,3 % fra transport af aviser og blade og bagage for SNCF, 4 % fra diverse aktiviteter, f.eks. transport af udstyr, og 3 % fra internationale aktiviteter.
About 18% of turnover was connected with freight, 10.7% with logistics activities, 6.3% with newspaper and baggage transport on behalf of SNCF, 4% with various activities such as the transport of supplies and 3% with international activities.
De franske myndigheder gør ligeledes opmærksom på, at »Sernams transport, der direkte udføres med TBE, i dag allerede repræsenterer en omsætning på […]* mio. EUR (af en omsætning på […] mio. EUR fra samlegodsaktiviteterne«).
The French authorities also indicate that ‘Sernam traffic directly served by TBE already represents € […]* million in turnover (out of € […] million groupage turnover)’.
I 2003 var Sernams reelle omsætning på 414 mio. EUR, og den forventes at blive 443 mio. EUR i 2006.
In 2003 Sernam’s real turnover was €414 million and it was expected to reach €443 million in 2006.
I 2003 repræsenterede Sernams aktiviteter inden for landevejstransport en omsætning på […] mio. EUR. Disse aktiviteter udføres direkte af Sernam og af et af Sernams datterselskaber, Sernam Transport Route (herefter »STR«), med en omsætning på henholdsvis […] mio. EUR og […] mio. EUR. Sernam Groupe råder over […] sættevognstrækkere (44 t), […] sættevogne (24 t), […] containervogne (3,5-12 t) og […] lette køretøjer (under 3,5 t).
In 2003 road transport for Sernam accounted for €[…] million in turnover. €[…] million of this activity is directly provided by Sernam and €[…] million by a Sernam subsidiary, Sernam Transport Route, hereinafter referred to as ‘STR’.
Sernams markedskapacitet (ekspertundersøgelse)
Sernam’s market capacity (expert study)
Kommissionen har givet en uvildig ekspert (herefter »eksperten«) i opdrag at foretage en undersøgelse med det formål at fastslå kapaciteten i de markedssegmenter, hvor Sernam opererer, og Sernams stilling i disse segmenter [13].
The Commission has commissioned market research from an independent expert (hereinafter referred to as ‘the expert’) to determine the capacity of the market segments in which Sernam operates and its position on these markets. [13]
Sernam er ifølge eksperten den største leverandør af ekspres kurertransport i Frankrig, selv om denne vurdering, stadig ifølge eksperten, afhænger af, hvorledes man definerer markedet.
According to the expert, Sernam is described as the leading express mail distributor in France even though, according to the expert, this estimation depends on how the market is defined.
Sernam opererer især på det franske marked.
Sernam operates in particular on the French national market.
I 2000 havde Sernam 7 % af samlegods- og pakkeforsendelsesmarkedet (i henhold til specifikke parametre (parcels)), mens Geodis havde 12 % og La Poste 25 %.
In 2000 Sernam had 7% of the groupage and parcel dispatch markets (for specific parameters (parcels)), Geodis had 12% and La Poste 25%.
Hvad angår andelene af det franske samlegodsmarked har La Poste 28,1 %, Geodis 15,3 %, Deutsche Post 8,7 %, TNT 7,9 %, Mory 6,4 % og Sernam 5,2 % efterfulgt af 13 andre virksomheder af betydning, der har mellem 4 og 0,8 % af markedet.
In terms of market shares of the French groupage market, La Poste held 28.1%, Geodis 15.3%, Deutsche Post 8.7%, TNT 7.9%, Mory 6.4%, Sernam 5.2%, followed by 13 other major companies which held between 4 and 0.8% of the market.
Hvad angår antallet af driftsanlæg i Frankrig (samlegods, standardpakker og ekspres) nævner eksperten Geodis/Calberson med 204 driftsanlæg, TNT med 120 driftsanlæg, La Poste TAT og Geopost DPD med 85 driftsanlæg, Sernam med 57 driftsanlæg, Groupe Joyeau (der i øjeblikket er en del af Schenker) med 53 driftsanlæg og DPWN med 20 driftsanlæg.
In terms of the number of sites in France (by groupage, standardised parcels and express), the expert lists Geodis/Calberson with 204 sites, TNT with 120, La Poste TAT and Geopost DPD with 85, Sernam with 57, Groupe Joyeau (now part of Schenker) with 53 and DPWN with 20 sites.
Ifølge eksperten opererer Sernam hovedsagelig inden for:
According to the expert, Sernam operates mainly in the following segments:
markedssegmentet for ekspres samlegods- og kurertransport i Frankrig (bestående af sortering (samling) og transport ad landevej og med jernbane af pakker eller partier på flere ton normalt inden for 24 timer)
the groupage/express mail segment in France (consisting of sorting (groupage) and the carriage by road and rail of parcels or batches of several tonnes normally within less than 24 hours);
markedssegmentet for almindelig samlegods- og kurertransport i Frankrig (bestående af sortering (samling) og transport ad landevej og med jernbane af pakker eller partier på flere ton normalt inden for mellem 24 og 48 timer)
the groupage/traditional mail segment in France (consisting of sorting (groupage) and the carriage by road and rail of parcels or batches of several tonnes normally between 24 and 48 hours);
i et mindre omfang inden for segmenterne spedition, logistik og ordrebehandling og -samling samt international kurertransport.
to a lesser extent in the following segments: freight, logistics, order picking, assembly and international mail services.
»Ekspres« samlegods- og kurertransport: Ifølge eksperten har markedet for ekspreslevering af pakker, dvs. normalt inden for 24 timer, været i stærk fremgang i Europa, herunder især i Frankrig i de seneste 20 år, men den hurtige vækst i antallet af transportvirksomheder i dette markedssegment har medført faldende priser.
Express groupage/mail: According to the expert, the market for express parcel delivery, normally within 24 hours, has shown strong growth in Europe and in particular in France over the past 20 years but the rapid entry of transport companies in this sector has led to a drop in prices.
I Frankrig bør der imidlertid sondres mellem international eksprestransport, der er vokset meget kraftigt i løbet af de seneste 15 år, og national eksprestransport, hvor væksten har været mere beskeden.
In France, however, a distinction should be made between international express, which has expanded tremendously during the past 15 years, and national express, which has shown more modest growth.
Hvad angår den nationale eksprestransport forventes der dog en vis vækst i de kommende år, hvilket bl.a. skyldes det forventede generelle økonomiske opsving i Frankrig.
National express services are nevertheless expected to show some growth in the future, in particular as a result of the general economic recovery expected in France.
Eksperten påpeger i sin rapport, at væksten inden for det nationale eksprestransportmarked hovedsagelig afhænger af væksten inden for den elektroniske handel.
According to the expert, the growth of the national express market will basically depend on the growth of electronic commerce.
Han påpeger desuden, at 74 % af de største franske virksomheder allerede regelmæssigt gør brug af eksprestransportsektorens tjenester.
The expert further points out that 74% of the leading French companies already make regular use of express mail services.
»Almindelig« samlegods- og kurertransport: Den almindelige samlegods- og kurertransport består i transport, normalt ad landevejen, men også med jernbane, og normalt med mellemliggende samling/fordeling, af pakker på under 3 tons mellem to steder inden for en frist på normalt 24 til 48 timer.
Traditional groupage/mail: Traditional groupage/mail consists of the carriage, normally by road but also by rail, and usually through intermediary grouping/breakdown of shipments, of parcels of less than 3 tonnes between two destinations, normally within 24 to 48 hours.
Hvad angår disse markedssegmenter i Frankrig påpeger eksperten:
With regard to these market segments in France, the expert notes that:
at markedssegmentet for samlegodstransport er stagnerende, men at der forventes en vis vækst på området
The groupage market segment is stagnating, although it is expected that the market will show some growth.
at nedgangen inden for segmentet for almindelig pakketransport (i henhold til specifikke parametre (parcels)) vil fortsætte, ligesom der vil være et fald i volumen af postforsendelser, fordi de erstattes af elektronisk post.
The traditional parcel transport segment (specific parameters (parcels)) will continue to shrink with the general decline of mail volumes which are being replaced by electronic mail.
Eksperten konkluderer i denne henseende, at markedet for almindelig samlegods- og kurertransport generelt er stagnerende, selv om der forventes en vis vækst på området, og at transporten af pakker (i henhold til specifikke parametre) er for nedadgående på grund af den stadig mere omfattende brug af elektronisk kommunikation.
In this regard, the expert concludes that the traditional groupage/mail market is basically stagnating even though some market growth is expected, and that the carriage of parcels (specific parameters) is in decline because of the rise in electronic mail.
Som nævnt ovenfor udgør samlegodstransport et marked for sig, selv om det er nært beslægtet med markedet for varetransport.
As indicated above, groupage constitutes a market by itself, although it is related to the goods transport market.
Samlegodsaktiviteterne er således kendetegnet ved varernes sortering og størrelse (fra pakkestørrelse til partier på flere ton), og ved, at der foretages transport af disse varer fra flere forskellige befragtere til flere forskellige modtagere.
Groupage operations are characterised by the sorting of goods and by their size (from a parcel to batches of several tonnes) as well as by the fact that it involves carrying these parcels from various shippers to several recipients.
De to aspekter ved samlegodstransport er således dels sortering, dels transport af varer af en vis størrelse.
The two aspects of groupage are therefore sorting and carrying goods of a particular size.
Selv om sorteringsdelen gør det muligt at optimere den måde, hvorpå transportmidlerne anvendes, er den primære målsætning i forbindelse med hele processen dog at effektivisere selve transportdelen.
While sorting enables optimisation of the use of modes of transport, the efficient carriage of goods nevertheless remains the main objective of the whole operation.
Efter at være gået bort fra at anvende de traditionelle jernbanetransportmidler udfører Sernam nu hovedsagelig transporten af samlegods ad landevej (lastbiler), idet virksomheden dog også har udviklet et innovativt koncept, nemlig »Train bloc express« (TBE), der beskrives nærmere nedenfor under Frankrigs bemærkninger.
Since giving up its traditional railway transport operations, Sernam has basically made use of grouped goods transport by road (by lorry) while at the same time working out an innovative concept, known as ‘Train Bloc Express’ or ‘TBE’, which will be explained below in the comments from France.
Det er således hensigtsmæssigt at undersøge kapaciteten inden for landevejstransport og jernbanetransport.
It is appropriate, therefore, to examine the capacity of the road transport market and the rail transport market.
Landevejstransport i Europa: Eksperten konstaterer, at for hele Europa er landevejstransporten – som er en central del af samlegods/kurertransport/pakketransport af standardpakker – en industri med få hindringer for markedsadgangen, hvorfor den lider under en permanent strukturel overkapacitet [14], hvilket er blevet bekræftet i løbet af de seneste 5 til 7 år, hvor priserne har været faldende.
Road transport in Europe: The expert indicates that for Europe as a whole road transport – which is a key element of groupage/mail/parcel services – is an industry that newcomers find easy to join and which therefore suffers from permanent structural overcapacity, [14] as borne out by the fact that over the past five to seven years there has been a fall in prices.
Eksperten påpeger, at det relevante franske marked generelt er kendetegnet ved en benhård konkurrence, og at der er stærk tendens til virksomhedssammenslutning.
The expert states that in any case the relevant French market is in general characterised by fierce competition and that there is a strong trend towards concentrations between companies.
»Jernbanetransport«: Denne transportform kan inddeles i 3 kategorier:
Rail transport: Three sub-groups are identified:
Eksperten forventer ingen vækst inden for samlegods- og kurertransport med almindelig jernbane.
The expert does not expect growth in groupage and mail carried by conventional railway services.
Konkurrencen er meget hård, og der er tendens til virksomhedssammenslutninger på disse markeder.
Competition is intense and there is a trend for companies on the markets to - concentrate.
Da SNCF desuden er i færd med at nedbringe antallet af stationer, reduceres Sernams muligheder for at transportere varerne med jernbane.
Moreover, Sernam's possibilities of using trains to transport parcels are reduced as the SNCF is limiting the number of stations it serves.
Dette gælder både transport med almindelige tog og transport i bagagerummene på højhastighedstoget TGV i Frankrig.
This applies to the carriage of freight by conventional trains and that carried by high-speed trains (‘TGV’) n France.
Ifølge eksperten har TBE, således som Sernam har udviklet dette koncept, et vist vækstpotentiale, der dog ikke er af så stor betydning for det samlede marked for kurertransport med jernbane i Frankrig på grund af Sernams nuværende beskedne markedsandel.
According to the expert, TBE as developed by Sernam has a certain potential for growth although it is not very substantial for the railway mail market in France as a whole because it is currently only a small part of the market. Express rail courier services as operated through TBE have the disadvantage that there are at least two stops necessary for unloading.
Kommissionens ekspert henviser bl.a. til en undersøgelse foretaget af Mercer Management Consulting: »Mercer on Travel and Transport, Volume X, Number 1, Fall 2003/Winter 2004« hvoraf det fremgår, at banegodstransportens konkurrencestilling er meget dårlig, men ikke håbløs.
The Commission's expert has referred in particular to a study compiled by Mercer Management Consulting: Mercer on Travel and Transport, Volume X, Number 1, Fall 2003/Winter 2004, which notes that the current competitive positioning of freight railways is frustrating but by no means hopeless.
Jernbanen indebærer en række fordele, som det gælder om at udnytte, men det kræver en ændring af selve konceptet banegodstransport.
Railways offer advantages that ought to be exploited but this calls for a partial rethinking of the concept of railway freight transport.
De meget omkostningstunge jernbanenet kan ifølge disse eksperter udnyttes bedre ved en større produkt- og prisdifferentiering samt en mere avanceret indtægtsstyring (yield management).
According to these experts, the railway networks, with their high cost, can best be exploited through the use of differentiated products and pricing, together with sophisticated yield management.
Den nuværende markedsføringspraksis bør dog ændres, således at man fastsætter prisen ud fra transportens værdi (value based pricing) og ikke ud fra den enkelte kundes forhandlingsstyrke.
But for such a system to work, the sales culture must be changed, with value-based pricing taking the place of prices negotiated in accordance with bargaining power.
Mercer er i denne henseende af den opfattelse, at en virksomhed, der foretager banegodstransport, bør standardisere sine produkter, dvs. sine transporttjenester, og fastsætte priserne på grundlag af værdien af produktet/tjenesten, der tilbydes, således at kunderne bedre kan forstå disse priser.
To this end, Mercer believes that a railway transport company should ensure that its products are standardised, value priced, and easy for customers to understand.
For Mercer drejer det sig om
According to Mercer, the measures to be taken should cover the following:
at tilbyde forskellige produktkategorier (f.eks. afhængigt af den tilbudte transporttjenestes varighed, pris eller pålidelighed)
product modules should be introduced (e.g. according to booking time, price or reliability of the transport product on offer);
efterfølgende at definere en række centrale produkttyper (f.eks. standardtransport eller eksprestransport og eventuelt en lavpristransport), og
next, core products should be defined (e.g. standard or express transport time, and a low-cost product); and
at vælge standardiserede transportløsninger for disse forskellige produkttyper.
customised transport solutions should be introduced for these different types of products.