natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Aktiviteterne inden for brev- og pakkelevering er internationale, og Kommissionen mener, at en selektiv fordel for RM eller Parcelforce ville fordreje konkurrencen og påvirke samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne.
The letters and parcels delivery business is international and the Commission believes that a selective advantage in favour of RM or Parcelforce would distort competition and affect trade between Member States.
Alle foranstaltninger blev ydet ved hjælp af midler under statens direkte kontrol og udgjorde derfor statsmidler i henhold til EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 1.
The measures were all granted from funds under the direct control of the State and therefore constituted State resources within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the Treaty.
Alle foranstaltningerne kunne tilregnes staten og var selektive, idet de kun blev stillet til rådighed for RM.
The measures were all imputable to the State and were selective in that they were granted only to RM.
Hvis de gav Royal Mail en fordel, ville de derfor opfylde kriterierne for at blive betragtet som statsstøtte.
If they provided an advantage to Royal Mail they would therefore fulfil the criteria to be considered State aid.
Kommissionen vurderede spørgsmålet om fordele med hensyn til de foranstaltninger, som den indledte proceduren over for.
The Commission assessed the question of advantage in respect of the measures on which it opened the procedure.
Som anført i betragtning 19 skal lånet tilbagebetales mellem 2021 og 2025 og har en gennemsnitlig rentesats på 5,8 %.
As noted in recital 19, the 2001 loan is repayable between 2021 and 2025 and carries an average interest rate of around 5,8 %.
Dette ligger betydeligt under den referencesats, der var gældende i Det Forenede Kongerige i 2001 (7,06 %), hvor Det Forenede Kongerige havde underrettet Kommissionen om, at lånet var ydet.
This is significantly below the reference rate applicable to the UK in 2001 (7,06 %), when the UK previously informed the Commission that the loan was granted.
De britiske myndigheder fremlagde en vis dokumentation for, at rentekurven i Det Forenede Kongerige på det pågældende tidspunkt var nedadgående, og at rentesatserne for et så langfristet lån derfor kunne ligge under referencesatsen (som på det pågældende tidspunkt var baseret på 5-årige satser) uden at være i strid med det markedsøkonomiske investorprincip.
The UK authorities provided certain evidence that at that time, the yield curve in the UK was downward sloping and that therefore the interest rates for such a long-term loan could be below the reference rate (which at the time was based on five year rates) without contravening the market economy investor principle.
Kommissionen bemærkede også, at i det mindste i 2001 var Royal Mails indtjening begyndt at falde.
The Commission also noted that, at least in 2001, Royal Mail’s financial performance was beginning to decline.
Dette ville normalt blive afspejlet i vilkårene for et eventuelt lån.
This would normally be reflected in the terms of any loan.
Når Kommissionen vurderer et lån til en virksomhed i økonomiske vanskeligheder, kan den derfor anvende en højere sats end referencesatsen som sammenligningsgrundlag.
For this reason, when assessing a loan to a company in financial difficulties, the Commission may use a rate higher than the reference rate as a point of comparison.
De britiske myndigheder havde meddelt Kommissionen, at de lånefaciliteter, der blev stillet til rådighed i 2003, ikke var blevet udnyttet i oktober 2006.
The UK authorities had informed the Commission that as of October 2006 the loan facilities granted in 2003 had not been drawn down.
Heraf kunne det imidlertid ikke konkluderes, at lånefaciliteterne ikke var en fordel, da muligheden for at råde over lånefaciliteter havde en »optionsværdi« for virksomheden.
However, it could not be concluded from this point alone that the loan facilities provided no advantage, since the availability of the loan facilities had an ‘option value’ to the company.
I 2003 kunne man ikke vide, at man ikke ville udnytte faciliteterne.
It could not have been known in 2003 that they would not be drawn down.
NLF-lånet på 544 mio. GBP blev ydet til »25 basispoint over LIBOR eller relevant gilt« [6].
The GBP 544 million NLF loan was granted at ‘25 basis points above LIBOR or relevant gilt’ [6].
Det skal bemærkes, at referencesatsen fastsættes til 75 point over en interbank swapsats.
It should be noted that the reference rate is set at 75 points above an interbank swap rate.
De britiske myndigheder begrundede den lave margen med henvisning til den stillede sikkerhed, nemlig RM ' s likvide reserver.
The UK authorities justified the low margin by reference to the security provided, namely the cash reserves of RM.
Kommissionen bemærkede imidlertid, at disse reserver udgør statsmidler, som de britiske myndigheder havde kontrol over i henhold til specifik lovgivning.
However, the Commission noted that these reserves constitute State resources over which the UK authorities had control through specific legislation.
Kommissionen satte derfor spørgsmålstegn ved, om anvendelsen heraf som sikkerhed nødvendigvis kunne fjerne dens tvivl med hensyn til foranstaltningens karakter af støtte.
The Commission therefore questioned whether their use as security could necessarily dispel its doubts as to the aid character of the measure.
Den bemærkede, at hvis lånet var blevet udnyttet, ville en besparelse på 50 basispoint overstige værdien af de tilsagnsprovisioner, som RM har betalt.
It noted that if the loan had been drawn down, a saving of 50 basis points would outweigh the value of the commitment fees which have been paid by RM.
Obligationerne på 300 mio. GBP og 200 mio. GBP blev udstedt til satser på 50 og 200 basispoint over den »relevante gilt«.
The bonds of GBP 300 million and of GBP 200 million were issued at rates of 50 and 200 basis points above the ‘relevant gilt’.
Den største obligation var sikret ved et flydende pant i alle RM's aktiver, mens den mindste obligation havde en lavere sikkerhed.
The larger bond was secured by a floating charge over all assets of RM while the smaller one had lower security.
Margenen på 50 basispoint over en sats baseret på statsobligationer (som typisk ligger under interbankrenter) indebærer, at lånet på 300 mio. GBP kan være ydet til en sats under Kommissionens referencesats.
The margin of 50 basis points above a rate based on Government securities (which are typically below interbank rates) implies the GBP 300 million loan may have been at a rate below the Commission’s reference rate.
De britiske myndigheder meddelte den 31. oktober 2006 Kommissionen, at der stadig var forhandlinger i gang om vilkårene for forlængelsen af de lånefaciliteter fra 2003, som stadig var gældende i oktober 2006 (dvs. NLF-lånet på 544 mio. GBP og obligationen på 300 mio. GBP), men at de fik rådgivning fra konsulenter for at sikre, at der var tale om kommercielle vilkår.
The UK authorities informed the Commission on 31 October 2006 that the terms on which the 2003 loan facilities, still in existence in October 2006 (namely the GBP 544 million National Loan Fund loan and the GBP 300 million bond), were to be extended were still being negotiated but that they were seeking advice from consultants to ensure that the terms were commercial.
Ifølge de britiske myndigheder medførte deponeringskontoen bl.a. en reduktion af de pensionsbidrag, som RM skal betale til RMPP for at nedbringe underskuddet i de første år.
According to information provided by the UK authorities, one effect of the escrow account was to reduce the pensions contributions that RM has to make to the RMPP in order to address its deficit in the initial years.
Kommissionen bemærkede, at dette tydede på, at foranstaltningen kan være en fordel for RM og derfor udgøre statsstøtte.
The Commission noted that this was an indication that the measure may provide an advantage to RM and therefore constitute State aid.
Kommissionen stillede sig tvivlende over for det argument, at foranstaltningen kan betragtes som en handling foretaget af en markedsøkonomisk investor, da det ikke var understøttet af fremskrivninger eller finansanalyser.
The Commission had doubts about the argument that the measure can be justified as the intervention of a market economy investor, which had not been supported by projections or by financial analysis.
Kommissionen afgrænsede tre spørgsmål, som den ville behandle.
The Commission identified three issues it would be considering.
Da reservefondene inden for reserven allerede var hos Royal Mail og opført på virksomhedens balance, rejste der sig det spørgsmål, om oprettelsen af deponeringskontoen kunne betragtes som en kommerciel beslutning truffet af RM trods de britiske myndigheders inddragelse som følge af den særlige retlige ordning, der var gældende.
Given that the reserve funds within the reserve were already held within Royal Mail and on its balance sheet, one issue was whether the creation of the escrow account could be regarded as a commercial decision by RM in spite of the involvement of the UK authorities, which arose through the particular applicable legal regime.
I betragtning af de britiske myndigheders særlige beføjelser i forbindelse med disse reserver var et andet spørgsmål, om en aktionær, der handlede ud fra forretningsmæssige overvejelser, ville gå med til denne anvendelse af egenkapital.
A second issue, given the particular powers taken by the UK authorities over these reserves, was whether a shareholder acting commercially would agree to this use of shareholders’ equity.
Da anvendelsen af reserverne til pensionsforanstaltningen kræver, at myndighederne finansierer POL-foranstaltningerne over statsbudgettet, var et tredje spørgsmål, om en aktionær ville indvilge i at indskyde ny egenkapital til at finansiere en deponeringskonto af denne type.
A third issue, given that the use of the reserves for the pensions measure requires the authorities to fund the POL measures from the State budget, was whether a shareholder would agree to bring new equity to fund an escrow account of this type.
Kommissionen var ikke blevet orienteret om vilkårene for lånet på det tidspunkt, hvor den indledte undersøgelsesproceduren.
The terms of the loan had not been communicated to the Commission at the time of opening the investigation.
Kommissionen var derfor ikke i stand til at vurdere, om vilkårene herfor indebar støtte.
The Commission was therefore unable to assess whether its terms included aid.
Da lånet var en del af den pakke af foranstaltninger, som ifølge Kommissionen muligvis indebar statsstøtte, kunne lånevilkårene ikke vurderes særskilt.
Given the fact that the loan was part of package of measures where the Commission had not allayed its doubts that State aid may be involved, the terms of the loan could not, in any case, be assessed independently.
Forenelighed af eventuel statsstøtte
Compatibility of any State aid
Kommissionen udtrykte endvidere tvivl med hensyn til, om foranstaltningerne, såfremt de udgjorde statsstøtte, kunne anses for at være forenelige med fællesmarkedet.
The Commission further expressed doubts whether, if they did constitute State aid, the measures could be found compatible with the common market.
Den bemærkede, at det ikke så ud til, at EF-traktatens artikel 86, stk. 2, kunne anvendes som retsgrundlag, selv om RM har fået overdraget at udføre tjenester af almindelig økonomisk interesse.
It noted that the legal basis of Article 86(2) of the Treaty did not seem to be available even though RM is entrusted with services of general economic interest.
Det eneste grundlag for, at de omhandlede foranstaltninger kunne være forenelige, hvis de omfatter statsstøtte, ville være EF-traktatens artikel 87, stk. 3, litra c).
The only basis for compatibility for these measures, if they contain State aid, appeared to be Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty.
Foranstaltningerne så dog ikke ud til at være i overensstemmelse med nogen af de regler for anvendelse af det pågældende stk., som Kommissionen hidtil havde offentliggjort.
However, the measures did not appear to conform with any of the rules concerning the application of that subparagraph that the Commission had promulgated to date.
Hvis der var tale om statsstøtte, betvivlede Kommissionen derfor, at disse foranstaltninger ville være forenelige med fællesmarkedet.
If State aid were involved, the Commission therefore doubted whether these measures would be compatible with the common market.
Deutsche Post bemærkede, at undersøgelsen kun omfattede en del af den støtte, der var ydet til Royal Mail i de senere år.
Deutsche Post commented that the investigation covered only part of the aid granted to Royal Mail in recent years.
Kommissionen havde godkendt flere forskellige britiske støtteforanstaltninger med det resultat, at Royal Mail var blevet den største støttemodtager i postsektoren (efter Poste Italiane) i de senere år.
The Commission had approved a whole series of UK aid measures resulting in Royal Mail being the largest aid recipient in the postal sector (after Poste Italiane) in recent years.
Ifølge Kommissionens beslutning af 19. juni 2002 (sag C 61/99 — Deutsche Post AG [7]) udgør en sådan kompensation for tab statsstøtte, der er uforenelig med fællesmarkedet.
According to the Commission’s decision of 19 June 2002 (case C 61/99, Deutsche Post AG [7]), such loss of compensation constitutes State aid incompatible with the common market.
DPAG beklagede, at Kommissionen i denne sag ikke havde taget højde for denne omstændighed, som DPAG allerede fremhævede i sin klage af 3. december 2002.
DPAG regretted that the Commission had not taken this fact, which DPAG already highlighted in its complaint of 3 December 2002, into account in these proceedings.
GLS foretog efterfølgende en lang række opkøb på det europæiske marked.
GLS went on to make numerous purchases in the European market.
I perioden 2000-2003 opnåede Royal Mail stort set ingen overskud til at finansiere disse erhvervelser.
During the period 2000-2003, Royal Mail generated hardly any profits from which to finance these acquisitions.
Hvis det lån, der finansierede disse opkøb, blev ydet på vilkår, som ikke kunne opnås på markedet på daværende tidspunkt, ville der foreligge ulovlig statsstøtte, som skulle tilbagebetales.
If the loan financing these purchases was granted on terms which at that time were unobtainable on the market, then unlawful State aid would be involved which would have to be repaid.
Med hensyn til lånefaciliteterne fandt DPAG det vanskeligt at se, hvorfor Royal Mail ikke finansierede fornyelsen af sin postinfrastruktur med sine indtægter i de senere år (ifølge virksomhedens egne tal bogførte Royal Mail i regnskabsåret 2005/2006 et driftsoverskud på 355 mio. GBP).
In respect of the loan facilities, DPAG considered it hard to see why Royal Mail did not finance the renewal of its postal infrastructure out of its recent years’ revenues (according to its own figures, in the 2005/2006 financial year Royal Mail booked an operating profit of GBP 355 million).
Tilsynsmyndigheden Postcomm havde allerede i vidt omfang taget hensyn til virksomhedens befordringspligt, da den godkendte satserne.
The regulator Postcomm had already taken the company’s universal service obligations extensively into account in its rate approvals.
Det kunne derfor frygtes, at den samlede virkning af de mange støtteforanstaltninger i form af direkte statslige betalinger, lån og godkendte prisforanstaltninger ville være en overkompensering i forhold til omkostningerne ved at opfylde befordringspligten på en måde, der er uacceptabel i henhold til statsstøttereglerne.
It was therefore to be feared that the overall effect of the many support measures in the form of direct State payments, loans and approved pricing measures would be to overcompensate for the universal service costs in a way that is inadmissible under State aid rules.
Dette kunne påvirke konkurrencen betydeligt på markedet for brev-, pakke- og kurertjenester i Det Forenede Kongerige, hvor DPAG opnåede en omsætning på over 1000 mio. EUR i 2006.
This could appreciably affect competition in the letter, parcel and express courier market in the UK, where DPAG achieved a turnover in excess of EUR 1000 million in 2006.
DPAG opfordrede Kommissionen til at foretage en kritisk undersøgelse af de støtteforanstaltninger, der var anført i beslutningen om procedurens indledning, på baggrund af den lange række statsstøtteforanstaltninger, der allerede var godkendt til navnlig Royal Mail.
DPAG urged the Commission to subject the aid measures listed in the decision opening proceedings to a critical examination against the background of the numerous State support measures already approved for Royal Mail in particular.
I en første reaktion på indledningen af proceduren støttede TNT Post UK Ltd (»TNT«) fuldt ud undersøgelsen som medlem af Mail Competition Forum, der havde indgivet en klage vedrørende pensionsforanstaltningen.
In a first response to the opening of procedure, TNT Post UK Ltd (‘TNT’) fully supported the investigation as a Member of the Mail Competition Forum which had submitted a complaint on the pensions measure.
Som ny aktør på markedet var virksomheden direkte påvirket af enhver form for finansiering, der blev foretaget på alt andet en normale kommercielle vilkår.
As a market entrant, it was directly affected by any form of financing made on anything other than arms’ length, commercial terms.
En sådan finansiering ville betyde, at Royal Mail er i stand til at holde priserne kunstigt lave og derved nedsætte TNT's evne til at konkurrere.
Such financing would mean that Royal Mail is in a position to keep its prices artificially low, thus reducing TNT’s ability to compete.
TNT bemærkede på grundlag af de foreløbige regnskaber fra Royal Mail Group Limited (tidligere plc), at »Royal Mail Group plc har misligholdt sine forpligtelser i forbindelse med sine lånefaciliteter hos staten, men har modtaget en formel dispensation fra det britiske handels- og industriministerium som långiver.« TNT gjorde gældende, at ingen kommerciel långiver ville være rede til at udlåne yderligere beløb under disse betingelser, medmindre vilkårene i tilstrækkelig grad afspejlede den øgede risiko for manglende betaling af renter eller afdrag.
TNT noted from the Royal Mail Group Limited (formerly plc) interim accounts that ‘Royal Mail Group plc is in default of its borrowing facilities with Government, but has received formal waivers from the Department of Trade and Industry, in its capacity as lender’. TNT claimed that, given these conditions, no commercial lender would be willing to lend further amounts unless the terms adequately reflected the increased risk of non-payment of interest or non-repayment of capital.
TNT bemærkede endvidere, at Royal Mail i et Royal Mail-dokument fra marts 2007 med titlen »Royal Mail's position on the interim review« bekræftede, at refinansieringen var afhængig af aftalen om priskontrol og finansieringen af pensionsunderskuddet over 17 år.
TNT further noted that, in a Royal Mail document dated March 2007, entitled ‘Royal Mail’s position on the interim review’, Royal Mail confirmed that re-financing was inter-dependent with settling price control and funding the pension deficit over 17 years.
Efter TNT's opfattelse var dette en urimeligt lang periode, og hvis finansieringen viste sig at være på ikke-kommercielle vilkår for investor eller långiver, ville dette betyde, at denne tilbagebetalingsperiode var for lang.
TNT understood this to be an unduly long period and, if the financing were shown to be on non-commercial investor or lender terms then it would indicate this recovery period to be too long.
De prislofter, som posttilsynsmyndigheden Postcomm havde fastsat, ville derfor være fastsat på et for lavt niveau.
Consequently, the price control caps set by the postal regulator Postcomm would have been set at too low a level.
Som konkurrent var TNT direkte påvirket af prislofter på erhvervspost, som var fastsat på et niveau, der tog udgangspunkt i statslig finansiering og en urimeligt lang tilbagebetalingsperiode i forbindelse med pensionsunderskuddet.
As a competitor, TNT said it was directly impacted by price caps on business mail which were set at a level assuming government financing and an unduly long recovery period for the pension fund deficit.
TNT fremsatte endnu et indlæg, som ankom nogen tid efter den officielle frist for at fremsætte bemærkninger, men som Kommissionen alligevel har taget i betragtning.
TNT made a further submission which arrived well after the official deadline for comments but which the Commission has nonetheless taken into account.
TNT havde foretaget en analyse af de to kilder til statsmidler, som var stillet til rådighed for Royal Mail, dvs. i) lånefinansiering og ii) frigivelsen af statskontrollerede reserver til en deponeringskonto, der var tilgængelig for forvalterne af Royal Mails pensionsfond.
TNT had undertaken analysis of the two sources of government funding made available to Royal Mail, namely (i) loan financing and (ii) the release of government controlled reserves to an escrow account accessible by the Royal Mail pension fund trustees.
TNT's konklusion var, at en kommerciel investor ikke havde stillet nogen af finansieringskilderne til rådighed.
TNT’s conclusion was that both sources of funding would not have been made by a commercial investor.
Med hensyn til lånene fra 2001 blev disse ydet som ikke-sikrede lån i februar 2001 med en løbetid på i gennemsnit næsten 21 år og en fast rentesats på i gennemsnit 5,84 %.
Concerning the 2001 loans, these were granted as unsecured loans in February 2001 with a duration close to, on average, 21 years and a fixed interest rate of, on average, 5,84 %.
I den måned, hvor lånene blev udstedt, lå den 20-årige swapsats (over for GBP-LIBOR) på mellem 5,87 % og 6,12 %.
In the month of issuance of the loans, the 20-year swap rate (versus GBP-LIBOR) ranged between 5,87 % and 6,12 %.
Heraf kunne det udledes, at statslånene må være optaget til en lavere rente end de gældende interbankrenter, mens der i forbindelse med virksomhedsgæld uden sikkerhedsstillelse under normale omstændigheder betales et kreditspænd over interbankrenterne.
From this, it could be derived that the State loans must have been concluded at a discount from the prevailing inter-bank rates while under normal circumstances corporate unsecured debt pays a credit spread above the inter-bank rates.
At dette også er tilfældet med hensyn til Royal Mail, fremgår af det kreditspænd på 0,25 % over LIBOR, som forretningsbanker forlangte af Royal Mail for lånene med en meget kortere løbetid.
That this also holds for Royal Mail is proven by the credit spread of 0,25 % above LIBOR that commercial banks charged to Royal Mail for the loans with a much shorter duration.
TNT bemærkede endvidere, at kreditspænd stiger betydeligt i forbindelse med længere løbetider.
TNT also noted that credit spreads increase significantly for longer maturities.
På grundlag af de foreliggende oplysninger kunne det konkluderes, at en kommerciel part ikke var gået med til at yde Royal Mail lånene på 500 mio. GBP på de offentliggjorte betingelser.
Based on the information available, they would conclude that a commercial party would not have entered into the GBP 500 million of loans with Royal Mail on the conditions published.
Et lån ydet på normale markedsvilkår havde således givet en væsentligt højere rente.
In fact, a loan granted on arm’s length market terms would have yielded a substantially higher interest rate.
Med hensyn til de obligationer, der blev udstedt i 2003 (dvs. lånefaciliteterne), så TNT noget anderledes på situationen, eftersom det fremgik, at obligationerne var sikret ved aktiver i Royal Mail.
With regard to the bonds issued in 2003 (that is, the loan facilities), TNT viewed the situation somewhat differently since it appeared that the bonds were secured by assets of Royal Mail.
Afhængigt af styrken af disse aktiver (som på grundlag af de foreliggende oplysninger syntes ret stærke) kunne spændet i forhold til LIBOR forventes at blive reduceret.
Depending on the strength of such assets (which, based on the information available, seemed to be rather strong) the spread over LIBOR would be expected to be reduced.