natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Den finske stat mener ikke, at dens tiltag udgør statsstøtte.
Finland believes that the actions it has carried out do not constitute State aid.
Selv om Kommissionen skulle mene, at tiltagene omfatter statsstøtte, mener de finske myndigheder, at støtten bør erklæres forenelig med fællesmarkedet.
Even if the Commission were to hold that the actions include State aid, the Finnish authorities believe that the aid should be declared compatible with the common market.
For at underbygge sin holdning fremsendte Finland bl.a. en økonomisk ekspertudtalelse fra børsmæglerselskabet IceCapital Securities Ltd om de påståede økonomiske fordele, som Tieliikelaitos havde fået (i det følgende benævnt »ekspertudtalelsen«).
To substantiate its position, Finland submitted , inter alia, an expert economic statement from brokerage company Icecapital Securities Ltd related to the alleged economic advantages conferred to Tieliikelaitos (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Expert statement’).
Mens klagerne betvivler ekspertudtalelsens gyldighed med den begrundelse, at IceCapital skulle være økonomisk afhængig af Tieliikelaitos, anfører de finske myndigheder, at Tieliikelaitos kun er en blandt IceCapitals mange kunder.
While the complainants doubt the validity of this Expert statement, on the grounds that Icecapital would be economically dependent on Tieliikelaitos, the Finnish authorities argue that Tieliikelaitos is only one of Icecapital’s clients among many others.
IceCapital arbejdede kun lejlighedsvis for Tieliikelaitos i de to år, hvor de havde forretningsforbindelse med hinanden (i 2005 udgjorde IceCapitals arbejde for Tieliikelaitos 4,7 % af selskabets årlige indtjening og i 2006 3,1 %).
IceCapital’s work for Tieliikelaitos was occasional during the two years they had business relation (In 2005 IceCapital’s work for Tieliikelaitos brought 4,7 % from its annual revenues; in 2006 — 3,1 %).
Den finske regering havde sendt udfærdigelsen af ekspertudtalelsen i udbud, og IceCapital vandt.
The Finnish government has subjected the provision of the Expert statement to tender, and Icecapital was chosen to provide the statement.
De finske myndigheder bemærker også, at det, at Tieliikelaitos før har benyttet sig af IceCapitals tjenester, har udbygget IceCapitals forståelse af jordentreprenørsektoren, hvilket har været gunstigt i forbindelse med udarbejdelsen af ekspertudtalelsen.
The Finnish authorities also observe that the fact that Tieliikelaitos has used Icecapital’s services in the past has deepened Icecapital’s understanding of the earth-moving sector, which has been of benefit in the preparation of the Expert statement.
De finske myndigheder hævder, at det ikke er en normal låneydelse, hvor et selskab ydes et lån af en vis størrelse, som betales tilbage med renter inden en bestemt frist.
The Finnish authorities assert that it was not a case of a normal granting of a loan, where a company is granted a loan of a certain size, which is repaid with interest within a certain time.
Det var en overførsel af aktiver til Tieliikelaitos med en tilbagebetalingsforpligtelse.
Rather, it was a transfer of assets to Tieliikelaitos with a repayment obligation.
Finland mener, at hvis den fulde aktivbeholdning var blevet udbetalt til Tieliikelaitos som egenkapital, ville man måske have skabt konkurrenceforvridning.
Finland believes that if the entire stock of assets had been disbursed to Tieliikelaitos as equity, a distortion of competition might have been created.
Når man ser på de private virksomheders balance i branchen, har disse virksomheder anlægsaktiver i deres balance, som er erhvervet både som egenkapital og som lån.
When examining the balance sheets of private undertakings in this sector, the undertakings have fixed assets in their balance sheets acquired both as equity and as loans.
Derfor var det vigtigt, at Tieliikelaitos' balance indeholdt aktiver, der var erhvervet som lån.
Therefore, it was important that Tieliikelaitos’ balance sheet included assets acquired as loans.
Finland hævder, at hvis det ikke var foregået på den måde, ville Tieliikelaitos have opnået en økonomisk konkurrencefordel svarende til afdragene på lånet.
If this had not been done, Finland claims that Tieliikelaitos would have gained a competitive advantage financially equal to the capital repayment of the loan.
De finske myndigheder mener, at Tieliikelaitos' åbningsbalance fik en struktur, der var i overensstemmelse med de private virksomheders balance i branchen.
The Finnish authorities believe that the structure of Tieliikelaitos’ opening balance sheet was created in line with the balance sheets of private undertakings in the sector.
Hvis foranstaltningen betragtes som et normalt langfristet lån, mener Finland, at låneomkostningerne skal sammenlignes med den finansiering, der var til rådighed på markedet i hele lånets løbetid.
If the measure is examined as a normal long-term loan, Finland believes that the cost of the loan should be compared with the financing available on the market during the whole term of the loan.
En sammenligning med markedets alternativer, som kun omfatter nogle år af lånetiden, giver ikke et samlet billede af låneomkostningerne.
A comparison which only compares some years of the loan with market alternatives does not give a total picture of the cost of the loan.
Finland mener derfor, at perioden 2005-2015 skal indgå i vurderingen sammen med overgangsperioden 2001-2004.
Therefore, Finland believes that the period 2005-2015 must be considered alongside the transitional period 2001-2004.
De finske myndigheder anfører, at Tieliikelaitos ikke har mulighed for at afslutte låneaftalen inden for lånets løbetid uden långivers accept.
The Finnish authorities state that Tieliikelaitos has not the possibility of terminating the loan agreement during the term of the loan without the consent of the lender.
Derfor skal der tages hensyn til hele det tidsrum, Tieliikelaitos skal betale renter i, når den eventuelle fordel ved det langfristede lån skal beregnes.
Therefore, in calculating the possible advantage conferred by the long-term loan, due account must be taken of the entire time period during which Tieliikelaitos has to pay interest.
Denne beregning giver et meget anderledes resultat end klagernes beregning.
Such a calculation results in a significantly different result from the calculations of the complainants.
Med hensyn til den relevante rente bemærker de finske myndigheder, at den helårlige Euribor-sats (12M Euribor) normalt bruges som referencerente i virksomhedslån.
With respect to the relevant rate of interest, the Finnish authorities observe that 12-month Euribor is generally used as the reference rate of interest in corporate loans.
Finland bemærker, at der findes en forventet kurve over, hvordan markedsrenteniveauet vil udvikle sig indtil 2015.
Finland notes that a forward curve exists that predicts what the level of market interest rates will be till 2015.
Kurven er baseret på forskellige markedsdeltageres forventninger til udviklingen i renterne.
The curve is based on the expectations of the development of interest rates by various market participants.
Referencerentesatserne, som blev brugt til beregningerne i ekspertudtalelsen, bygger på oplysninger, der var til rådighed på terminsmarkedet, og beskriver dermed markedets forståelse af, hvad den fremtidige rente bliver.
The reference rates of interest used in the calculations of the Expert statement are based on information available from the forward market, and thus describe the market’s understanding of what the future rate of interest will be.
På denne baggrund fremgår det klart af ekspertudtalelsen, at Tieliikelaitos i perioden fra slutningen af overgangsperioden og til lånetidens udløb skal betale ca. 2 mio. EUR mere, end hvad det ville have kostet at låne til markedsrenten, sådan som markedsanalytikernes prognose for den så ud pr. 8. maj 2006.
Based on this, it is evident from the Expert statement that from the end of the transitional period until the end of the term of the loan, Tieliikelaitos must pay about EUR 2,0 million more than for financing at the market rate of interest, as they were forecast by market analysts as of 8 May 2006.
Finland konkluderer således, at dette beløb på 2 mio. EUR under alle omstændigheder bør trækkes fra de 3,2 mio. EUR, som klagerne har beregnet, med det resultat, at Tieliikelaitos' maksimalt mulige fordel ved statslånet er 1,2 mio. EUR.
Thus, Finland concludes that, in any event, this amount of EUR 2 million should be deducted from the EUR 3,2 million evaluated by the complainants, with the result that Tieliikelaitos’ maximum possible advantage from the State loan is EUR 1,2 million.
De finske myndigheder indleder med at forklare, at et af hovedprincipperne for opdelingen af vejvæsenet i Vejforvaltningen og Tieliikelaitos var, at aktiver, der var omfattet af vejlovgivningen, dvs. i hovedsagen selve vejene, skulle forblive Vejforvaltningens ejendom, mens aktiver, der tidligere blev anvendt af vejvæsenets vejproduktionsenhed (Tieliikelaitos' forgænger) til vedligeholdelse, skulle bevares i Tieliikelaitos til vejvedligeholdelsesformål.
To start with, the Finnish authorities explain that one of the main principles underlying the split-up of the Road Services into the Road Administration and Tieliikelaitos was that assets covered by road legislation, i.e. mainly the roads themselves, had to be kept by the Road Administration, whereas assets formerly used by the ‘production part’ of the Road Service (Tieliikelaitos’ predecessor) in the course of road maintenance had to be kept for road maintenance purposes by Tieliikelaitos.
Med hensyn til værdiansættelse af de grunde og grusgrave, som Tieliikelaitos havde til rådighed, mener de finske myndigheder, at vurderingen af disse arealer blev udført i overensstemmelse med de principper, der er beskrevet i Kommissionens meddelelse om statsstøtteelementer i forbindelse med offentlige myndigheders salg af jord og bygninger.
As to the valuation of land and gravel sites at the disposal of Tieliikelaitos, Finnish authorities believe that the appraisal of land sites and gravel sites was carried out in accordance with the principles described in the Commission’s communication on State aid elements in sales of land and buildings by public authorities.
Finland hævder, at Catellas værdiansættelse, der blev brugt som grundlag for bestemmelse af værdien af grunde og grusgrave, kan betragtes som resultatet af et upartisk skøn.
Finland asserts that Catella’s valuation which was taken as the basis for establishing the value of the gravel and land sites can be considered to be the result of estimate by an impartial valuator.
Justeringen af Catellas skøn (nedskrivning fra 128 mio. FIM til 113 mio. FIM skete på foranledning af det finske transport- og kommunikationsministerium, som mente, at prisen på betongrus ville falde, når Tieliikelaitos gik ind på dette marked som sælger, at værditilvæksten under udvindingsprocessen var lavere ifølge den finske kort- og matrikelstyrelse, og at efterbehandlingsomkostningerne ville blive højere på grund af de nye krav til efterbehandling af jordaktiver.
The adjustment of Catella’s estimate (downwards revision from FIM 128 million to FIM 113 million) was made because the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication considered that the price of concrete gravel would decrease when Tieliikelaitos would enter on the respective market as a seller, that value added in the extraction process was lower on the basis of the National Land Survey of Finland and that after-treatment costs would be higher based on new requirements concerning the after-treatment of land resource areas.
På baggrund af nedskrivningen af værdien af jordaktiverne i Tieliikelaitos' årsregnskaber i overgangsperioden, som blev godkendt af Tieliikelaitos' revisorer (Ernst & Young), vurderer de finske myndigheder, at grunde og grusgrave stadig stod i Tieliikelaitos' balance til en overdreven høj værdi i sammenligning med de reviderede bogførte værdier.
In view of the downwards revision of the value of the land assets done in Tieliikelaitos financial reports during the transitional period and accepted by Tieliikelaitos auditors (Ernst and Young) the Finnish authorities estimate, that land and gravel sites were still entered into Tieliikelaitos’ balance sheet at an excessive value compared with the audited book values.
Denne konklusion blev bekræftet af IceCapital, som udførte den samlede vurdering af de ordninger, der var indført til fordel for Tieliikelaitos.
This conclusion was confirmed by IceCapital which carried out the overall evaluation of the arrangements for the benefit of Tieliikelaitos.
Derfor fik Tieliikelaitos ikke nogen økonomisk fordel, men pådrog sig snarere en økonomisk byrde i størrelsesordenen 4,3 mio. EUR.
Therefore, Tieliikelaitos did not gain an economic advantage, but rather incurred an economic disadvantage of EUR 4,3 million.
Finland bemærker, at revisorerne er eksperter i vurdering af grundlaget for forventet indtægt og derfor havde de fornødne kvalifikationer til at verificere gyldigheden af nedskrivningen for ikke-omsættelighed.
Finland notes that the auditors are experts in the evaluation of the bases of expected income and therefore had necessary qualification to verify the validity of the non-marketability deductions made by the company.
Med hensyn til at klagerne helst så, at der ikke blev overflyttet arealer til Tieliikelaitos' aktivbeholdning, men at Tieliikelaitos købte alle de jordaktiver, foretagendet skulle bruge, eksternt til markedspris (jf. punkt 4.2), bemærker Finland, at Tieliikelaitos i overgangsperioden købte betydelige mængder jordaktiver af eksterne leverandører til markedspris: 47 % i 2001, 39 % i 2002, 41 % i 2003 og 34 % i 2004.
With respect to the complainants’ preference for no land being entered in Tieliikelaitos’ books and for Tieliikelaitos buying all land resources it needed externally at market prices (Cf. Section 4.2), Finland notes that during the transitional period Tieliikelaitos bought significant amounts of land resources from external parties at market prices: 47 % in 2001, 39 % in 2002, 41 % in 2003 and 34 % in 2004.
Først minder de finske myndigheder om, at den årlige udgiftsjusteringsprocedure, som foregik i overgangsperioden (jf. punkt 2.4.3), sikrede, at forskellene i forhandlingskontrakternes og udbudskontrakternes margin i vidt omfang blev udjævnet.
First, the Finnish authorities recall that the annual expenditure rectifying procedure, which existed during the transitional period (cf. Section 2.4.3), ensured that differences in margins between negotiated contracts and contracts put out to tender were levelled out to a large extent.
Udgiftsjusteringerne beløb sig i overgangsperioden til i alt 16,8 mio. EUR.
Expenditure adjustments during the transitional period totalled EUR 16,8 million.
Ifølge Finland er det ikke relevant for de tilbageværende forskelle i margin at sammenholde marginen i Tieliikelaitos' forhandlingskontrakter med den gennemsnitlige margin, som Tieliikelaitos genererede på udbudskontrakter i hele overgangsperioden, sådan som klagerne har gjort.
As to the remaining differences in margins, according to Finland, it is not appropriate to compare the margin of Tieliikelaitos’ negotiated contracts with the average margin Tieliikelaitos received on tendered contracts during the whole transitional period as it was done by the complainants.
Efter de finske myndigheders mening bør man beregne forskellene i margin på kontrakter, som er sammenlignelige.
In the Finnish authorities’ view, one should calculate differences in margins for contracts which are mutually comparable.
I den henseende var der det særlige ved årene 2001 og 2002, at mange af udbudskontrakterne de to år var nye kontrakter af typen pakkekontrakter.
In this respect, the specificity of years 2001 and 2002 was that many of the tendered contracts during these years were new kind of plan-and-implement contracts (ST contracts).
Oprindelig var Tieliikelaitos ikke forberedt på den betydeligt højere risiko herved sammenlignet med traditionelle kontrakter.
Initially Tieliikelaitos was not prepared for the significantly higher level of risk compared with traditional contracts.
Derfor viste marginen på pakkekontrakter sig at ligge på et meget lavere niveau end den forventede margin.
For this reason the margin level of plan-and-implement contracts turned out to be much lower than the expected margin.
Forhandlingskontrakterne omfattede til gengæld ikke pakkekontrakter.
Negotiated contracts, in turn, did not include plan and implement contracts.
Det er derfor relevant at holde pakkekontrakterne uden for beregningen.
Therefore it is appropriate to exclude plan-and-implement contracts from the calculation.
Det særlige ved årene 2003 og 2004 var, at forhandlingskontrakterne, som Tieliikelaitos indgik med Vejforvaltningen de to år, udelukkende omhandlede vejvedligeholdelse og projektering.
The specificity of years 2003 and 2004, in turn, was that the negotiated contracts received from the Road Administration in 2003 and 2004 were exclusively road maintenance and design contracts.
Derfor skal marginniveauet sammenlignes med marginniveauet for lignende udbudskontrakter.
Therefore, the margin level has to be compared with the margin level of similar tendered contracts.
Desuden påpeger de finske myndigheder, at en del af de kontrakter, der blev gennemført som forhandlingskontrakter, kunne have været gennemført på anden vis ved hjælp af direkte forhandling i overensstemmelse med gældende lov om offentlige indkøb — også uden den overgangsperiode, som er fastlagt i § 9 i loven om Tieliikelaitos.
Besides, the Finnish authorities point out that part of the contracts implemented as negotiated contracts could have been — even without the transitional provision contained in section 9 of the Act governing Tieliikelaitos — implemented in another way using direct negotiation in accordance with the procurement legislation in force.
I henhold til ekspertudtalelsen har Tieliikelaitos fået en fordel svarende til 8,5 mio. EUR ud af forhandlingskontrakterne, når forskellen i marginer mellem sammenlignelige forhandlings- og udbudskontrakter beregnes:
In accordance with the Expert statement, Tieliikelaitos has gained an advantage of at most EUR 8,5 million from the negotiated contracts, when the difference in margins between comparable negotiated and tendered contracts is calculated:
Forhandlingskontrakter
Negotiated contracts
Mio. EUR
MEUR
Sammenlignelige udbudskontrakter
Comparable tendered contracts
Forskel i marginer [24]
Difference in margins [24]
Selv om Tieliikelaitos fik en økonomisk fordel på 8,5 mio. EUR, var det en berettiget kompensation for forsyningspligten og de udgifter, der var forårsaget af strukturelle ulemper (jf. punkt 2.3).
Even if Tieliikelaitos received an economic advantage of EUR 8,5 million, this advantage was justified compensation for the obligation to perform public services, and expenses caused by structural disadvantages (Cf. Section 2.3).
I overgangsperioden skulle de ekstra udgifter, der navnlig hidrørte fra det overtallige personale, indregnes i prisen på forhandlingskontrakterne, i det omfang der ikke var taget hensyn til dem i forbindelse med andre personalejusteringsforanstaltninger.
During the transitional period, the additional expenses resulting in particular from the excessive personnel costs had to be considered in the pricing of negotiated contracts to the extent that they had not been taken into account via other staff adjustment measures.
Selv om en stor del af det overskydende personale var ansat i særlige serviceprojekter, var der stadig i gennemsnit 100 medarbejdere mere i Tieliikelaitos end det optimale antal i overgangsperioden.
Although a big part of excess staff was engaged in special service projects, there were still on average 100 employees more in Tieliikelaitos than would have been the optimum number during the transitional period.
De finske myndigheder afviser påstandene om, at støtten til Tieliikelaitos har gjort dette statsforetagende i stand til at acceptere en lavere margin på pakkekontrakter.
The Finnish authorities reject allegations that the aid received by Tieliikelaitos has allowed the State Enterprise to accept a lower margin level on plan-and-implement contracts.
Som forklaret ovenfor var marginniveauet på pakkekontrakter lavt, fordi Tieliikelaitos var uforberedt på risikoniveauet ved dem.
As explained above, the margin level of plan and implement contracts was low because Tieliikelaitos was unprepared for the level of risk they involve.
Til klagernes påstand om, at udgifter til ekstra personale blev betragtet som en omkostning, der kunstigt nedbragte Tieliikelaitos' margin på forhandlingskontrakter, bemærker de finske myndigheder, at overskydende personale ikke indgik i beregningen af marginen på forhandlingskontrakterne.
As to the complainants’ claim that expenses caused by additional personnel were considered to be a cost that artificially reduced the margin of Tieliikelaitos in the negotiated contracts, the Finnish authorities note that excess personnel were not included in the calculation of the margin level of negotiated contracts.
Overskydende personale blev flyttet til serviceprojekter.
Excess personnel were placed into service projects.
Endelig afviser Finland påstanden om, at Tieliikelaitos' forholdsvis ringe økonomiske resultater peger i retning af manglende effektivitet i Tieliikelaitos' drift og brugen af en konkurrencebegrænsende prispolitik på åbne markeder.
Finally, Finland rejects the allegation that the comparatively poor financial performance of Tieliikelaitos points to inefficiencies on the part of Tieliikelaitos operations and the use of uncompetitive pricing policy in liberalised markets.
Efter Finlands mening kan det ringe resultat tilskrives de ekstra udgifter til justering af Tieliikelaitos' personale og det forhold, at de særlige ordninger for personalet ikke kunne dække alle omkostningerne ved det overskydende personale.
In Finland’s view, the poor result can be accounted for by the additional costs due to the adjustment of Tieliikelaitos’ personnel, and the fact that the special arrangements made for personnel could not cover all the costs of additional personnel.
Ifølge de finske myndigheder er det i øjeblikket billigere for Vejforvaltningen at fortsætte med forhandlingskontrakter.
According to the Finnish authorities, for the time being it is cheaper for the Road Administration to continue with negotiated contracts.
Det første forsøg på at udlicitere en del af færgefarten lykkedes ikke af følgende grunde:
The first attempt to tender out part of ferry services was unsuccessful for the following reasons.
For det første var bydernes priser 17-25 % højere end priserne på de igangværende forhandlingskontrakter mellem Vejforvaltningen og Tieliikelaitos, som parterne har haft årlige separate prisforhandlinger om.
Firstly, the prices offered by the bidders were 17-25 % higher than the prices of the negotiated contracts in force between the Road Administration and Tieliikelaitos, about which the parties have held separate annual price negotiations.
Vejforvaltningen ville derfor have skullet betale mere for de pågældende tjenester, hvis de havde accepteret resultatet af udbuddet.
Therefore, having accepted the results of the tender, the Road Administration would have had to pay more for the respective services.
For det andet ville Tieliikelaitos' markedsposition være blevet styrket (idet Tieliikelaitos' priser var de laveste budpriser, selv om de stadig lå højere end priserne i forhandlingskontrakterne, og Vejforvaltningen derfor ville skulle kåre Tieliikelaitos som vinder af udbuddet).
Secondly, Tieliikelaitos’ market position would have been strengthened (as the prices quoted by Tieliikelaitos were the lowest prices offered, although still being higher than the prices in the negotiated contracts, the Road administration would have to accept Tieliikelaitos as the winning bidder).
De finske myndigheder afviser således påstanden om, at forhandlingskontrakterne mellem Vejforvaltningen og Tieliikelaitos rummede nogen konkurrencefordel for Tieliikelaitos.
Therefore the Finnish authorities reject the allegation that the negotiated contracts between the Road administration and Tieliikelaitos would involve any competitive advantage for Tieliikelaitos.