natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Hvis der, som Belgien hævder, bør gives en særlig behandling til »ægte« kooperativer, bør den pågældende særlige behandling finde anvendelse på alle godkendte kooperativer.
If a Member State decides to establish other repayment schemes guaranteeing other financial products, such a decision does not stem from Union law but is an initiative from the Member State itself [64].
Foranstaltningens begrænsede fokus alene på finansielle kooperativer er derfor i sig selv tilstrækkelig til at fastslå foranstaltningens selektive karakter.
The Commission also observes that the Belgian State refers to the Investor Compensation Scheme but that comparison is irrelevant since investor compensation schemes are not designed to cover investment risk.
Kommissionen tager i denne afgørelse ikke stilling til, om den pågældende skattefordel er forholdsmæssig, men mener, at der ikke var nogen grund til pludselig den 10. oktober 2008 at indføre yderligere kompensation til eller beskyttelse af virksomheder, der har status som finansielle kooperativer.
As explained already in recital 21, investor compensation schemes are merely designed for cases where an investor firm is unable to return assets belonging to an investor for instance because of fraud or because of problems with the firm's systems.
Endelig er Kommissionen af den opfattelse, at selv om den som foreslået af Belgien skulle foretage en Paint Graphos-undersøgelse, er der ingen begrundelse for at yde en garanti på 100 % til individuelle andelshavere i ARCO (dvs. del i) af Paint Graphos-undersøgelsen), hvis medlemmer var selskaber med begrænset ansvar.
Selective advantage
I betragtning af disse virksomheders karakter, som fastsat i Belgiens generelle selskabslov, burde de ARCO's individuelle andelshavere have været opmærksomme på, at de kunne miste hele deres kapital i tilfælde af afvikling [77].
The Commission concludes that the cooperative guarantee scheme has created a benefit for ARCO.
Desuden er beskyttelse af 100 % af al kapital, der er indskudt af individuelle andelshavere i finansielle kooperativer, ikke en forholdsmæssig foranstaltning (del iii) af Paint Graphos-undersøgelsen), idet de pågældende andelshavere ville være afskærmet mod enhver risiko, hvilket ville skabe en urimelig fordel for de virksomheder, som de har andel i [78].
The Court of Justice has accepted that undertakings can obtain an advantage in the form of improved access to capital in circumstances in which a measure taken by a Member State in favour of investors increases the latter's willingness to place their money in a particular set of investment targets [65].
Fordrejning af konkurrencevilkårene og påvirkning af samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne
In the case of the measure, it has helped the entities in the ARCO Group to maintain their existing capital, convincing existing cooperative shareholders not to withdraw from those financial cooperatives [66], which was a particularly important advantage in the nervous market situation which characterised the period immediately following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.
Garantiordningen for kooperativer giver finansielle kooperativer en fordel, som andre aktører, der tilbyder investeringsprodukter til private og andre ikke-finansielle, godkendte kooperativer, ikke får.
On 21 January 2009, ARCO put a press release from the Belgian government on its website to reassure its shareholders, which clearly shows that being able to reassure investors was a major advantage for ARCO.
Takket være foranstaltningen har ARCO været i stand til at bevare markedsandelen i en længere periode.
In that regard, the Commission observes that the ARCOPAR prospectus issued in summer 2008 [67] had referred to the risk of individual shareholders leaving the financial cooperative [68] [69].
ARCO oplevede ikke umiddelbart kapitaludstrømninger.
The measure is also clearly selective.
Den skete først senere og på et lavere niveau, end det ville have været tilfældet uden foranstaltningen.
In the first place, it only applies to holders of financial cooperative shares and not to persons holding investment products issued by competing undertakings.
De øvrige aktører, som skulle konkurrere på deres egne forudsætninger og ikke havde adgang til garantiordningen, havde derfor ikke gavn af den kapital, som ellers havde været tilgængelig til investering.
Thus financial players which offered conservative bond or money market funds or capital-guaranteed mutual funds could not offer their clients a similar guarantee.
Derfor fordrejer garantiordningen for kooperativer konkurrencevilkårene [79].
The Belgian State argues that individual shares of financial cooperatives are in essence similar to deposits [70].
Når en medlemsstat yder støtte til en virksomhed, kan den indenlandske aktivitet fastholdes eller styrkes som følge heraf, således at mulighederne for virksomheder i andre medlemsstater for (yderligere) at trænge ind på markedet reduceres [80].
However, a number of the elements which the Belgian State invoked refer to cooperatives in general not to financial cooperatives.
Da der er mange internationale udbydere af investeringsprodukter, som er aktive på det belgiske marked, har foranstaltningen helt afgjort en indvirkning på samhandelen i Unionen.
In addition, the description of financial cooperative shares offered by the Belgian State does not contain references to relevant information, such as the risks of investing in those instruments [71], which are not characteristic of deposits.
Konklusion
The selective nature of the measure can also be seen when the treatment of financial cooperatives is compared to other recognised cooperatives that are non-financial.
Støttens forenelighed
Paint Graphos was a preliminary ruling on an order for reference from an Italian court which wished to know whether tax benefits enjoyed by producers' and workers' cooperatives could be classified as State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
Efter at have fastslået, at garantiordningen for kooperativer udgør statsstøtte efter traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, skal Kommissionen fastslå, om støtten kan betragtes som forenelig med det indre marked.
In its judgment, the Court concluded that the tax advantage had to be evaluated against the four cumulative State aid criteria and gave more detailed guidance in particular on how to evaluate whether such a tax benefit represents a selective advantage [72].
Traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, fastsætter, at alle former for statsstøtte er uforenelig med det indre marked og derfor forbudt, medmindre andet er fastsat i traktaten.
The Court held that it should be determined (i) whether such a tax benefit could be justified by the inherent characteristics of the tax system [73], (ii) whether there were appropriate control and monitoring procedures in place [74] and (iii) whether the tax benefit was proportional and did not go beyond the minimum necessary [75].
Stk. 2 og 3 i traktatens artikel 107 definerer efterfølgende to kategorier af forenelig støtte.
The Commission considers that the argument of the Belgian State cannot succeed because the nature of the advantage conferred by the measure is qualitatively different from that which was examined by the Court in Paint Graphos.
Traktatens artikel 107, stk. 2, opregner kategorier af statsstøtte, som automatisk er fritaget fra forbuddet, men garantiordningen for kooperativer falder ikke ind under nogen af disse kategorier.
The measure put in place by Belgium involves the creation of a positive benefit and not relief from a fiscal burden or from an obligation to pay a charge.
Traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, omhandler flere former for støtte, der vil kunne betragtes som forenelige med det indre marked.
As such, the standard three-part analysis which the Union courts have endorsed when examining whether a fiscal advantage or exemption from a levy is selective cannot be applied to the measure.
Teoretisk set ville traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra b) eller c), kunne finde anvendelse.
In any event, even if the Paint Graphos analysis could be applied to the measure, the latter's specific features are such that its selective nature would remain.
Med hensyn til traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), forklarer Kommissionen i sine rammebestemmelser, hvordan fritagelsen anvendes for visse former for støtte.
First the Commission observes that Paint Graphos refers to all producers' and workers' cooperatives, not to a relatively small subsector such as financial cooperatives.
Kommissionen finder dog ikke, at foranstaltningen hører under nogen af de former for støtte, der er omfattet af nævnte rammebestemmelser.
If, as Belgium claims, there should be special treatment for ‘genuine’ cooperatives, that special treatment should apply to all recognised cooperatives.
Desuden har hverken Belgien eller ARCO indsendt oplysninger om et formål af fælles interesse under henvisning til denne bestemmelse.
The limited focus of the measure on financial cooperatives only is therefore sufficient in itself to establish the selective nature of the measure.
Kommissionens skal derfor kun undersøge foranstaltningens forenelighed på basis af traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra b).
Second, the Commission observes that in the view of the Belgian State, financial cooperatives seemed to deserve additional privileges as of 10 October 2008.
Traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra b), kræver imidlertid, at der anlægges en restriktiv fortolkning af, hvad der kan betragtes som en alvorlig forstyrrelse i en medlemsstats økonomi.
The Commission observes that prior to that date recognised cooperatives got a form of favourable treatment as a result of their special status in the form of a withholding tax exemption [76].
Den pågældende forstyrrelse skal påvirke hele økonomien i en medlemsstat og ikke blot økonomien i en af dens regioner eller områder af dens territorium [81].
The Commission does not take a view in the present Decision on whether that tax advantage is proportionate but it believes that there was no reason to introduce suddenly on 10 October 2008 additional compensation for, or protection of, companies which have the status of financial cooperatives.
Da finanskrisen nåede sit første højdepunkt i efteråret 2008 besluttede Kommissionen i Bankmeddelelsen af 2008, at traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra b), kunne anvendes med henblik på at vurdere statsstøtteforanstaltninger, der var iværksat for at løse pengeinstitutternes problemer [82].
Finally, even if the Commission were to enter into a Paint Graphos analysis as proposed by Belgium, it believes that there is no justification for providing a 100 % guarantee to individual shareholders of ARCO (i.e. part (i) of the Paint Graphos analysis), whose entities were limited liability companies.
Disse rammebestemmelser finder imidlertid ikke anvendelse på foranstaltningen.
Moreover, protecting 100 % of all capital subscribed by the individual shareholders of financial cooperatives is not a proportionate measure (part (iii) of the Paint Graphos analysis) as those shareholders would be shielded from any risk, which would create an undue advantage for the undertakings of which they are shareholders [78].
De tager derimod sigte på realøkonomien ved at give medlemsstaterne mulighed for at træffe passende foranstaltninger for at forbedre adgangen til finansiering for virksomheder, der var villige til at investere under den finansielle krise i en periode, hvor bankfinansiering blev knap.
Distortions of competition and effect on trade between Member States
ARCO's problemer er ikke relateret til mangel på bankfinansiering, men til aktiver (dvs. Dexia-aktier), hvis værdiansættelse måtte nedjusteres.
The cooperative guarantee scheme provides financial cooperatives with an advantage that other players offering retail investment products and other non-financial recognised cooperatives do not have.
Desuden er garantiordningen for kooperativer — som garanterer 100 % af et gældsinstrument — ikke omfattet af nogen af de støttekategorier, der omtales i rammebestemmelsernes afsnit 4.3.
Thanks to the measure ARCO has been able to preserve market share for a longer period of time.
Da de finansielle kooperativer ikke er pengeinstitutter som anført i Bankmeddelelsen af 2008 [84], skal støtten vurderes direkte i forhold til traktaten.
ARCO did not suffer from capital outflows, or they only occurred later and at a lower level than would have been the case in the absence of the measure.
For at være i overensstemmelse med de generelle kriterier for forenelighed i traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, skal foranstaltningen opfylde følgende betingelser [85]:
As a result, capital that would otherwise have been available for investment did not become available to those other players, which had to compete on their merits and could not rely on the cooperative guarantee scheme.
Hensigtsmæssighed
Therefore, the cooperative guarantee scheme distorts competition [79].
Nødvendighed
Where a Member State grants aid to an undertaking, internal activity may be maintained or increased as a result, so that the opportunities for undertakings established in other Member States to (further) penetrate the market are thereby reduced [80].
Støtteforanstaltningen skal i sin størrelse og form være nødvendig for at nå målet.
As there are many international providers of investment products active on the Belgian market, the measure most definitely has an effect on Union-wide trade.
Støttebeløbet skal således begrænses til det nødvendige minimum for at nå målet og antage den mest hensigtsmæssige form for at afhjælpe forstyrrelsen.
Conclusion
Forholdsmæssighed
Based on the analysis made in recitals 91 to 109, the Commission, concludes that the cooperative guarantee scheme involves State resources, represents a selective advantage to ARCO, distorts competition and affects intra-Union trade and therefore meets all the State aid criteria.
Med hensyn til spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt foranstaltningen er hensigtsmæssig, finder Kommissionen, at de finansielle kooperativers betydning for den bredere økonomi er fundamentalt forskellig fra de traditionelle bankers betydning, idet disse er udsat for investorstormløb.
The entire amount of the advantage must be taken into account in examining the compatibility of the aid and, if necessary, recovery from its beneficiaries.
Hvis alle indehavere af bankindeståender skulle beslutte at hæve deres penge på samme tid, ville en bank være forpligtet til at afhænde alle sine illikvide aktiver over en kort periode (og således udløse et »brandudsalg«), hvilket ville få alvorlige følger for udlån til realøkonomien og måske også skabe en nedadgående spiral for aktivernes værdi.
Compatibility of aid
Finansielle kooperativer låner derimod ikke ud til realøkonomien.
After having established that the cooperative guarantee scheme is State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty, the Commission must establish if that aid could be found compatible with the internal market.
De har også en vedtægtsbestemt ret til at begrænse andelshavernes udtræk [86], således at ethvert ukontrolleret frasalg af aktiver i princippet kan undgås.
Article 107(1) of the Treaty provides that State aid shall be incompatible with the internal market and therefore be prohibited, save as otherwise provided in the Treaty.
Dette understreger en vigtig forskel mellem indskud og andele med hensyn til deres systemiske virkning.
Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 107 of the Treaty subsequently define two categories of compatible aid.
Det er også klart, at andelshavere i finansielle kooperativer ud fra et juridisk synspunkt er kapitalejere i et selskab med begrænset ansvar.
First, Article 107(2) of the Treaty lists categories of State aid that are automatically exempted from the prohibition principle, but the cooperative guarantee scheme does not fall within any of those categories.
Som en konsekvens af denne status er de individuelle andelshavere i finansielle kooperativer retligt set udsat for muligheden for at miste hele eller en del af deres oprindelige kapitalindskud.
Second, Article 107(3) of the Treaty covers several categories of aid that may be considered compatible with the internal market.
I denne forbindelse konstaterer Kommissionen også, at BNB's direktør ikke bekræftede, at andele i finansielle kooperativer kunne sidestilles med indlån i et pengeinstitut [87].
In theory, subparagraphs (b) or (c) of Article 107(3) of the Treaty could apply.
Kommissionen konstaterer også, at individuelle andelshavere i finansielle kooperativer er anderledes stillet i den såkaldte »vandfaldsstruktur« [88] i tilfælde af afvikling eller konkurs i forhold til en indehaver af indskud i et pengeinstitut.
With respect to Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, the Commission has explained in guidelines how it will apply the exemption laid down in that provision to certain types of aid.
Pengeinstitutter er regulerede enheder, for hvilke tilsynsmyndigheden sikrer, at der er en vis mængde kapital til rådighed.
The Commission observes, however, that the measure does not correspond to any of the types of aid covered by those guidelines.
Denne kapital udgør en første stødpude i tilfælde af likvidation eller konkurs.
Moreover, neither Belgium nor ARCO have given any indication of an objective of common interest for the purposes of that provision.
I tilfælde af en likvidation eller konkurs er de de første, der bliver ramt.
With respect to Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty, the Commission observes that the Belgian State argues that, if the Commission concludes that the cooperative guarantee scheme involves State aid, the measure should be evaluated under Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty.
På grundlag af argumenterne i betragtning 121 til 123 konkluderer Kommissionen, at garantiordningen for kooperativer slet og ret beskytter finansielle kooperativer og deres individuelle andelshavere mod konsekvenserne af deres tidligere investeringer.
That provision allows aid to be declared compatible with the internal market if the aid is needed to remedy a serious disturbance of the economy of a Member State.
Det er imidlertid ikke en hensigtsmæssig foranstaltning for at undgå en alvorlig forstyrrelse i den belgiske økonomi.
However, Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty necessitates a restrictive interpretation of what can be considered a serious disturbance of a Member State's economy.
Der var allerede indført andre foranstaltninger for at stabilisere det belgiske finansielle system og navnlig banker og andre finansielle institutioner, som de finansielle kooperativer investerede i. Den belgiske indskudsgarantiordning beskyttede indskud op til 100000 EUR, og den belgiske stat hjalp Fortis, KBC, Dexia og Ethias med rekapitaliseringer, likviditetsindsprøjtninger, foranstaltninger vedrørende værdiforringede aktiver samt ad hoc-foranstaltninger.
The disturbance in question must affect the whole of the economy of a Member State and not merely the economy of one of its regions or areas of territory [81].
Kommissionen konkluderer, at det ikke var nødvendigt at beskytte individuelle andelshavere i finansielle kooperativer, som i sidste ende er selskaber med begrænset ansvar.
When the financial crisis reached its first culmination point in the autumn of 2008, the Commission decided in the 2008 Banking Communication that Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty would become available to evaluate State aid measures undertaken to address the problems of financial institutions [82].
Med hensyn til skrivelsen fra Rådet for Finansiel Stabilitet bemærker Kommissionen, at den blot omhandler udvidelsen af dækningen af indskudsgarantiordningen og indførelsen af garantiordningen for »branche 21«-forsikringsprodukter.
Outside the financial sector, the Commission also developed under Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty the temporary Union framework for State aid measures to support access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis (‘Temporary Framework’) [83].
Angående foranstaltningens forholdsmæssighed konstaterer Kommissionen, at foranstaltningen i sin udformning ikke i tilstrækkelig grad beskytter mod diskrimination [90].
However, that framework does not apply to the measure.
Garantiordning for kooperativers frivillige karakter i kombination med det åbenbare fravær af en levedygtighedstest skaber et incitament til kun at deltage, når det står klart, at garantien vil blive udløst.
Instead it aims at the real economy by enabling Member States to take suitable measures to improve access to finance for undertakings willing to invest during the financial crisis in a period when bank financing became scarcer.
I et sådant scenarie kan den begunstigede benytte garantien, samtidig med at den pågældende i vid udstrækning undgår betaling af garantigebyrer indtil allersidste øjeblik før afvikling.
The problems of ARCO are not related to a lack of banking financing but to assets (i.e. Dexia shares) whose valuation had to be adjusted downward.
Kommissionen mener også, at den kooperative garantiordning unødigt fordrejer markedets normale funktion.
Moreover, the cooperative guarantee scheme — which guarantees 100 % of a liability instrument — is not covered by any of the aid categories discussed in that framework under heading 4.3.
Foranstaltningen har gjort det muligt for ARCO at beskytte sin markedsposition på det private marked for investeringsprodukter, hvilket har kunnet have eller fik negativ indvirkning på konkurrenternes markedsandele og rentabilitet, idet de ikke havde adgang til garantiordningen.
As financial cooperatives are not financial institutions for the purposes of the 2008 Banking Communication [84], the aid will have to be evaluated directly under the Treaty.
Foranstaltningen kan derfor ikke betragtes som forenelig med det indre marked, idet den hverken er hensigtsmæssig, nødvendig eller forholdsmæssig i forhold til traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra b), og idet den ikke er omfattet af nogen anden bestemmelse vedrørende statsstøttes forenelighed.
To comply with the general criteria for compatibility under Article 107(3) of the Treaty, the measure has to comply with the following conditions [85]:
Beregning af støttebeløbet
Appropriateness
Hvad angår beregningen af det støttebeløb, der skal søges tilbage fra ARCO, tager Kommissionen højde for følgende kriterier og faktiske omstændigheder [91]:
The aid has to be well targeted in order to be able to effectively achieve the objective of remedying a serious disturbance in the economy.
Det maksimale beløb for udtræk i henhold til ARCO's vedtægter, som er begrænset til 10 % af den samlede kapital eller til 10 % af andelshaverne [92]
It would not be the case if the measure were not appropriate to remedy the disturbance.
kun individuelle andelshavere er omfattet af garantiordningen for kooperativer
Necessity
den særlige udformning af den kooperative garantiordning, som på den ene side var frivillig, idet den overlod valget om at deltage eller ej til de finansielle kooperativer, og på den anden side også gav finansielle kooperativer med høj risiko for konkurs eller likvidation mulighed for at deltage i ordningen (således som det skete, da generalforsamlingerne i ARCOFIN, ARCOPAR og ARCOPLUS den 8. december 2011, kort tid efter at de blev omfattet af ordningen, godkendte forslagene fra deres bestyrelser om at træde i frivillig likvidation)
The aid measure must, in its amount and form, be necessary to achieve the objective.
ARCO, længe før virksomheden gik konkurs, befandt sig allerede i en kritisk økonomisk situation, idet den (som beskrevet i betragtning 38, 44 og 82) havde foretaget betydelige investeringer i aktier i Dexia, en bank der i efteråret 2008 måtte reddes fra konkurs af den belgiske, franske og luxembourgske stat med det resultat, at enhver væsentlig nedgang i værdien af Dexias aktier fortsat var til skade for ARCOs finansielle situation, navnlig fordi ARCO havde finansieret sin deltagelse i redningen af Dexia ved at overtage noget af gælden
Thus, it must be of the minimum amount necessary to reach the objective, and take the most appropriate form to remedy the disturbance.
ARCO i 2011 betalte tilmeldingsgebyr og den årlige garantipræmie.
Proportionality