natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Kommissionen anerkender, at hvis de finske myndigheder skulle indføre konkurrence på vejtjenester og færgefart, måtte de omdanne Tieliikelaitos til en separat enhed og give foretagendet enten de aktiver, der var nødvendige for udførelsen af dets opgaver, eller den kapital, der var nødvendig for at købe sådanne aktiver.
The Commission acknowledges that if the Finnish authorities were to introduce competition in the road and ferry services, they had to transform Tieliikelaitos into a separate entity and to provide it either with the assets necessary to perform its tasks or with the capital necessary to buy these assets.
Derfor kan den mulige statsstøtte i dette tilfælde i forbindelse med grunde og grusgrave anses for en proportional foranstaltning, når man tager den proces, som de finske myndigheder anvendte til åbning af vejtjenesterne for konkurrence, i betragtning.
Therefore, in the present case, taking into consideration the process undertaken by the Finnish authorities to open road services to competition, the possible State aid in relation to the land and gravel sites can be considered as a proportionate measure.
Kommissionen konkluderer, at hvis der måtte forekomme statsstøtte i forbindelse med grunde og grusgrav, så er den nødvendig og proportional.
The Commission concludes that, should there be State aid in relation to land and gravel sites, this State aid is necessary and proportionate.
De forskellige personalejusteringsforanstaltninger beskrevet ovenfor i punkt 5.5 gav Tieliikelaitos' medarbejdere incitamenter til at forlade foretagendet.
The various Staff adjustment measures described above in Section 5.5 provided incentives to Tieliikelaitos’ employees to leave the company.
Disse foranstaltninger var åbenlyst nødvendige for at nå det tilsigtede mål i lyset af Tieliikelaitos' overtallige personale, hvilket ikke bestrides af klagerne.
Such measures were clearly necessary to the objective sought, in view of Tieliikelaitos’ overstaffing, which is not contested by the complainants.
De var også åbenbart proportionale, eftersom staten kun finansierede 50 % af den pågældende udgift (20,1 mio. EUR kom fra staten og 20 mio. EUR fra foretagendet selv).
They were also manifestly proportionate, since the State financed only 50 % of the respective expenditure (EUR 20,1 million were financed by the State and EUR 20 million by the undertaking).
Eftersom deres virkning i vidt omfang afhang af, om det relevante personale ville gribe chancen og forlade foretagendet, var de ikke tilstrækkelige til at kompensere for Tieliikelaitos' betydelige omkostninger ved overbemandingen.
Since their effect was largely dependent on whether the relevant staff would seize the opportunity of leaving the company, they were not sufficient to compensate the significant costs of Tieliikelaitos’ overstaffing.
Finansiering af særlige serviceprojekter
Funding of Special services projects
Som det er beskrevet ovenfor gav de særlige serviceprojekter beskæftigelse til en del af Tieliikelaitos' overskydende personale.
As has been described above, Special service projects provided an activity to part of Tieliikelaitos’ excess staff.
Hvis disse projekter ikke var blevet iværksat, er det klart, at Tieliikelaitos på baggrund af, at personalejusteringsforanstaltningerne kun kunne løse en del af overbemandingsproblemet, enten ville have fastholdt de tilbageblevne ansatte midlertidigt uden arbejde eller have afsat dem til vejvedligeholdelseskontrakter.
Had not such projects been put in place, it is clear that, in view of the fact that Staff adjustment measures could only solve part of the overstaffing problem, Tieliikelaitos would have either maintained the remaining excess staff temporarily without work or would have affected it to maintenance contracts.
Begge muligheder ville have været ødelæggende for målet om den fælles interesse, der skulle nås ved hjælp af denne foranstaltning.
Both such options would have been detrimental to the objective of common interest aimed at through the measure.
Fastholdelse af det berørte ikke-erhvervsaktive personale ville have været spild af human kapital, der var akkumuleret i perioden op til liberaliseringen, med hensyn til specifikke færdigheder og viden.
Maintaining the staff concerned inactive would have wasted human capital accumulated in the period prior to liberalisation, in terms of specific skills and know-how.
At afsætte personalet til vedligeholdelseskontrakter ville have hindret Tieliikelaitos i gradvis at tilpasse sin arbejdsmetode til at kunne levere de relevante vejtjenester på en omkostningseffektiv måde.
Affecting the staff to maintenance contracts would have prevented Tieliikelaitos’ from progressively adapting its way of working in order to deliver the relevant road services in a cost-effective way.
Derfor mener Kommissionen, at finansieringen af de særlige serviceprojekter gennem statsstøtte måske kan opfylde kriteriet om støttens nødvendighed for målet om den fælles interesse.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the funding of Special services projects through State aid may meet the criterion of necessity of the aid to a common interest objective.
For så vidt angår denne foranstaltnings proportionalitet, bemærker Kommissionen, at der ikke foregik nogen overkompensation af det arbejde, der blev udført af de særlige serviceprojekter.
As regards the proportionality of that measure, the Commission notes that there was no overcompensation for the work carried out in the Special service projects.
De finske myndigheder har fremlagt overbevisende dokumentation herfor (jf. ovenfor i punkt 5.5).
Convincing evidence to that effect was submitted by the Finnish authorities (see above, Section 5.5).
Der var naturligvis en grænse for den mængde arbejde, som kunne udføres gennem de særlige serviceprojekter, og denne grænse lå i statens faktiske behov for at få udført disse tjenester.
There was naturally a limit as to the amount of work that could be done through Special service projects, this limit residing in the State’s actual need for such services to be provided.
Kommissionen konkluderer ud fra de forskellige data indsendt af de finske myndigheder, at de særlige serviceprojekter kun aftog en del af Tieliikelaitos' overbemandingsbetingede omkostninger.
The Commission concludes from the various data submitted by the Finnish authorities that the Special services project only absorbed a part of Tieliikelaitos’ overstaffing-related costs.
Som nævnt ovenfor i punkt 5.3 havde Tieliikelaitos i gennemsnit i overgangsperioden stadig 100 medarbejdere mere end det optimale antal trods personalejusteringsforanstaltninger og de særlige serviceprojekter.
As mentioned above in Chapter 5.3, on average, Tieliikelaitos had during the transitional period, still 100 employees more than the optimum number, in spite of the Staff adjustment measures and the Special service projects.
Af de samme grunde som ovenfor nævnt i forbindelse med de særlige serviceprojekter var det ikke i den fælles interesse, at Tieliikelaitos fastholdt dette overskydende og ikke-erhvervsaktive personale.
For the same reasons set out above in relation with Special service projects, it was not in the common interest for Tieliikelaitos to maintain this extra staff inactive.
Evnen til ikke at overbebyrde udbudskontrakterne, når foretagendet afgav bud i åbne udbud, med omkostningerne ved det overtallige personale var da også afgørende, hvis Tieliikelaitos skulle tilpasse sig konkurrencesituationen på markedet.
The ability not to overburden tendered contracts, where it was submitting bids to open tender, with the costs related to redundant staff was indeed essential if Tieliikelaitos was to adapt to a competitive market.
Derfor blev den tilsvarende finansielle byrde kompenseret gennem forhandlingskontrakter.
Therefore the respective financial burden was compensated through the negotiated contracts.
For så vidt angår forhandlingskontrakterne, fandtes de på grund af den gradvise måde, Finland valgte at liberalisere på.
As regards the negotiated contracts, their existence was linked to the gradual nature of the liberalisation process as devised by Finland.
Disse kontrakter repræsenterede ved indledningen af perioden en større andel af Tieliikelaitos' virksomhed, som derefter gradvis faldt.
These contracts represented at the beginning of the period a large portion of Tieliikelaitos’ activity, which then gradually decreased.
Hvis der ikke var blevet taget højde for de ekstra omkostninger, som foretagendet bar på grund af overbemandingen, ville det have medført en alvorlig forringelse af dets økonomiske situation.
Not taking into account the additional costs borne by the undertaking as a result of its overstaffing would have led to significant deterioration of its financial situation.
Set på denne baggrund mener Kommissionen, at støttemekanismen i forbindelse med forhandlingskontrakterne var nødvendig.
In the light of the above considerations, the Commission considers that the aid mechanism linked with negotiated contracts was necessary.
Med hensyn til proportionalitetsbetingelsen blev der iværksat en procedure for at begrænse risikoen for overkompensation.
As regards the proportionality condition, a procedure was organised in order to limit risks of overcompensation.
Kommissionen mener, at den årlige udgiftsjusteringsprocedure beskrevet ovenfor i punkt 5.3 var hensigtsmæssig i denne henseende.
The Commission considers that the annual expenditure adjustment procedure described above at the beginning of Section 5.3 was appropriate in this regard.
Præferencelån og overordnet konklusion om nødvendighed og proportionalitet
Preferential loan and overall conclusion on necessity and proportionality
Hvad endelig angår det præferencelån, som Tieliikelaitos fik af staten, bemærker Kommissionen, at det giver en nettofordel på foretagendet for 7,2 mio. EUR, hvilket er ca. 8 % af det samlede støttebeløb, der er tilgået Tieliikelaitos.
As regards finally the preferential loan granted to Tieliikelaitos, the Commission notes firstly that it yields a net advantage for the undertaking of EUR 7,2 million, which is approximately 8 % of the overall amount of aid granted to Tieliikelaitos.
Når dette støttebeløb lægges til det beløb, der udgør førnævnte støtteforanstaltninger, modtog Tieliikelaitos direkte eller indirekte fra staten 92,8 mio. EUR. Dette var åbenlyst ikke en tilstrækkelig kompensation for den strukturelle ulempe, som Tieliikelaitos måtte bære, og som blev skønnet til 157 mio. EUR. Som sådan ydede Tieliikelaitos selv et betydeligt bidrag fra sine egne ressourcer for at løse overbemandingsproblemet, som det havde arvet fra tiden før liberaliseringen.
When adding this aid amount to the amount represented by the above-mentioned aid measures, Tieliikelaitos received from the State directly or indirectly EUR 92,8 million. This manifestly did not compensate the structural disadvantage borne by Tieliikelaitos, which was estimated at EUR 157 million. As such, Tieliikelaitos made a significant contribution from its own resources in order to solve the overstaffing problem it inherited from pre-liberalization time.
I denne forbindelse bør navnlig de 20 mio. EUR nævnes, som blev afsat af Tieliikelaitos til finansiering af fratrædelsesordningerne.
In this regard, one should mention in particular EUR 20 million that were allocated by Tieliikelaitos for financing severance packages.
Af Tieliikelaitos årsregnskaber fremgår det, at foretagendet kunne være løbet ind i vanskeligheder, hvis det havde bidraget mere af egne ressourcer til personalejusteringsforanstaltningerne.
In the light of the financial statements of Tieliikelaitos, it appears that the undertaking could have faced difficulties, had it contributed much more from its own resources to the personnel adjustment measures.
Tieliikelaitos' driftsoverskud i forhold til omsætningen i overgangsperioden var på så lavt et niveau som 2,4 %, mens denne indikator for konkurrenterne lå på 4,5 %.
Tieliikelaitos’ operating profit/turnover ratio during the transitional period stood at a low level of 2,4 % whereas for its competitors the average indicator was 4,5 %.
Da personalenedskæringsforanstaltningerne ikke blev fuldført i overgangsperioden, forringedes denne indikator endda yderligere i 2005 (1,6 %).
As staff reduction measures were not completed during the transitional period, the respective indicator was even worse in 2005 (1,6 %).
I 2005 skulle foretagendet bære de økonomiske omkostninger ved nedskæringen af det overtallige personale med mere end 400 personer uden statsstøtte.
In 2005 the undertaking had to bear the financial cost of reducing its staff number by more than 400 persons without any State support.
Indikatoren for driftsoverskud blev igen bedre i 2006 (2,2 %) og stiger fortsat.
The operating profit indicator improved again in 2006 (2,2 %) and continues to improve.
Det ser således ud til, at Tieliikelaitos' eget bidrag til fjernelsen af den strukturelle ulempe havde en negativ virkning på foretagendets rentabilitet og dermed dets konkurrenceevne.
It therefore seems that the own contribution of Tieliikelaitos to removing the respective structural disadvantage had a negative impact on the undertaking’s profitability and hence its competitive position.
Desuden minder Kommissionen om, at støttepakken ikke synes at have haft nogen blivende virkning på konkurrencestrukturen (jf. punkt 5.10).
Furthermore, it must be recalled that the aid measure package does not seem to have had any lasting impact on the structure of competition (Cf. Section 5.10).
I den henseende bemærker Kommissionen, at de finske myndigheder har udformet støttepakken til Tieliikelaitos, så de begrænsede en eventuel konkurrenceforvridning.
In this regard, the Commission notes that the Finnish authorities had designed the aid package to Tieliikelaitos in a way that limited possible distortions of competition.
Det gælder navnlig den måde, de valgte at opstille Tieliikelaitos' åbningsbalance på (ikke at bogføre hele porteføljen af finansielle aktiver som egenkapital), så den kunne ligne de private foretagenders balance i sektoren.
In particular this concerns the approach chosen with respect to the structure of the opening balance sheet of Tieliikelaitos (not distributing the entire stock of financial assets as equity) in order to align it with the balance sheets of private undertakings in the sector.
Dette gælder også indsatsen for så vidt muligt at begrænse forskellen mellem marginen i henholdsvis forhandlings- og udbudskontrakter ved hjælp af bl.a. den årlige udgiftsjusteringsprocedure.
This also concerns the efforts to limit as much as possible the differences between the margins of negotiated and tendered contracts, inter alia, through the annual expenditure adjustment procedure.
Kommissionen bemærker også, at Vejforvaltningen gennemførte en række foranstaltninger til befordring af nye aktørers indtræden på markedet.
The Commission also notes that the Road Administration carried out a number of measures to facilitate entry of new market players.
For at fjerne eventuelle hindringer for indtræden på markedet i form af f.eks. udbudsdokumentationens kompleksitet afholdt Vejforvaltningen informationsmøder for entreprenørerne og forberedte indkøbsprogrammer og udbudsregler med inddragelse af alle interessenter i videst muligt omfang.
To reduce possible barriers to market entry which could be caused for instance by the complexity of tender documents, the Road administration arranged briefings for contractors and prepared the procurement programmes and tendering rules involving to the extent possible all the interested parties.
Vejforvaltningens indkøbsstrategi for sektoren er blevet udformet under hensyntagen til aktørernes synspunkter om f.eks., hvor store vejvedligeholdelseskontrakterne bør være.
The Road administration’s procurement strategy has been prepared by taking into account the opinions of actors in the sector about e.g. how big the maintenance contracts should be.
Det virkede også befordrende for nye aktørers indtræden på markedet, at Vejforvaltningen betalte et honorar pr. bud (5000 EUR), der opfyldte dens minimumskrav.
Offer fees paid (5000 EUR per offer) with respect to offers meeting the minimum requirements set by the Road Administration also were conducive to the entry of new market players.
I 2006 blokerede handels- og industriministeriet for Tieliikelaitos' forhandlinger med adskillige byer om oprettelse af joint ventures, som ville kombinere den pågældende bys tekniske serviceenhed med Tieliikelaitos' lokale afdeling.
In 2006 the Ministry of Trade and Industry blocked Tieliikelaitos’ negotiations with several cities about setting up joint ventures that would combine the technical service units of the cities with Tieliikelaitos local service units.
Ministeriet krævede, at byer, der ønskede at oprette planlagte joint ventures, skulle vælge deres partner efter en åben udbudsprocedure.
The Ministry required that the cities wishing to set up the planned joint ventures select their partner through an open competitive tender.
Kommissionen afviser klagernes påstand om, at Tieliikelaitos havde ført underbudspolitik i overgangsperioden eller i 2005.
The Commission rejects the complainants’ allegation according to which Tieliikelaitos would have been using predatory pricing practices during the transitional period or in 2005.
De finske myndigheders oplysninger viser, at Tieliikelaitos havde en positiv indtjening på de udbudskontrakter, foretagendet indgik.
The information provided by the Finnish authorities shows that Tieliikelaitos had positive margins from the tendered contracts it entered into.
Kommissionen bemærker, at Tieliikelaitos' indtjeningsniveau i overgangsperioden faktisk ville have svaret til gennemsnittet hos dets konkurrenter, hvis det ikke havde haft ukompenserede ekstraomkostninger (65 mio. EUR — jf. punkt 7.1.2), som stammede fra tiden, før det blev et statsforetagende.
In fact, the Commission notes that the level of Tieliikelaitos profit during the transitional period would have corresponded to the average of its competitors if it did not have non-compensated additional costs (EUR 65 million — see Section 7.1.2) resulting from the legacy of the previous regime.
I lyset af ovenstående konkluderer Kommissionen, at de nye støtteforanstaltninger, der var overgangsbetingede, eftersom de var knyttet til overgangsperioden, når alt kommer til alt, er forenelige med fællesmarkedet, idet de er nødvendige og proportionale med målet om den fælles interesse og ikke ændrer konkurrencen og samhandelen på en måde, der strider mod den fælles interesse.
In the light of the above, the Commission concludes that, on balance, the examined new aid measures, which were transitory in nature since they were linked to the transitional period, are compatible with the common market, since they are necessary and proportionate to an objective of common interest and do not distort trade and competition to an extent contrary to the common interest.
Denne konklusion er i overensstemmelse med Kommissionens beslutningspraksis, navnlig i sagerne OTE og EDF.
This conclusion is in line with the Commission’s decision practice, notably in the OTE and EDF cases.
I EDF-sagen erklærede Kommissionen en foranstaltning forenelig, som den franske stat havde truffet for at lette selskaber i den franske elektricitets- og gassektor for betaling af nogle af de specifikke pensionsrettigheder, som de ansatte havde erhvervet før i tiden, mens selskaberne blev drevet som lovlige monopolvirksomheder.
In EDF, the Commission declared compatible a measure by which the French State relieved enterprises in the French electricity and gas sectors of the payment of some of the specific pension rights the employees had acquired in the past, at a time when companies were operating under a legal monopoly.
Kommissionen mente, at selskaberne på det tidspunkt var beskyttet mod enhver intern konkurrence i branchen og dermed kunne holde til at betale medarbejderne en højere pension uden at pådrage sig nogen betydelig økonomisk ulempe derved.
The Commission considered that at that time the companies were shielded from any intra-industry competition and could thus bear the higher pension rights without suffering any significant economic disadvantage.
Kommissionen anerkendte, at disse »tidligere udgifter« udgjorde en betydelig belastning for disse virksomheder, efter at de var kommet i konkurrence med andre elektricitets- eller gasselskaber, som ikke skulle bære lignende tidligere udgifter (betragtning 143 i beslutningen).
The Commission acknowledged, that these ‘past liabilities’ represented a significant difficulty for these enterprises, once they were operating in competition with other electricity or gas enterprises that did not have to bear similar costs from the past (par. 143 of the Decision).
Kommissionen anså »statens støtte til denne omorganisering af sektoren« for at være nødvendig og proportional, fordi de øvrige aspekter ved reformen af sektoren ikke omfattede elementer af statsstøtte (betragtning 146 i beslutningen).
The Commission regarded the aid granted ‘with the view to such sectoral reorganization’ as necessary and proportionate on the grounds that the other aspects of the sectoral reform did not involve any State aid (paragraph 146 of the Decision).
I nærværende sag var overbemandingen, som belastede Tieliikelaitos, ligeledes en arv fra før liberaliseringen. Foranstaltningerne bidrog til at lette denne byrde på en proportional måde og gøre det muligt for Tieliikelaitos at deltage fuldt ud i konkurrencen på markedet og således også i omorganiseringen af vejtjenestesektoren.
In the present case, similarly, the overstaffing that burdened Tieliikelaitos was inherited from the pre-liberalisation period; the measures contributed to alleviate that burden in a proportionate manner and to allow Tieliikelaitos to participate fully in the competitive process, and hence take part in the reorganisation of the road services sector.
I OTE-sagen, hvor Kommissionen udtrykkeligt henviser til EDF-beslutningen, vurderede Kommissionen den græske regerings finansielle bidrag til det græske telekommunikationsselskab OTE's »frivillige førtidspensionsordning«.
In OTE, where the Commission explicitly referred back to the EDF decision, the Commission assessed the Greek government’s contribution to the Hellenic Telecommunication Operator’s (OTE) voluntary early retirement scheme.
På grund af de OTE-ansattes tjenestemandsstatus, som stammede fra OTE's tid som monopolvirksomhed, kunne OTE ikke ensidigt afskedige personale, men skulle anvende frivillige fratrædelsesordninger.
Due to the life tenure status of OTE employees, which was inherited from the time when OTE had a monopoly position, OTE could not unilaterally dismiss personnel, but had to have recourse to voluntary redundancy offers.
For at gøre tilbuddet herom attraktivt måtte OTE tilbyde sine ansatte nogle vilkår for frivillig fratrædelse, som afspejlede medarbejdernes tjenestemandsstatus, hvilket igen medførte højere omkostninger for OTE end omkostningerne ved sammenlignelige ordninger for tidlig pensionering, som andre selskaber kan tilbyde i henhold til de almindelige love og regler for arbejdsmarkedet.
To make such offers attractive, OTE had to offer its employees voluntary redundancy terms and conditions that reflect the latter’s permanent status, which, in turn, led to higher costs for OTE than the costs of comparable early retirement schemes offered by other companies under general labour laws and regulations.
Kommissionen verificerede, at den pågældende støtteforanstaltning kun ville være en delvis kompensation for de ekstra omkostninger, som var forårsaget af de strukturelle ulemper ved OTE's tidligere stilling som statsejet monopolvirksomhed, og at denne belastning ikke var forbundet med fordele i direkte tilknytning til virksomhedens tidligere status, som kunne mindske belastningen.
The Commission verified that the respective aid measure would only partially compensate for the extraordinary costs caused by the structural disadvantages resulting from OTE’s former position as State-owned monopoly, and that the burden was not associated with directly related advantages of its former status that would mitigate it.