natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Aftale ændret ved Europa-Parlamentets og Rådets afgørelse 2003/429/EF (EUT L 147 af 14.6.2003, s. 25).
Agreement amended by Decision 2003/429/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 25).
EUT L 147 af 14.6.2003, s. 31.
OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 31.
Europa-Parlamentets afgørelse af 7.9.2005 og Rådets afgørelse af 18.7.2005.
Decision of the European Parliament of 7 September 2005 and Decision of the Council of 18 July 2005.
Rådets forordning (EF) nr. 1782/2003 (EUT L 270 af 21.10.2003, s. 1).
Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1).
Tabel 1a: Reviderede finansielle overslag (EU-25) i 1999-priser
Table 1a: Revised financial perspective (EU-25) at 1999 prices
Forpligtelsesbevillinger
Commitment appropriations
STRUKTURFORANSTALTNINGER
STRUCTURAL ACTIONS
Strukturfonde
Structural funds
Samhørighedsfonden
Cohesion fund
RESERVER
RESERVES
Nødhjælpsreserve
Emergency aid reserve
Garantireserve
Guarantee reserve
FØRTILTRÆDELSESSTØTTE
PRE-ACCESSION STRATEGY
Førtiltrædelsesstrukturinstrumentet
Pre-accession structural instrument
Phare (ansøgerlande)
PHARE (applicant countries)
KOMPENSATION
COMPENSATION
Loft — egne indtægter
Own resources ceiling
Tabel 1b: Reviderede finansielle overslag (EU-25) i 1999-priser
Table 1b: Revised financial perspective (EU-25) at 1999 prices
Tabel 2a: Reviderede finansielle overslag (EU-25) i løbende priser
Table 2a: Revised financial perspective (EU-25) at current prices
Tabel 2b: Reviderede finansielle overslag (EU-25) i løbende priser
Table 2b: Revised financial perspective (EU-25) at current prices
De beløb, der er medtaget under lofterne for dette udgiftsområde, er for pensionsudgifternes vedkommende de beløb, der fremkommer efter fradrag af personalets indbetalinger til pensionsordningen inden for en grænse på 1100 mio. EUR i 1999-priser for perioden 2000-2006.
The expenditure on pensions included under the ceiling for this heading is calculated net of staff contributions to the pension scheme, up to a maximum of EUR 1100 million at 1999 prices for the period 2000 to 2006.
om den statsstøtte, som Frankrig har ydet France Télécom
on the State aid implemented by France for France Télécom
(meddelt under nummer K(2004) 3061)
(notified under document number C(2004) 3061)
efter at have opfordret de interesserede parter til at fremsætte deres bemærkninger i overensstemmelse med disse artikler [1], under hensyntagen til disse bemærkninger og
Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above [1] and having regard to those comments,
Kommissionen meddelte i sit brev af 31. januar 2003 Frankrig, at Kommissionen havde besluttet at indlede den i EF-traktatens artikel 88, stk. 2, omhandlede formelle undersøgelsesprocedure (herefter benævnt »indledningsbeslutningen«) angående de finansielle foranstaltninger, som de franske myndigheder havde indført til fordel for France Télécom (herefter benævnt »FT« eller »selskabet«), og erhvervsskatteordningen for denne operatør.
By letter dated 31 January 2003, the Commission informed France of its decision to open the formal investigation procedure provided for in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty (hereinafter called the opening decision) in respect of financial measures introduced by the French authorities for France Télécom (hereinafter called FT or the company) and in respect of the business tax scheme applicable to that operator.
Beskrivelsen af, hvorfor proceduren blev indledt, gentages ikke i nærværende beslutning [2].
A description of the facts which led to the procedure being opened is not included in this Decision [2].
Indledningsbeslutningen blev meddelt Frankrig den 31. januar 2003.
The opening decision was notified to France on 31 January 2003.
Efter rettelse af visse fejl blev der fremsendt en ændringsskrivelse til Frankrig den 7. marts 2003.
After a number of substantive errors had been corrected, a corrigendum was notified to France on 7 March 2003.
Frankrig sendte Kommissionen yderligere oplysninger i sine breve af 4. april 2003, 15. maj 2003 og 29. januar 2004.
France communicated additional information to the Commission by letters dated 4 April 2003, 15 May 2003 and 29 January 2004.
Kommissionens beslutning om at indlede proceduren blev offentliggjort i Den Europæiske Unions Tidende [3].
The Commission's decision to open the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union [3].
Kommissionen opfordrede interesserede parter til at fremsætte deres bemærkninger til de pågældende foranstaltninger.
The Commission invited interested third parties to submit their comments on the aid measures in question.
Kommissionen modtog følgende bemærkninger herom fra forskellige interesserede tredjeparter:
The Commission received the following comments on the subject from interested third parties:
21. marts 2003: bemærkninger fra Cable and Wireless plc og Cable and Wireless SA
21 March 2003: comments from Cable and Wireless plc and Cable and Wireless SA
11. april 2003: bemærkninger fra Cegetel
11 April 2003: comments from Cegetel
10. april 2003: bemærkninger fra Afors Télécom
10 April 2003: comments from AFORS Telecom
11. april 2003: bemærkninger fra LD Com
11 April 2003: comments from LDCOM
11. april 2003: bemærkninger fra A [4]
11 April 2003: comments from A [4]
10. april 2003: bemærkninger fra Tiscali
10 April 2003: comments from Tiscali
11. april 2003: bemærkninger fra WorldCom France
11 April 2003: comments from WorldCom France
11. april 2003: bemærkninger fra B [4] Part, hvis identitet efter ønske holdes fortrolig.
11 April 2003: comments from B [4] Party wishing that its identity be kept confidential.
11. april 2003: bemærkninger fra Bouygues SA og Bouygues Télécom (BT) [5]14. april 2003: bemærkninger fra Telecom Italia
11 April 2003: comments from Bouygues SA and Bouygues Telecom (BT) [5]14 April 2003: comments from Telecom Italia
14. april 2003: bemærkninger fra C [4] Part, hvis identitet efter ønske holdes fortrolig.
14 April 2003: comments from C [4] Party wishing that its identity be kept confidential.
29. april 2003: bemærkninger fra B
29 April 2003: comments from B
30. april 2003: bemærkninger fra LD Com [6].(6) Kommissionen sendte Frankrig disse bemærkninger den 16. maj 2003, så landet kunne kommentere dem.
30 April 2003: comments from LDCOM [6].(6) The Commission transmitted the comments to France on 16 May 2003, giving it the opportunity of commenting on them.
De franske myndigheder fremlagde deres bemærkninger i breve af 30. juni 2003 og 29. juli 2003.
The French authorities submitted their comments by letters dated 30 June and 29 July 2003.
Kommissionen har modtaget yderligere oplysninger og dokumenter fra nedenstående tredjeparter:
The Commission received further information and documents from the third parties listed below:
23. juni 2003: brev fra LD Com
23 June 2003: letter from LDCOM
25. juni 2003: brev fra D [4] Part, hvis identitet efter ønske holdes fortrolig.
25 June 2003: letter from D [4] Party wishing that its identity be kept confidential.
27. oktober 2003: brev fra MCI
27 October 2003: letter from MCI
16. oktober 2003: brev fra ECTA
16 October 2003: letter from ECTA
25. juni 2003: brev fra E [4] Part, hvis identitet efter ønske holdes fortrolig.
25 June 2003: letter from E [4] Party wishing that its identity be kept confidential.
7. januar 2004: brev fra BT
7 January 2004: letter from BT
16. januar 2004: brev fra BT
16 January 2004: letter from LT
19. marts 2004: brev fra FT
19 March 2004: letter from FT
5. april 2004: brev fra Tiscali
5 April 2004: letter from Tiscali
17. maj 2004: brev fra LD Com
17 May 2004: letter from LDCOM
26. maj 2004: brev fra BT
26 May 2004: letter from BT
22. juni 2004: brev fra FT
22 June 2004: letter from FT
30. juni 2004: fax fra FT
30 June 2004: fax from FT
2. juli 2004: fax fra FT
2 July 2004: fax from FT
16. juli 2004: fax fra BT.
16 July 2004: fax from BT.
Kommissionen anmodede de franske myndigheder om supplerende forklaringer i sine breve af følgende datoer:
The Commission requested additional explanations from the French authorities by letters dated as follows:
11. september 2003 (svar modtaget fra de franske myndigheder den 20. oktober 2003)
11 September 2003 (answer given by the French authorities on 20 October 2003)
11. november 2003 (svar modtaget fra de franske myndigheder den 4. december 2003)
11 November 2003 (answer given by the French authorities on 4 December 2003)
12. januar 2004 (svar modtaget fra de franske myndigheder den 21. januar 2004)
12 January 2004 (answer given by the French authorities on 21 January 2004)
2. februar 2004 (svar modtaget fra de franske myndigheder den 16. februar 2004)
2 February 2004 (answer given by the French authorities on 16 February 2004)
1. juni 2004 (svar modtaget fra de franske myndigheder på mødet den 16. juni 2004).
1 June 2004 (answer given by the French authorities at the meeting on 16 June 2004)
Kommissionen videresendte den 3. maj 2004 og den 14. juni 2004 de i betragtning 8 nævnte breve til de franske myndigheder.
The Commission forwarded the letters referred to in paragraph 8 to the French authorities on 3 May and 14 June 2004.
Kommissionen har hørt repræsentanter for forskellige tredjeparter på møder undervejs i proceduren.
The Commission heard representatives of third parties at various meetings during the course of the procedure.
Kommissionen holdt møder med de franske myndigheder og FT den 22. januar 2004 og den 16. og 23. juni 2004.
The Commission met the French authorities and FT on 22 January and 16 and 23 June 2004.
De franske myndigheder forelagde den 5. juli 2004 Kommissionen en række nye beregninger pr. fax vedrørende den særlige erhvervsskatteordning.
By fax dated 5 July 2004, the French authorities submitted to the Commission new calculations concerning the special business tax scheme.
Den 13., 15. og 16. juli 2004 fremsendte de franske myndigheder yderligere bemærkninger til Kommissionen.
On 13, 15 and 16 July 2004, the French authorities submitted additional comments to the Commission.
Nærværende beslutning omfatter som angivet i indledningsbeslutningen kun den særlige erhvervsskatteordning, der gælder for FT.
Only the special business tax scheme applicable to FT, as referred to in the opening decision, is the subject of this Decision.
Da den foranstaltning, der undersøges, allerede er gennemgået i detaljer i indledningsbeslutningen [7], medtages beskrivelsen heraf kun i nærværende beslutning i det omfang, det er nødvendigt.
Inasmuch as the measure under scrutiny has already been described in detail in the opening decision [7], a description will be included in this Decision only as far as is necessary.
Indtil 1990 blev de aktiviteter, som FT i dag står for, varetaget af en styrelse i det ministerium, der har ansvaret for post- og teleområdet.
Until 1990 inclusive, FT's business activities were conducted by a Directorate in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.
Som statsligt forvaltningsorgan skulle den daværende teleadministration, Direction Générale des Télécommunications, ikke betale følgende skatter: i) erhvervsskat, ii) ejendomsskat på bygninger og anden fast ejendom og iii) selskabsskat [8].
As an administrative public service of the State, the former Directorate-General for Telecommunications was subject to none of the following taxes: (i) business tax; (ii) property tax on buildings and unbuilt land; and (iii) corporation tax [8].
Administrationen var opført på statsbudgettet, den gav et stort overskud og skulle bidrage til det overordnede budget med en del af sit driftsoverskud samt betale forskellige afgifter til finansiering af særlige foranstaltninger.
It was endowed with a budget annexed to that of the State which was largely in surplus and which was subject to a payment to the general budget under the heading of operating surpluses as well as to certain levies for financing specific activities.
Ved lov nr. 90-568 af 2. juli 1990 om tilrettelæggelse af offentlige post- og teletjenester blev den tidligere post- og teleadministration splittet op i to særskilte offentligretlige selskaber (La Poste og FT) med selvstændig økonomi og underlagt almindelig erhvervsret.
Law No 90-568 of 2 July 1990 on the organisation of the public postal and telecommunications service transformed the former Directorate-General for Telecommunications into two separate public-law entities (La Poste and FT) endowed with financial autonomy and governed by commercial law.
Denne opsplitning burde have medført, at de almindelige beskatningsregler gjaldt for de to selskaber.
The conferment of legal personality on these two entities should have resulted in the ordinary rules of taxation being applied to them.
I artikel 1654 i den franske skattelov (Code général des impôts) foreskrives således, at: »Offentlige virksomheder, statslige industri- eller handelsselskaber og delvist stats- eller lokalmyndighedsejede virksomheder skal afholde de samme skatter og afgifter på almenretlige vilkår, som gælder for privatretlige selskaber, der udøver de samme aktiviteter«.
Under the terms of Article 1654 of the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts, hereafter called CGI), ‘public establishments, industrial or commercial state concerns, and companies in which the State or local authorities have shareholdings shall pay under the conditions of ordinary law the duties and taxes of all types to which private companies carrying on the same operations are subject’.
FT skulle derfor være beskattet efter almindeligt gældende regler fra selskabets oprettelse den 1. januar 1991 (artikel 1 i lov nr. 90-568 af 2. juli 1990).
Consequently, FT should have been subject to the ordinary rules of taxation as from the date of its formation on 1 January 1991 (Article 1 of Law No 90-568 of 2 July 1990).
I modstrid med dette princip, som tilmed bekræftes i lov nr. 90-568 [9], fritog lovgiverne FT fra de almindelige beskatningsregler (artikel 18-21 i lov nr. 90-568) via to ordninger, en »overgangsordning« fra 1. januar 1991 til 1. januar 1994, efterfulgt af en tidsubegrænset »permanent« ordning gældende fra 1. januar 1994:
However, contrary to this principle — which is enshrined, moreover, in Law No 90-568 itself [9] — the legislator introduced taxation rules derogating from the ordinary rules for FT (Articles 18-21 of Law No 90-568) in the form of two schemes: a ‘transitional’ scheme applicable from 1 January 1991 to 1 January 1994, followed by a ‘definitive’ scheme applicable indefinitely with effect from 1 January 1994:
1991-1993: I henhold til artikel 19 i lov nr. 90-568 skulle FT i perioden fra 1. januar 1991 til 1. januar 1994 kun betale de skatter og afgifter, som reelt afholdtes af staten.
Article 19 of Law No 90-568 laid down the principle that, for a period lasting from 1 January 1991 until 1 January 1994, FT would be subject only to the duties and taxes actually borne by the State.
Derfor skulle FT i denne periode ligesom staten ikke betale skatter såsom erhvervsskat, ejendomsskat og selskabsskat.
Consequently, during that period, FT, like the State, did not have to pay taxes such as business tax, property tax or corporation tax.
I samme periode skulle FT i henhold til samme artikel bidrage til statsbudgettet (navnlig civile forsknings- og udviklingsudgifter) via »en afgift til det almindelige budget«.
During that same period, and under the terms of the same article, FT had to make contributions to the State budget (in particular the civil research and development budget) ‘by way of the levy for the benefit of the general budget’.
Dette bidrag blev hvert år fastlagt i finansloven inden for en bestemt beløbsramme [10].1994-2003: I henhold til lov nr. 90-568 (artikel 18) og skattelovens artikel 1654 var FT fra 1. januar 1994 underlagt de almindelige beskatningsregler, undtagen hvad angik direkte lokalskatter (ejendomsskat, erhvervsskat), hvor lov nr. 90-568 fastlagde særlige vilkår for satser, beskatningsgrundlag og de nærmere beskatningsregler.
These contributions were fixed annually by the Finance Acts up to a certain amount [10].1994 to 2003: Pursuant to Law No 90-568 (Article 18) and Article 1654 CGI, FT was subject to the ordinary tax system as from 1 January 1994, except for local direct taxation (property tax, business tax), with respect to which Law No 90-568 laid down special conditions concerning the rate, the basis and the taxation arrangements.
Ifølge de franske myndigheders første overslag beløb den fordel, som FT havde af den særlige erhvervsskatteordning, sig til ca. 198 mio. EUR om året [11].
According to an initial estimate by the French authorities, the advantage derived by FT from the special business tax scheme that was applicable to it amounted to approximately EUR 198 million a year [11].
Ifølge de tal, som de franske myndigheder senere har fremlagt, skulle tallet dog være lavere (se nedenstående betragtning 54 ff).
On the basis of figures provided subsequently by the French authorities, the amount is said to be lower (see recitals (54) et seq. below).
Denne tidsubegrænsede særlige erhvervsskatteordning blev afskaffet som led i finansloven for 2003 [12].III.
This special open-ended business tax scheme was abolished by the 2003 Finance Act [12].III.
De bemærkninger, der er modtaget fra de interesserede parter, gentager blot de argumenter, som Kommissionen fremsatte i indledningsbeslutningen.
The comments sent by interested parties merely repeat the arguments presented by the Commission in the opening decision.
De er derfor ikke medtaget i nærværende beslutning.
Consequently, they will not be reproduced in this Decision.
BEMÆRKNINGER FRA DE FRANSKE MYNDIGHEDER
COMMENTS FROM THE FRENCH AUTHORITIES
De franske myndigheders argumentation fokuserer på et grundlæggende forhold, nemlig at den særordning, staten indførte for FT, ikke gav selskabet nogen fordel.
The French authorities' arguments focus on a fundamental point, namely that the specific scheme established by the State for FT did not confer any advantage on the company.
De franske myndigheder erkender, at der gjaldt en særordning for erhvervsbeskatningen af FT fra 1991 til 2002, men efter deres opfattelse indebar denne ordning ingen fordel for selskabet, ligesom den ikke indvirkede på de offentlige midler, da FT blev overbeskattet i forhold til de almindelige regler.
The French authorities acknowledge that FT was subject to a special scheme in relation to business tax from 1991 to 2002 inclusive, but they consider that the scheme gave it no edge and in no way affected public resources, resulting in an overtaxation of FT compared with the ordinary-law situation.
De franske myndigheder når frem til denne konklusion ud fra følgende tre punkter:
The French authorities base this conclusion on the following three points:
Fra 1991 til 1993 skulle FT betale en afgift til det almindelige budget, som ifølge de franske myndigheder kan anses for svarende til erhvervsskatten og tilmed udgør et højere beløb end den.
between 1991 and 1993 inclusive, FT was subject to a levy for the benefit of the general budget which, according to the French authorities, was equivalent to payment of business tax and included (inter alia) the amount of the business tax itself;
De mener, at der bør foretages en samlet beregning af den fordel, som ordningen indebar for FT i hele perioden 1991-2003. Dermed kan FT’s »overbeskatning« i ét år efter deres mening opveje selskabets »underbeskatning« i et andet år.
according to the French authorities, the arrangements for taxing the company under the headings of business tax and corporation tax are inseparable; consequently, it is necessary to study together the various elements of taxation of FT throughout the period 1991 to 2003.
Ifølge de franske myndigheder er der en klar sammenhæng mellem, hvordan selskabet beskattes, hvad angår erhvervsskat og selskabsskat; derfor bør man anlægge en samlet betragtning af de forskellige elementer i FT’s beskatning over hele perioden 1991-2003. Eftersom erhvervsskatten indgår i beregningen af beskatningsgrundlaget, vil det, hvis man retter på en eventuel underbeskatning i erhvervsskatten, være nødvendigt samtidig at sænke det beløb, der skal betales i selskabsskat.
As business tax enters into the calculation of the taxable result, the correction of any undertaxation under the heading of business tax should be accompanied by a downward correction of the amount of corporation tax.
For det andet fastholder de franske myndigheder, at den pågældende foranstaltning skal betragtes som en eksisterende foranstaltning.
Secondly, the French authorities maintain that the measure in question should be considered existing.
På de møder med Kommissionen, som blev afholdt den 16. og 23. juni 2004, rejste de franske myndigheder tvivl om de beregninger, som de selv tidligere havde forelagt Kommissionen angående forskellen mellem den erhvervsskat, FT havde betalt, og den, selskabet skulle have betalt, hvis det havde været underlagt de almindelige regler.
Lastly, at the meetings with the Commission on 16 and 23 June 2004, the French authorities questioned the validity of the calculations which they themselves had previously submitted to the Commission concerning the difference between the business tax paid by FT and that which it would have had to pay had it been subject to the rules of ordinary law.
Det skulle ifølge de franske myndigheder være umuligt at beregne præcist, hvor meget erhvervsskatten for FT efter 1994 havde været for lav.
According to the French authorities, it was impossible to calculate for certain the undertaxation of FT under the heading of business tax from 1994 onwards.
Kommissionen bør derfor efter de franske myndigheders mening ikke tage stilling til dette spørgsmål.
Consequently, in the French authorities' opinion, the Commission should not rule on this issue.
De franske myndigheder forelagde i deres skrivelse af 5. juli 2004 Kommissionen en række nye beregninger (udarbejdet af FT selv), som de på ingen måde hævdede skulle være mere præcise eller nøjagtige end de tidligere fremlagte, men som blot skulle vise, at det var umuligt at foretage en nøjagtig opgørelse af, hvilken fordel FT havde haft af den særlige erhvervsskatteordning fra 1994.
By letter dated 5 July 2004, the French authorities submitted to the Commission new calculations (prepared by FT itself), which they by no means claimed to be more accurate or more precise than those submitted previously but which were intended simply to illustrate the impossibility of estimating with any degree of accuracy the advantage enjoyed by FT under the special business tax scheme from 1994 onwards.
V. VURDERING AF STØTTEFORANSTALTNINGEN
V. ASSESSMENT OF THE AID
I henhold til EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 1, er statsstøtte eller støtte, som ydes ved hjælp af statsmidler under enhver tænkelig form, og som fordrejer eller truer med at fordreje konkurrencevilkårene ved at begunstige visse virksomheder eller visse produktioner, uforenelig med fællesmarkedet i det omfang, den påvirker samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne.
Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty provides that any aid granted by a Member State 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 Member States, be incompatible with the common market.
I indledningsbeslutningen konstaterede Kommissionen, at ordningen syntes at opfylde alle kriterierne i EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 1, for at kunne blive betragtet som statsstøtte.
In the opening decision, the Commission noted that all the constituent elements of State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty were prima facie present.
Beslutningens analyse gennemgås ikke igen, bortset fra de vigtigste konklusioner [13]:
Only the main findings of that analysis are reproduced in this Decision [13]:
FT nød godt af en særlig erhvervsskatteordning (indført ved artikel 18-21 i lov nr. 90-568).
FT received special treatment in relation to business tax (introduced by Articles 18-21 of Law No 90-568);
Denne særordning kunne indebære en fordel for selskabet (ifølge de franske myndigheders egen vurdering).
this special treatment conferred on it an advantage (according to the estimates of the French authorities themselves);