natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Blandt de offentlige erhvervsvirksomheder (EPIC) med samme status som La Poste har Kommissionen ikke kunnet påvise en ensartet gruppe af økonomiske aktører, der kan anvendes som sammenligningsfaktor.
Among the EPICs, to which La Poste is similar by virtue of its status, the Commission has been unable to identify economic operators forming a homogeneous group that could act as comparator.
Der er kun nogle enkelte EPIC, der har træk til fælles med La Poste, nemlig »Office National des Forêts« og »Monnaie de Paris«.
Only a very few EPICs, including the Office National des Forêts and the Monnaie de Paris, have features in common with La Poste.
Disse elementer ville dog ikke være tilstrækkelige til at udgøre en ensartet sammenligningsfaktor.
However, these disparate features would not suffice to constitute a coherent comparator.
Kommissionen mener derfor ikke, at de offentlige virksomheder eller pensionsordningen for statstjenestemænd kan anvendes som relevante sammenligningsfaktorer i denne sag.
Consequently, the Commission takes the view that neither public establishments nor the pension arrangements for state civil servants would constitute relevant comparators in this case.
Endvidere har Kommissionen undersøgt muligheden for at sammenligne La Poste og France Télécom.
In addition, the Commission has looked into the possibility of comparing La Poste and France Télécom.
1990-loven ændrede det tidligere generaldirektorat for telekommunikation til to offentligretlige juridiske personer, nemlig La Poste og France Télécom.
The 1990 Law converted the former Direction Générale des Télécommunications into two legal persons governed by public law: La Poste and France Télécom.
Desuden […] har Kommissionen modtaget en klage over, at de regler, der gælder for France Télécom med hensyn til obligatoriske socialsikringsbidrag og skatter, ikke er forenelige med fællesmarkedet, og Kommissionen kan ikke i nærværende beslutning foregribe sin konklusion i denne sag.
What is more, […] the compatibility of the rules applicable to France Télécom with regard to social security contributions and tax payments is the subject of a complaint to the Commission, and the Commission cannot, in the present decision, prejudge its ruling in that case.
Kommissionen konkluderer, at der ikke findes en eksogen sammenligningsfaktor, som giver mulighed for at fastsætte et »normalt« bidrag for virksomheder, der befinder sig i samme retlige og faktiske situation som La Poste med hensyn til de pågældende foranstaltningers mål.
To sum up, the Commission is of the opinion that no exogenous comparator exists that would make it possible to define a ‘normal’ contribution for undertakings in a legal and factual situation comparable to that of La Poste in the light of the objective pursued by the measures under review.
Hvis Kommissionen havde kunnet finde en relevant eksogen sammenligningsfaktor, hvorved det kunne være fastslået, at der var tale om »unormale« omkostninger, havde de pågældende foranstaltninger måske ikke udgjort statsstøtte, forudsat at visse betingelser var opfyldt, især med hensyn til beregningen af TEC.
Had the Commission been able to fund a relevant exogenous comparator for identifying the existence of ‘abnormal’ costs, the measures under scrutiny might not have constituted State aid if certain conditions relating in particular to calculation of the TEC had been met.
Kommissionens konklusioner med hensyn til, at der er tale om en fordel for La Poste, ændres hverken af Kommissionens beslutning i sagen om Sabena/Swissair [51] eller dommen i Enirisorse-sagen, som Frankrig har henvist til.
Neither the Commission Decision in Sabena/Swissair [51] nor the Enirisorse ruling, both of which have been referred to by France, affects the Commission's findings as to the existence of an advantage for La Poste.
I beslutningen om Sabena/Swissair fastslås det nemlig, at en foranstaltning, der favoriserer en sektor (luftfart), og ikke en bestemt virksomhed, er en generel økonomisk-politisk foranstaltning.
The Sabena/Swissair ruling states that a measure for a particular sector (air transport) and not a particular undertaking is a general economic policy measure.
Den omstændighed, at der var tale om en sektorbestemt og ikke en individuel (begrænset til en enkelt virksomhed) foranstaltning, udgør en betydelig forskel i forhold til La Poste-sagen, især fordi den gav Kommissionen mulighed for at fastlægge en eksogen sammenligningsfaktor, nemlig den ordning for socialsikringsbidrag, der gjaldt for alle andre belgiske erhvervssektorer.
The sectoral and not individual (i.e. limited to a single undertaking) nature of the measure represents a major difference with the case of La Poste in that, among other things, it allowed the Commission to identify an exogenous comparator, namely the scheme for social security contributions applied to the other sectors of Belgian industry.
I dommen vedrørende Enirisorse, baserer Domstolen også sin konklusion på en sammenligning mellem den omtvistede foranstaltning og »normale omstændigheder« [52], som Domstolen har kunnet definere, men som ikke findes på samme måde i den foreliggende sag.
Similarly, in Enirisorse, the Court bases its conclusion on a comparison of the measure at issue with a ‘normal situation’ [52], which the Commission was able to define but which does not exist in similar form in the present case.
For at kunne fastslå, om der er tale om en fordel i henhold til traktatens artikel 87, stk. 1, må Kommissionen derfor undersøge La Postes situation på grundlag af en sammenligning af socialsikringsbidragene og skatterne før og efter de pågældende foranstaltninger.
In ascertaining the existence of an advantage within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the Treaty, the Commission should, therefore, examine the situation of La Poste and compare social security contributions and tax payments prior to and following the measures under review.
La Postes situation før og efter de pågældende foranstaltninger
Situation of La Poste prior to and following the measures under review
De obligatoriske socialsikringsbidrag og skatter før de pågældende foranstaltninger er fastsat ved 1990-loven.
The social security contributions and tax payments made prior to the measures under review are those stipulated in the 1990 Law.
Da der ikke findes nogen eksogen sammenligningsfaktor, udgør de den referenceramme, som skal gøre det muligt at fastslå, om der er tale om en fordel.
In the absence of an exogenous comparator, they would constitute the reference framework for determining the existence or otherwise of an advantage.
Det loft, der blev indført i 1998, gjorde det muligt at nedsætte »arbejdsgiverbidraget« i forbindelse med tjenestemandspensionerne for ansatte i La Poste med et beløb, som Frankrig selv anslår til ca. […] i perioden 1998-2006.
With the 1998 cap, the amount of the ‘employer's’ contribution in respect of the pensions of civil servants working for La Poste was reduced by an amount that France itself put at […] over the period 1998-2006.
Loven fra 2006 medfører blandt andet, at La Postes bidrag erstattes af et bidrag, som bringer La Postes pensionsudgifter på linje med konkurrenternes og har frigørende virkning.
One of the effects of the 2006 Law has been to replace La Poste's contribution by a contribution in full discharge of any liabilities that aligns the retirement costs borne by La Poste on those of its competitors.
Hvis ikke denne lov var blevet vedtaget, ville »arbejdsgiverbidraget« fortsat være steget kraftigt i de kommende år til trods for loftets positive virkninger, og dette skyldes blandt andet forringelsen af forholdet mellem erhvervsaktive (bidragydere) og erhvervsinaktive (bidragsmodtagere) som følge af, at der ikke længere ansættes tjenestemænd i La Poste.
Without this Law, the level of the ‘employer's’ contribution would, in the years ahead, continue to rise significantly, notably as a result of the deterioration in the ratio of those in work (contributors) to those not in work (benefit recipients) following the decision by La Poste to halt recruitment of civil servants in spite of the positive effects of the cap.
Kommissionen fastslår derfor, at de pågældende foranstaltninger fritager La Poste for omkostninger, som den skulle have afholdt i henhold til 1990-loven.
The Commission thus notes that the measures under review relieve La Poste of charges which it would have had to bear under the 1990 Law.
Med hensyn til en analyse af, om La Postes pensionsudgifter skal betragtes som normale eller ej, mener Kommissionen, at »de forpligtelser, en virksomhed selv har til at betale fratrædelsesgodtgørelse og/eller førtidspension i henhold til lovgivningen på arbejdsmarkedsområdet eller kollektive overenskomster med fagforeningerne, er en del af de normale driftsomkostninger, en virksomhed skal dække ved hjælp af egne midler« [53].
In an analysis of the normal or abnormal nature of retirement costs for La Poste itself, the Commission takes the view that the liabilities a company itself bears under employment legislation or collective agreements with trade unions to provide redundancy benefits and/or early retirement pensions are part of the normal costs of a business which a firm has to meet from its own resources [53].
Kommissionen konkluderer på denne baggrund, at La Postes pensionsudgifter i henhold til 1990-loven er normale omkostninger [54].
By extension, the Commission concludes that the retirement costs borne by La Poste under the 1990 Law are normal costs [54].
Da La Poste gennem de pågældende foranstaltninger undgår at skulle afholde omkostninger, som den normalt skulle have afholdt over sine egne midler, giver foranstaltningerne virksomheden en fordel i henhold til traktatens artikel 87, stk. 1.
And so, since the measures under review would relieve La Poste of costs that would normally have had to be financed from its own financial resources, these measures confer on the operator an advantage within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the Treaty.
Fordelen er selektiv, for den vedrører kun La Poste.
The advantage in question is selective since it concerns only La Poste.
Da der ikke findes nogen referenceramme, er denne selektivitet ikke berettiget af den pågældende ordnings karakter eller opbygning.
In the absence of any exogenous reference framework, this restriction is not justified by the nature and general scheme of the system under review.
En unormal byrde /indledning af proceduren
Existence of an abnormal charge/initiation of the procedure
Beslutningen om indledning af proceduren gennemgår udførligt Combus-dommen, hvor Retten synes at mene, at omkostninger er »unormale«, når de skyldes personalets særlige status i en virksomhed, der efter en reform befinder sig i samme situation som sine konkurrenter med hensyn til personaleadministration.
The decision to initiate the procedure discusses in detail the Combus ruling, in which the Court of First Instance seems to regard as ‘abnormal’ charges resulting from the exceptional status of the personnel of an undertaking which, in the wake of a reform, finds itself in a situation governed by ordinary law and thus identical to that of its competitors as regards personnel management. The Court of First Instance states ‘The measure in question had been introduced to replace the privileged and costly status of the officials employed by Combus with the status of employees on a contract basis comparable to that of employees of other bus transport undertakings competing with Combus. The intention was thus to free Combus from a structural disadvantage it had in relation to its private-sector competitors.
Retten anfører således, at [55]: »formålet med den pågældende foranstaltning var at erstatte den gunstige og bekostelige ordning, som gjaldt for de tjenestemandsansatte, der var beskæftiget af Combus, med overenskomstvilkår svarende til dem, der gjaldt for ansatte i andre busselskaber, som var i konkurrence med Combus.
Article 87(1) EC is aimed merely at prohibiting advantages for certain undertakings and the concept of aid covers only measures which lighten the burdens normally assumed in an undertaking's budget and which are to be regarded as an economic advantage which the recipient undertaking would not have obtained under normal market conditions.
Artikel 87, stk. 1, EF tilsigter alene at forbyde de fordele, som favoriserer visse virksomheder, idet begrebet støtte kun omfatter indgreb, der letter de byrder, som normalt belaster en virksomheds budget, og som må betragtes som en økonomisk fordel, som den støttemodtagende virksomhed ikke ville have opnået på normale markedsvilkår. […].
Moreover, instead of paying the DKK 100 million directly to the officials employed by Combus, the Danish Government could have obtained the same result by reassigning those officials, without paying any particular bonus, which would have enabled Combus to employ immediately employees on a contract basis falling under private law.’
Generelt skal det erindres, at retspraksis i Combus-sagen ikke er blevet stadfæstet af Domstolen.
In general, it must first be recalled that the Combus ruling has not been confirmed by the Court of Justice.
Visse elementer i Domstolens retspraksis strider mod, at kompensationen for en strukturbestemt ulempe skulle udelukke, at der er tale om støtte.
Certain points in its case law contradict the assumption that compensation for a structural disadvantage would rule out any classification as aid.
Domstolen har således konstant fastslået, at spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt der er tale om støtte, skal vurderes på grundlag af statsindgrebets virkninger og ikke på grundlag af dets årsager eller formål [56].
For instance, it has consistently ruled that the existence of aid was to be assessed in relation to the effects and not the causes or objectives of state intervention [56].
Domstolen har også fastholdt, at begrebet støtte omfatter fordele, som de offentlige myndigheder giver en virksomhed, og som på forskellig måde letter de byrder, der normalt belaster en virksomheds budget [57].
It has also maintained that the concept of aid covers advantages granted by the public authorities that, in various forms, mitigate the charges normally included in the budget of an undertaking [57].
Domstolen har også klart anført, at virksomhedernes lønomkostninger naturligvis belaster deres budget, uanset om disse omkostninger skyldes lovgivning eller kollektive overenskomster [58].
It has also clearly indicated that the costs linked to employee pay naturally place a burden on the budgets of undertakings, irrespective of whether or not those costs stem from legal obligations or collective agreements [58].
Frankrig påberåber sig dog det princip, som Retten fastlagde i Combus-dommen, og fastslår, at den anmeldte reform blot fritager La Poste for en »unormal« byrde.
However, France emphatically calls for application of the principle laid down by the Court of First Instance in Combus, stating that the notified reform simply relieves La Poste of an ‘abnormal’charge.
Kommissionen må understrege, at de materielle forhold adskiller Combus-sagen fra den foreliggende, som det fremgår af følgende:
The Commission must point out that material factors distinguish the Combus case from the present case, including the following:
Kompensationen udbetales direkte til de tjenestemænd, der er ansat i Combus, mens foranstaltningerne i den foreliggende beslutning vedrører La Postes »arbejdsgiverbidrag«.
The compensation is paid direct to the civil servants employed by Combus whereas the measures under scrutiny in this decision concern the ‘employer's’ contributions made by La Poste.
Kommissionen mener ikke, at Frankrig i praksis ville have mulighed for at genansætte La Postes 180000 tjenestemænd i administrationen.
The Commission takes the view that, in practice, France would not be able to re-integrate the 180000 civil servants working for La Poste into the administration.
Frankrig skriver, at La Postes tjenestemænd ikke principielt eller automatisk har ret til at vende tilbage til administrationen.
France comments that civil servants working at La Poste have no fundamental or automatic right to ‘return’ to the administration.
De tjenestemandsansatte i La Poste tilhører den kategori, der er defineret af deres specielle status.
They belong to the category defined by their special status.
De har således ingen mulighed for at arbejde uden for La Poste, og der er heller ingen mulighed for at tvinge dem til det.
They are not, therefore, eligible a priori to work outside La Poste and, at the same time, there is no way of compelling them to do so.
Desuden ville en genansættelse af La Postes 180000 tjenestemænd i administrationen skabe problemer med hensyn til erhvervskvalifikationer.
What is more, re-integrating 180000 civil servants poses problems of professional qualifications.
Frankrig har nemlig understreget, at en hindring for en eventuel genansættelse vedrører spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt der er ledige stillinger, som kræver tilsvarende kvalifikationer.
One obstacle to any re-integration that is emphasised by France has to do with the existence of available posts requiring equivalent qualifications.
Dette er et specielt problem for La Poste.
This is a problem specific to La Poste.
Kvalifikationsstrukturen for La Postes tjenestemænd er meget anderledes end for tjenestemænd i den offentlige administration.
The qualification structure of civil servants working for La Poste differs significantly from that of civil servants in public administration.
De fleste tjenestemandsstillinger ved La Poste kræver mindre kvalifikationer end stats- og lokaladministrationen, der har behov for højere kvalificeret ledende personale.
The majority of civil servants working for La Poste occupy low-skilled non-executive posts, whereas the needs of state, regional and local administrations correspond primarily to executive posts requiring higher-level qualifications.
Den relevante statsforanstaltning i Combus-sagen tog sigte på at erstatte den gunstige og bekostelige ordning, som gjaldt for de tjenestemandsansatte, der var beskæftiget af Combus, med overenskomstvilkår svarende til dem, der gjaldt for ansatte i andre busselskaber, som var i konkurrence med Combus.
The relevant state measure in the Combus case was designed to replace the privileged and costly status of civil servants working for Combus by contract agent status comparable to that of employees of other bus transport companies competing with Combus.
Med hensyn til Frankrigs påstand om, at de tjenestemandsansatte i La Poste har en »gunstig og bekostelig« ordning i forhold til de ansatte hos La Postes konkurrenter, har Kommissionen på grundlag af to bankers offentliggjorte regnskabstal [61] foretaget en sammenligning mellem disse bankers samlede lønomkostninger og La Postes samlede lønomkostninger ved sine tjenestemandsansatte.
Incidentally, as regards the allegedly ‘privileged and costly’ status of civil servants working for La Poste compared with the employment conditions of the employees of La Poste's competitors, the Commission has carried out a comparison based on the balance-sheet figures published by two banks [61] between those banks' aggregate wage costs and the aggregate wage costs of civil servants working for La Poste.
Resultaterne viser, at bankernes samlede gennemsnitslønomkostninger højst sandsynligt er højere end (eller i hvert fald lig med) La Postes samlede gennemsnitslønomkostninger ved sine tjenestemandsansatte.
The findings show that average aggregate wage costs at the banks in question are most likely higher than (or at least equal to) the average aggregate wage costs of civil servants working for La Poste.
Som svar på spørgsmål i denne forbindelse erkender Frankrig, at det ikke har adgang til fortrolige og relevante oplysninger om gennemsnitsomkostningerne ved overenskomstansatte hos La Postes konkurrenter [62].
Questioned on this point, France acknowledges that it does not have access to reliable and relevant information on the average costs of an employee working on a contract basis for La Poste's competitors [62].
Frankrig har derfor anvendt en omtrentlig beregning i sit forsøg på at bevise, at gennemsnitsomkostningerne ved de tjenestemandsansatte i La Poste er højere end ved »tilsvarende« overenskomstansatte på almindelige opsigelsesvilkår (CDI) med samme anciennitet, både når det gælder »brev- og pakkeforsendelser« og bankaktiviteterne.
It then carries out an approximation in an attempt to demonstrate that, given equal seniority, the average cost of civil servants working for La Poste exceeds the average cost of ‘similar’ employees working on the basis of contracts of indeterminate duration (CDIs), whether in the ‘mail/parcels’ sector or in the banking sector.
Frankrigs omtrentlige beregning bygger på den antagelse, at gennemsnitsomkostningerne ved en overenskomstansat i La Poste kan sammenlignes med gennemsnitsomkostningerne for en ansat hos en konkurrent inden for samme sektor.
The approximation is based on the assumption made by France that the average cost of an employee working under private law for La Poste is comparable to that of an employee of a competitor in the same sector.
Kommissionen finder ikke denne antagelse acceptabel, for den udelukker fundamentale elementer i definitionen af lønninger, især arbejdsgiverens image.
The Commission takes the view that this assumption is unacceptable since it disregards fundamental elements of the definition of wages, and in particular the effects associated with the employer's image.
Med et positivt image og for eksempel muligheden for at tilbyde en karriere på lang sigt, ville La Poste således kunne betale lavere lønninger end konkurrenter uden et sådant image.
With a positive image, and for example, with the ability to offer long-term career prospects, La Poste would thus be able to pay lower wages than competitors that did not have the same image.
Selv om Kommissionen ikke udelukker denne mulighed, mener den ikke, at Frankrig har bevist, at de tjenestemandsansattes ordning hos La Poste både var »gunstig og bekostelig« i forhold til ansættelsesvilkårene hos La Postes konkurrenter.
This is why, without ruling the possibility out, the Commission considers that France has not convincingly demonstrated that the status of civil servants working for La Poste was both ‘privileged and costly’ compared with the employment conditions of employees of La Poste's competitors.
Combus' konkurrencesituation var anderledes end La Postes.
The competitive background in which Combus was operating differed from that for La Poste.
Aktieselskabet Combus A/S skulle drive transportvirksomhed på kommercielt grundlag og operere på markedet under de samme konkurrencevilkår som de private busselskaber.
Combus had to conduct its transport business on a commercial basis and operate on a market under conditions of competition comparable to those for private bus companies.
I denne forbindelse skal det bemærkes, at de offentlige transportselskaber ved en udbudsprocedure overdrager busdriften til private og offentlige virksomheder.
After a tendering procedure, public transport companies divest their bus transport operations to private and public undertakings.
Ifølge udbudsreglerne tildeles kontrakten på grundlag af »det økonomisk mest fordelagtige tilbud«, uden at der tages hensyn til, om tilbudsgiveren er offentlig eller privat.
Under the tendering rules, the contracts are awarded to the ‘economically most advantageous bid’, irrespective of the private or public nature of the tenderer.
La Poste disponerer derimod over en stor monopolsektor, hvor de økonomiske påvirkninger gør sig gældende på anden måde.
La Poste has a wide-ranging monopoly where economic constraints operate differently.
Kommissionen mener, at de faktuelle forskelle mellem Combus-sagen og den foreliggende sag er tilstrækkelige til at gøre det berettiget, at de to sager behandles forskelligt.
The Commission considers that the factual differences between the Combus case and the case at issue are sufficient to justify a different reasoning in each case.