natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
De påpeger endvidere, at hele Cypern i perioden 2000-2006 betragtes som én region, der er omfattet af EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 3, litra a), og at Cyprus Airways er særlig værdifuld for Cyperns turismebaserede økonomi og en yderligere kapacitetsnedskæring i luftfartsselskabet enten via yderligere modydelser eller via et yderst stort eget bidrag nødvendigvis vil have vidtrækkende konsekvenser for turismesektoren og regionaludviklingen generelt.
They go on to point out that for the period 2000-2006 that the whole of Cyprus is considered as one region falling under Article 87(3)(a) of the EC Treaty, and that Cyprus Airways is particularly valuable to the tourism-based economy of Cyprus and further capacity reduction in the airline either through further compensatory measures or through an extremely high proportion of own contribution is bound to have far reaching repercussions on the tourism sector and on regional development generally.
Bemærkninger fra tredjeparter
Third party comments
Efter offentliggørelsen af brevet til de cypriotiske myndigheder i Det Europæiske Fællesskabers Tidende blev der inden for den fastsatte frist modtaget bemærkninger fra en enkelt interesseret part.
Following the publication of the letter addressed to the Cypriot authorities in the Official Journal comments were received from one interested party within the time allowed.
Kommissionen bemærker, at ingen konkurrenter fremsatte bemærkninger som led i procedurens indledning.
The Commission notes that no competitor submitted comments within the context of the opening of procedure.
Bemærkningerne blev modtaget fra pilotfagforeningen Pancyprian Airline Pilots Union (PASYPI), som ønskede at udtale sig om omstruktureringsplanen for Cyprus Airways og om en passende og effektiv virksomhedsledelse.
The Comment was received from the Pancyprian Airline Pilots Union (PASYPI), who wished to give their opinion on the restructuring plan for Cyprus Airways and on the proper and efficient management of the company.
De tilkendegav, at hvis den nuværende omstruktureringsplan blev godkendt under den »gængse ledelsestankegang«, kunne dette blive »meget katastrofalt« for selskabet.
They expressed the opinion that if the current restructuring plan was to be approved under the ‘prevailing management thinking’ that this might be ‘very disastrous’ for the company.
Efter PASYPI's opfattelse havde Cyprus Airways ikke forelagt en passende og bæredygtig forretningsplan for sine ansatte, efter at Kommissionen havde godkendt redningsstøtte til selskabet.
In the opinion of PASYPI Cyprus Airways had not presented a proper and viable business plan to its employees since the Commission had authorised rescue aid for the company.
Der havde ikke fundet nogen omstrukturering sted af hverken selskabets ledelse eller aktiviteter, og dette skyldtes politiske interesser og politisk indblanding.
No restructuring of either the management or the operations of the company had taken place and this was due to political interests and interference.
Fagforeningen gør gældende, at luftfartsselskabet har for mange ansatte, og at planer, der er iværksat af selskabets ledelse, ikke havde reduceret antallet af ansatte til et niveau svarende til internationale standarder, og benchmarking, politisk pres og politiske hensyn blev nævnt som årsager til denne mangel.
The union assert that the airline is overstaffed and that plans put in place by the company management had failed to reduce the number of staff to staffing levels consistent with international standards and benchmarking, political pressure and considerations were cited as reasons for this failure.
PASYPI påpeger, at selskabets private aktionærer ikke bidrager til dets overlevelse, og at de eneste interessenter, som bidrager til omkostningsreduktionen, er de ansatte.
PASYPI point out that the private shareholders of the company do not contribute to its survival and that the only stakeholders who contribute to the reduction in costs are the employees.
Piloternes fagforening kritiserer ligeledes selskabsledelsen med hensyn til behandlingen af to datterselskaber, Eurocypria og HellasJet.
The pilots' union also criticises the company management in relation to the treatment of two subsidiaries Eurocypria and HellasJet.
Med hensyn til Eurocypria sættes der spørgsmålstegn ved, om salget af dette selskab vil få negative virkninger og begrænsninger for Cyprus Airways' fremtid og udvidelse.
In relation to Eurocypria they question whether the sale of this company will have adverse effects and limitations on the future of and expansion of Cyprus Airways.
Med hensyn til HellasJet kritiserer fagforeningen det forhold, at ledelsen aldrig har informeret de ansatte om de tab, der er opstået for HellasJet, og om dette selskab stadig opererer.
With respect to HellasJet the union takes issue with the fact that the management has never revealed to the staff the losses incurred by HellasJet and whether this company is still operating.
Endelig anfører piloternes fagforening, at der er behov for en ny forretningsplan til luftfartsselskabet, og at luftfartsselskabet bør privatiseres.
In conclusion the pilots' union states that there is a need for a new business plan for the airline and that the airline needs to be privatised.
De cypriotiske myndigheders svar på bemærkningerne fra tredjeparter
Reply of the Cypriot authorities to the Third Party Comment
I de cypriotiske myndigheders svar på bemærkningerne fra piloternes fagforening gjorde de for det første gældende, at de fremsatte bemærkninger hverken var underbygget eller baseret på en solid forretningsmæssig begrundelse eller baggrund.
The Cypriot authorities reply to the comments received from the pilots' union was firstly to assert that the statements made were neither substantiated nor based on any solid business rationale or background.
Regeringen imødegår på det bestemteste påstanden om politisk indblanding i selskabet, og har anført, at selv om flertallet af bestyrelsen er udpeget af regeringen, har disse medlemmer de samme forpligtelser som bestyrelsesmedlemmerne i ethvert børsnoteret selskab.
The government firmly refutes the allegation of political interference in the company and stated that while the majority of the Board are appointed by the government that these members have the same responsibilities as those of the Board members of any publicly listed company.
De beslutninger, der træffes af bestyrelsen, er kun motiveret af, hvad der er i selskabets interesse.
The decisions taken by the Board are motivated only by the company's best interests.
Med hensyn til omstruktureringsplanen anfører regeringen, at denne var ved at blive gennemført, og at ændringer i selskabet allerede var synlige.
In relation to the restructuring plan the government states that this was being implemented and that change within the company was already visible.
Besparelserne på årsbasis var i overensstemmelse med besparelserne i planen på 19,5 mio. CYP.
Savings on an annual basis were in line with those foreseen by the plan at CYP 19,5 million.
Det centrale element i planen er at nedbringe omkostningerne for at gøre det muligt for selskabet at omstrukturere sine aktiviteter mere konkurrencedygtigt.
The core of the plan is to reduce costs so as to give the airline the ability to restructure its operations more competitively.
Da arbejdskraftomkostningerne var en betydelig faktor, har dette betydet, at personalet uundgåeligt var blevet berørt enten gennem afskedigelse eller lønnedgang.
As labour costs were a significant factor this has meant that the staff had been unavoidably affected either through redundancy or through reduced earnings.
Med hensyn til spørgsmålet om for mange ansatte afviser regeringen de påstande, som PASYPI har fremsat, og anfører, at antallet af ansatte, der skal afskediges og forlade selskabet ved udgangen af 2006, er ca. 414 og ikke de 385 personer, der er fastsat i omstruktureringsplanen.
With regard to the issue of overstaffing the government rejects the allegations made by PASYPI and states that the number of staff to be made redundant due to leave the company by the end of 2006 is approximately 414 rather than the 385 persons envisaged in the restructuring plan.
Med hensyn til kapitalforøgelsen forklarer regeringen, at denne vil finde sted i midten af 2007, når gennemførelsen af omstruktureringsplanen viser håndgribelige resultater.
Concerning the increase in capital, the government explain that this will take place in mid-2007 when tangible results from the implementation of the restructuring plan are evident.
Det er hensigten, at forholdet mellem private og offentlige aktieposter i selskabet fastholdes.
It is intended that the ratio of private/public shareholding in the company will be maintained.
Regeringen forklarede, at beslutningen om at sælge Eurocypria blev truffet for at gøre det muligt for Cyprus Airways at opfylde kravene i Fællesskabets rammebestemmelser for redning og omstrukturering med hensyn til selskabets eget bidrag.
The government explained that the sale of Eurocypria was taken to enable Cyprus Airways to meet the own contribution requirements of the Community R & R guidelines.
Den anførte, at salget af Eurocypria til en uafhængigt vurderet pris på 13,425 mio. CYP skulle finde sted i begyndelsen af august 2006.
They stated that that the sale of Eurocypria at an independently evaluated price of CYP 13,425 million was to take place in early August 2006.
Med hensyn til HellasJet forklarede regeringen, at Cyprus Airways efter en trepartsaftale mellem Cyprus Airways, HellasJet og Trans World Aviation SA (opererer i Grækenland som Air Miles) havde forestået salget af HellasJet til Trans World for 2 mio. EUR (1,16 mio. CYP).
In relation to HellasJet the government explained that following a tripartite agreement between Cyprus Airways, HellasJet and Trans World Aviation SA (trading in Greece as Air Miles) Cyprus Airways had arranged for the sale of HellasJet to Trans World for EUR 2 million (CYP 1,16 million).
De anførte, at det havde været Cyprus Airways' hensigt i videst mulige udstrækning at afbøde driftstabene i forbindelse med HellasJet og at trække sig ud af dette foretagende, så snart den sikkerhed, som Cyprus Airways tidligere havde stillet i forbindelse med HellasJets flåde, var udløbet, og gjorde gældende, at dette beløb bør betragtes som selskabets eget bidrag.
They stated that Cyprus Airways's intention had been to mitigate as far as possible the operating losses of HellasJet and to extract itself from this venture once the corporate guarantees previously provided by Cyprus Airways in connection with HellasJet's fleet had expired and argued that this sum should be considered as an own contribution.
Regeringen afviste pilotfagforeningens krav om en ny omstruktureringsplan og bekræftede, at den nuværende forretningsplan ikke behøver at blive revideret.
The government rejected the pilots' union call for a new restructuring plan and affirm that the current business plan does not require any revision.
Regeringen udelukker ikke muligheden for at privatisere selskabet, såfremt der skulle komme et attraktivt tilbud.
The government do not exclude the possibility of privatising the company should an attractive offer be made.
Med hensyn til den kapitalforøgelse, der er planlagt til midten af 2007, og efter anmodning fra Kommissionen fremlagde de cypriotiske myndigheder yderligere oplysninger ved brev af 19. december 2006.
In relation to the capital increased planned for mid-2007 and at the request of the Commission, the Cypriot authorities provided further information by letter dated 19 December 2006.
De forklarede, at et aktieselskab i henhold til bestemmelserne i den cypriotiske selskabslov ikke må udstede aktier under den nominelle værdi.
They explained that according to the provisions of Cypriot company law a public company may not issue shares below nominal value.
Proceduren med henblik på at reducere den nominelle aktiekapital er allerede gennemført, og selskabet vil reducere denne værdi ved at afskrive akkumulerede underskud (som selskabets vedtægter giver mulighed for).
The procedure for the reduction of nominal share capital has already been undertaken and the company will reduce this value by writing off accumulated losses (as permitted by the Company's articles of association).
På sit møde den 12. december 2006 indledte Cyprus Airways' bestyrelse proceduren med henblik på kapitalforøgelsen ved at sørge for garanti for emissionen.
The Board of Directors of Cyprus Airways in its meeting of 12 December 2006 began the procedure for the capital increase by organising the underwriting of the issue.
For at sikre et heldigt udfald heraf har en kommerciel investeringsbank, Cisco (et datterselskab af den privatejede Bank of Cyprus), givet tilsagn om at garantere den påtænkte emission.
To guarantee its success a commercial investment bank Cisco (a subsidiary of the privately-owned Bank of Cyprus) has indicated its willingness to underwrite the proposed issue.
Cisco vil få en provision for at garantere Cyprus Airways' kapitalforøgelse, og denne provision vil svare til markedsprisen for sådanne transaktioner.
Cisco will be paid a fee for underwriting the Cyprus Airways' capital increase and this fee will be at market price for such transactions.
En kopi af hensigtsskrivelsen fra investeringsbanken er blevet fremsendt til Kommissionens tjenestegrene.
A copy of the letter of intent of the investment bank has been furnished to the Commission services.
De næste skridt var, at et flertal på 75 % af de aktionærer, der var til stede på en ekstraordinær generalforsamling, i midten af januar 2007 godkendte en særlig beslutning om reduktion af aktiekapitalen.
The next steps were that in mid-January 2007 a Special Resolution for the Reduction of the share capital was approved by a 75 % majority of the shareholders preset at an extraordinary general meeting.
Denne beslutning skulle derpå godkendes af distriktsretten i Cypern og registreres hos aktieselskabsregistret.
Such a resolution would then have to be ratified by the District Court in Cyprus and registered with the Registrar of Companies.
Hele denne procedure forventes at tage 6-7 måneder (hvoraf der er afsat tre måneder til rettens behandling).
The whole of this procedure is expected to take 6-7 months (allowing a three month period for the Court).
V. VURDERING AF STØTTEN
V. APPRAISAL OF AID
Ifølge 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.
By virtue of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty, any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever, which distorts or threaten to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, shall, in so far as it affects trade between the Member States, be incompatible with the common market.
Støttebegrebet omfatter enhver begunstigelse, som finansieres direkte eller indirekte af statsmidler og ydes af staten selv eller af organer, der optræder på vegne af staten.
The concept of State aid applies to any advantage granted directly or indirectly, financed out of State resources, granted by the State itself or by any intermediary body acting by virtue of powers conferred on it.
Som led i procedurens indledning identificerede Kommissionen tre elementer i omstruktureringsplanen, som potentielt kunne udgøre statsstøtte, og Kommissionen skal derfor undersøge disse elementer for at afgøre, om de udgør statsstøtte.
In the context of the opening of procedure the Commission identified three elements of the restructuring plan which could potentially amount to state aid, the Commission must therefore examine these elements to determine if these constitute State aid.
Lånegaranti
Loan Guarantee
Omstruktureringsomkostningerne i forbindelse med Cyprus Airways vil delvist og midlertidigt blive dækket af et lån på 55 mio. CYP (96 mio. EUR) fra en forretningsbank på markedsvilkår.
The restructuring costs of Cyprus Airways will be partially and temporarily covered by a CYP 55 million (EUR 96 million) loan granted by a commercial bank at market conditions.
Som forklaret i beslutningen om at indlede undersøgelsesproceduren har de cypriotiske myndigheder til hensigt at stille en statsgaranti til rådighed for Cyprus Airways til dækning af dette lån.
As explained in the decision to open the investigative procedure, the Cypriot authorities intend to grant to Cyprus Airways a State guarantee covering this loan.
Meddelelsen fra Kommissionen om anvendelsen af EF-traktatens artikel 87 og 88 angående statsstøtte i form af garantier fastsætter kriterier, som sikrer, at en garanti ikke udgør statsstøtte (se punkt 4.2).
The Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees sets out criteria which ensure that a guarantee does not constitute State aid (see paragraph 4.2).
To væsentlige kumulative betingelser er:
Two essential cumulative conditions are:
Garantien kunne i princippet opnås på markedsvilkår på finansmarkederne.
The guarantee could in principle be obtained at market conditions from the financial markets.
Der betales markedspræmie for garantien.
The market premium for the guarantee is paid.
I det foreliggende tilfælde er ingen af disse kriterier opfyldt, idet Cyprus Airways ikke betaler staten nogen præmie for den garanti, som kommer selskabet til gode, og i betragtning af dets vanskelige økonomiske situation og den omstændighed, at det allerede havde modtaget redningsstøtte, er det meget usandsynligt, at selskabet selv ville have opnået en sådan garanti.
In the present case neither of these criteria is fulfilled, Cyprus Airways does not pay the state any premium for the guarantee it benefits from and, given its parlous economic situation and the fact that it had already received rescue aid, it is very unlikely that the company would have received such a guarantee on its own.
Endvidere er der i forbindelse med garantien tale om statsmidler, da den ydes direkte af staten.
Furthermore, the guarantee is one of State resources as it is granted directly by the State.
Den er rettet til et enkelt selskab (Cyprus Airways), som er i konkurrence med andre luftfartsselskaber i EU, navnlig efter ikrafttrædelsen af den tredje fase af liberaliseringen af lufttransporten (»tredje pakke«) den 1. januar 1993.
It is directed at one company (Cyprus Airways) which is in competition with other Community airlines in particular since the entry into force of the third stage of liberalisation of air transport (‘third package’) on 1 January 1993.
Den vil påvirke samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne, eftersom den vedrører et selskab, der driver virksomhed inden for transport mellem medlemsstaterne og dækker fællesmarkedet, og da den kan fordreje eller true med at fordreje konkurrencevilkårene på dette marked.
It will affect inter-state trade since it concerns a company involved in the activity of transport between Member States and covers the Common Market and as it may distort or threaten to distort competition inside this market.
Statsgarantien skal derfor betragtes som statsstøtte som omhandlet i EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 1.
The State guarantee therefore falls to be considered a State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty.
Endvidere accepteres denne konklusion af de cypriotiske myndigheder, da de med hensyn til garantien har søgt at opfylde betingelserne i rammebestemmelserne for redning og omstrukturering.
Moreover, this conclusion is accepted by the Cypriot authorities as in relation to the guarantee they have sought to fulfil the conditions established in the R & R guidelines.
Mens de cypriotiske myndigheder ifølge den oprindelige plan ville garantere lånet på 55 mio. CYP fuldt ud, besluttede myndighederne i løbet proceduren for at begrænse støtten til et minimum og sikre et tilstrækkeligt bidrag fra selskabet til dets egne omstruktureringsomkostninger at reducere den del af omstruktureringslånet, der er dækket af garantien, til maksimalt 45 mio. CYP.
While the initial plan provided that the Cypriot authorities would guarantee the CYP 55 million loan in full, in the course of the procedure, in order to limit aid to the minimum and to ensure a sufficient contribution of the company to cover its own restructuring costs, the authorities decided to reduce the part of the restructuring loan covered by the guarantee to a maximum of CYP 45 million.
Endvidere fastsatte de cypriotiske myndigheder, at den garanterede og den ikke-garanterede del af lånet ville være uafhængige, og navnlig at sidstnævnte ikke vil være underordnet førstnævnte.
In addition, the Cypriot authorities specified that the guaranteed and the non guaranteed part of the loan will be independent and in particular that there will be no subordination of the latter to the former.
Dette betyder, at luftfartsselskabet vil opnå mindst 10 mio. CYP af det kommercielle lån på 55 mio. CYP uden nogen garanti eller anden indgriben fra statens side.
This means that at least CYP 10 million of the CYP 55 million commercial loan will be obtained by the airline without any guarantee or other State intervention.
De cypriotiske myndigheder har oplyst, at salget af Eurocypria blev afsluttet i august 2006, og at selskabet er blevet solgt til staten for 13,425 mio. CYP.
The Cypriot authorities have indicated that the sale of Eurocypria has been completed in August 2006 and that the company has been sold to the State for CYP 13,425 million.
Kommissionen skal derfor undersøge, hvordan denne pris er blevet fastsat, for at kontrollere gyldigheden heraf og afgøre, om transaktionen var forbundet med statsstøtte.
The Commission must therefore examine how this price has been arrived at to verify its validity and to determine if there was any State aid involved in the transaction.
Ifølge punkt 59 ff. i beslutningen om at indlede undersøgelsesproceduren kunne dette være tilfældet, navnlig hvis den pris, der er betalt, er for høj i forhold til selskabets markedspris.
Paragraph 59 and following of the decision to open the investigative procedure recalls that this might be the case, in particular, if the price paid is too high in comparison to the market price of the company.
I denne henseende bemærker Kommissionen, at man er nået frem til dette tal på grundlag af to ekspertvurderinger foretaget på vegne af både sælger og køber.
In this regard, the Commission notes that this figure has been arrived at following two expert assessments carried out on behalf of both vendor and purchaser.
Efter at have foretaget en detaljeret analyse af ekspertvurderingerne kan Kommissionen konkludere, at denne pris svarer til en rimelig markedspris; den bemærker endvidere, at den endelige salgspris under alle omstændigheder er lavere end de 15 mio. CYP, der var fastsat i omstruktureringsplanen og ved indledningen af undersøgelsesproceduren.
Having carried out a detailed analysis of the expert valuations the Commission can conclude this price corresponds to fair market price; it also notes that the final sales price is, in any event, lower than the CYP 15 million foreseen in the restructuring plan and in the opening of the investigative procedure.
Kommissionen konkluderer derfor, at salget af Eurocypria ikke indebærer statsstøtte for Cyprus Airways, da selskabet ikke er blevet solgt til mere end dets sande værdi.
The Commission therefore concludes that Eurocypria's sale does not amount to State aid to Cyprus Airways because the company has not been sold at more than its true value.