natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Dette styrker konklusionen om, at SACE er blevet anvendt af staten som et instrument til at gennemføre den primære mission, nemlig at fremme landets økonomiske udvikling.
In that respect, the Commission recalls that in the business plans and/or projections available at the time there was no expected stream of future profits which could demonstrate that the market value would be close to EUR 70 million.
Af referatet af mødet i SACE's bestyrelse den 26. maj 2009, hvor bestyrelsen tilkendegav, at den havde til hensigt at støtte SACE BT gennem den anden, tredje og fjerde foranstaltning, fremgår det ligeledes, at denne støtte også var motiveret af det bidrag, som SACE BT kunne yde til de italienske virksomheders udvikling [144].
In addition, since the company was not profitable pre-crisis, one could not expect that, once the macroeconomic situation and the financial markets would normalise, the company would automatically return to adequate profitability.
Det fremgår endvidere, at de foranstaltninger, der blev iværksat under finanskrisen til støtte for SACE BT, muligvis også er knyttet til gruppens rolle i indsatsen for at genoprette den italienske økonomi.
The Commission therefore concludes that, based on the absence of expected cash flow stream projected for SACE BT, there was no indication that the market value thereof after the implementation of third and fourth measures could be equal or higher than EUR 70 million.
Der foreligger tilstrækkelige oplysninger til at begrunde den påstand, at SACE BT's mission går videre end en privat økonomisk operatørs mål.
As a result, a prudent private investor would have preferred to let SACE BT go bankrupt (or sell it, if a buyer could be found) instead of proceeding with its recapitalisation.
En sådan mission blev også anerkendt i referatet af mødet i SACE BT's bestyrelse (»Consiglio di Amministrazione«) den 27. maj 2009 i forbindelse med drøftelsen af det reviderede budget for SACE BT for 2009, hvor der var behov for en rekapitalisering på 70 mio. EUR for at overholde solvenskravene:
Hence, also this additional analysis shows that SACE, when granting the third and fourth measures, did not behave as a market economy investor.
»[…]« [145], [146].
As a secondary argument, an investor may have used another indicator to value the company, such as the valuation method of multiplying a price-to-book multiple (P/B), derived from comparable companies the shares of which are traded on stock exchange, by the book value of the company.
Med hensyn til den anden foranstaltning udtalte SACE's risikostyringsafdeling i en note af 19. marts 2009 [147] (som havde til formål at bekræfte, at SACE's estimerede rentabilitet var i overensstemmelse med de tegnede risici) sig positivt til SACE's ledelse om selskabets deltagelse i genforsikringsaftalen.
To the Commission's knowledge Euler-Hermes is the only European credit insurance company quoted in the stock exchange, and hence its P/B may be observed.
På sit møde den 1. april 2009 godkendte SACE's bestyrelse SACE's deltagelse i SACE BT's skadesexcedent-aftale for det beløb, der ikke var dækket af genforsikringsselskaber på markedet, og op til et potentielt tab på 48 mio. EUR på de samme vilkår som dem, der accepteres af private genforsikringsselskaber.
It is a company of relatively low risk [124], since it proved to overcome the past downturns relatively well, was profitable in 2008 and 1Q2009 and even distributed dividends in 2008.
Denne foranstaltning til fordel for SACE BT ville hjælpe selskabet med at fastholde dets forsikringskapacitet, navnlig over for små og mellemstore virksomheder [148].
Hence, the value of a higher risk company such as SACE BT would fall below the valuation resulting from applying P/B multiple of Euler-Hermes.
Endelig viser Kommissionens vurdering i betragtning 177, 178 og 179, at SACE har tætte forbindelser til de italienske offentlige myndigheder, og at selskabet varetog opgaver inden for økonomiske områder, som traditionelt har hørt under førstnævnte.
P/B of Euler-Hermes at 1Q2009 was of around 0,60 [125].
I betragtning af den økonomiske og politiske betydning af de omhandlede foranstaltninger og de fortsat tætte forbindelser mellem staten og SACE, finder Kommissionen, at der er tilstrækkelig begrundelse for at tilregne den anden, tredje og fjerde foranstaltning til staten.
Hence, applying this multiple to SACE BT expected book value at the end of 2009 of EUR 94,2 million, the value of the company would amount to EUR 56,52 million, if the risk profiles of the companies were comparable.
Selektivitet
However, the Commission notes that SACE BT was not profitable pre-crisis (contrary to its own business plan) and there was no business plan showing the possibility for it to return to profitability.
Med hensyn til den anden foranstaltning bemærker Kommissionen, at Italien har oplyst, at SACE i henhold til SACE's vedtægter havde mulighed for at indgå genforsikrings- og coassuranceaftaler med andre private forsikringsselskaber end SACE BT [149].
As a result it can be considered a significantly riskier company than Euler-Hermes at the time, and hence the value of the company at the times of granting the measures would have been significantly lower than EUR 56,52 million.
Trods denne bestemmelse påviste Italien ikke, at SACE kunne have tilbudt genforsikring til alle private forsikringsselskaber på de samme vilkår.
Furthermore, Italy also acknowledged that the market circumstances were such that the market valuation of the insurance companies at the times was highly depressed [126].
Under alle omstændigheder er det blevet påvist, at SACE kun indgik en genforsikringsaftale med SACE BT, og at vilkårene ikke var i overensstemmelse med markedsvilkårene.
In conclusion, similarly to the application of a valuation based on future cash flows, the application of the price to book valuation would also lead a private investor to conclude that it is better off with letting its subsidiary go bankrupt instead of investing an additional 70 million in it.
Der er derfor ingen tvivl om, at denne specifikke foranstaltning vedrørende SACE BT er selektiv.
Also as a result of the above analysis, it can therefore be concluded that SACE was worse off after granting the third and the fourth measures than in the liquidation scenario.
Med hensyn til den tredje foranstaltning omfattede den kun ét selskab, SACE BT.
The Commission further notes that, as stressed by SACE, several market investors injected further capital into their export credit subsidiary during the crisis.
Som følge deraf er foranstaltningen selektiv.
Given the high level of uncertainty and urgency, fully fledged projections may not have been immediately available to these investors at the time of their investments.
Med hensyn til den fjerde foranstaltning omfattede den kun ét selskab, SACE BT.
However, the export credit companies which received recapitalisations from their shareholders had a track record of profitability pre-crisis, such that it was more likely that a return to profitability could be achieved.
Fordrejning af konkurrencen
However, SACE BT had a track record of losses.
Den anden foranstaltning gav SACE BT mulighed for at tegne flere forsikringer, end det kunne have gjort uden SACE's genforsikring, og bære færre risici for egen regning.
In front of a subsidiary which was already loss making or just break-even in the years before the crisis (whereas its business plan anticipated a steady increase in profitability), a private investor would be more reluctant to inject a large amount of capital.
Kommissionen konkluderer derfor, at den anden foranstaltning fordrejede konkurrencen [150].
It would verify whether there is any hope to make that company sufficiently profitable one day.
For så vidt angår den tredje og fjerde foranstaltning, anføres det i punkt 3.2 i eksportkreditmeddelelsen, at kapitaltilførsel fra staten til visse virksomheder, som udgør statsstøtte, medmindre staten handler, som en privat investor ville gøre i en markedsøkonomi, fordrejer konkurrencen [151].
The Commission observes that no financial forecasts showing the way to profitability were made in 2009.
Kommissionen tvivler stærkt på, at SACE BT kunne have fortsat sine aktiviteter på normale vilkår uden de foranstaltninger, som SACE iværksatte.
A prudent investor would not invest a large amount of additional capital into the company in such circumstances.
Uden denne kapital ville SACE BT sandsynligvis ikke have kunnet overholde det lovpligtige kapitalkrav og ville have været insolvent.
SACE argues that SACE BT was still in a start-up phase and thus, it was more difficult for the company to cope with the effects of the financial crisis.
Som det fremgår af tabel 6, øgede det i stedet sin tilstedeværelse på markedet betydeligt.
First, the Commission observes that the year 2008, when the crisis broke out, was already the fourth year of activity for SACE BT.
Dermed fordrejede også den tredje og fjerde foranstaltning konkurrencen.
From the Commission's practice, a company is in principle considered as newly created for the first three years following the start of operations in its relevant field of activity [127].
Påvirkning af samhandelen
Secondly, even if it had been true that SACE BT was still in a start-up phase, it is not clear what effect this would have had on the application of the MEIP.
Markedet for eksportkreditforsikring og andre forsikringstjenester, som SACE BT beskæftigede sig med, er åbent for samhandel mellem medlemsstaterne, og mange operatører fra forskellige medlemsstater er aktive i EU.
Indeed, a private investor would still compare the expected market value of the company post-recapitalisation (based on its expected profitability) and compared it with the option of letting the company fail or sell it.
I Italien konkurrerer SACE BT med udenlandske virksomheders datterselskaber (se tabel 6).
Italy and SACE did not demonstrate that, because SACE BT would still be in a start-up phase, SACE could expect from it a higher profitability in the future.
Tabel 6
As indicated in recital 77, the only business plan available at the time just showed a return to break-even accounts in 2011.
SACE BT's position på det italienske marked for kreditforsikring og sikkerhedsstillelse (%) Kilde:
It did not show a return to profits.
Forretningsplan 2010-2011, godkendt af SACE BT's bestyrelse den 4. august 2009, og den justerede forretningsplan 2011-2013, godkendt af SACE BT's bestyrelse den 24. november 2011.
The Commission therefore concludes that the third and the fourth measures constitute an advantage to SACE BT, by providing it with capital it could not have found on the market.
Andre
This capital allowed the company to survive despite the lack of projections indicating that it would produce profits, not even in the long-term.
Som følge deraf og i overensstemmelse med punkt 3.2 i eksportkreditmeddelelsen har enhver fordel, som selskabet indrømmes, en indvirkning på handelen.
Imputability and State resources
Anvendelse af Kommissionens forordning (EF) nr. 1998/2006 af 15. december 2006 om anvendelse af traktatens artikel 87 og 88 på de minimis-støtte [153] (»de minimis-forordningen«)
In recitals 73-78 of the opening decision, the Commission applied the ‘Stardust Marine’ [128] indicators to prove the imputability of the measure, taking into consideration that SACE is fully owned by the State.
Ved forordning (EF) nr. 1998/2006 fastsættes der et loft, hvorunder støtteforanstaltninger ikke anses for at opfylde kriterierne i traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, og derfor ikke er omfattet af anmeldelsespligten i traktatens artikel 108, stk. 3.
According to settled case-law (see, in particular, the Stardust Marine judgment), even if the State is in a position to control a public undertaking and to exercise a dominant influence over its operations, actual exercise of that control in a particular case cannot be automatically presumed.
De støttebeløb, der blev ydet til SACE BT, betyder, at det loft på 200000 EUR, der er anført i de minimis-forordningen, ikke overskrides i forbindelse med kun den anden foranstaltning.
Consequently, it is necessary to determine whether the public authorities must be regarded as having been involved in any way in the adoption of the measures at stake.
I betragtning 128 har Kommissionen beregnet, at støtten under den anden foranstaltning beløber sig til 156000 EUR.
Nonetheless, according to the Stardust Marine judgment:
Italien påberåbte sig dog ikke forordning (EF) nr. 1998/2006 og dokumenterede ikke, at SACE BT opfyldt de betingelser, der er anført i den pågældende forordning, da den anden foranstaltning blev tildelt.
It cannot be demanded that it be demonstrated, on the basis of a precise inquiry, that in the particular case the public authorities specifically incited the public undertaking to take the aid measures in question.
Forordning (EF) nr. 1998/2006 finder endvidere ikke anvendelse på kriseramte virksomheder.
In the first place, having regard to the fact that relations between the State and public undertakings are close, there is a real risk that State aid may be granted through the intermediary of those undertakings in a non-transparent way and in breach of the rules on State aid laid down by the Treaty.
I denne henseende betragtede Italien ikke SACE BT som en kriseramt virksomhed som defineret i rammebestemmelserne for redning og omstrukturering [154].
Moreover, it will, as a general rule, be very difficult for a third party, precisely because of the privileged relations existing between the State and a public undertaking, to demonstrate in a particular case that aid measures taken by such an undertaking were in fact adopted on the instructions of the public authorities.
SACE BT registrerede betydelige tab i både 2008 (ca. 29,5 mio. EUR) og 2009 (ca. 34 mio. EUR), som udløste indgrebet fra dets aktionær i form af en betydelig rekapitalisering.
the fact that the undertaking in question could not take the contested decision without taking account of the requirements of the public authorities;
Som oplyst af Italien var aktiverne allerede ved udgangen af første halvår 2009 utilstrækkelige til at dække reserverne, dvs. at selskabet havde behov for et beløb på 23 mio. EUR ved udgangen af juni 2009 og 68 mio. EUR ved udgangen af 2009 [155].
the fact that, apart from factors of an organic nature which linked the public undertakings to the State, a public undertaking, through the intermediary of which aid had been granted, had to take account of directives issued by a central government body, i.e. Comitato Interministeriale per la Programmazione Economica (CIPE);
Hvis Italien havde til hensigt at tildele de minimis-støtte til SACE BT, burde man desuden have informeret SACE BT skriftligt om det påtænkte støttebeløb (udtrykt med en bruttosubventionsækvivalent) og om dets de minimis-karakter.
the nature of the undertaking's activities and whether such activities are exercised out on the market in normal conditions of competition with private operators;
Italien har ikke fremsendt sådanne dokumenter til Kommissionen.
the legal status of the undertaking (in the sense of its being subject to public law or ordinary company law);
I betragtning af ovennævnte kan Kommissionen ikke betragte den anden foranstaltning som de minimis-støtte.
the intensity of the supervision exercised by the public authorities over the management of the undertaking, or (vii) any other indicator showing, in the particular case, an involvement by the public authorities in the adoption of a measure or the unlikelihood of their not being involved, having regard also to the compass of the measure, its content or the conditions which it contains.
Konklusion om eksistensen af statsstøtte
The Commission further concluded in recital 79 of the opening decision that it was highly unlikely that the measures under investigation had been adopted without any State involvement.
I lyset af ovennævnte konkluderer Kommissionen, at den anden, tredje og fjerde foranstaltning udgør statsstøtte.
In reply to the opening decision, Italy and SACE maintain that none of the four measures is imputable to the State as the decisions were taken by SACE acting in complete independence from the State.
NY STØTTE ELLER EKSISTERENDE STØTTE
Italy provided additional factual elements and justification arguing that the measures are not imputable to the State.
Kommissionen finder, at den anden, tredje og fjerde foranstaltning ikke blev tildelt, inden Italien godkendte eksportkreditmeddelelsen, og de må derfor betegnes som ny støtte.
To assess the case-law invoked by Italy, it has to be noted that in the Olympic Airways case, the Commission decision mentioned the ‘Stardust Marine’ criteria but did not really apply them.
Italien godkendte specifikt henstillingerne i eksportkreditmeddelelsen fra 1997 inden den 14. september 2001, da landet accepterede 2001-versionen af eksportkreditmeddelelsen (se betragtning 5 i indledningsafgørelsen).
The Court observed that in fact the Commission simply assumed the measure was attributable to the Greek State, without mentioning any reasons which might support its assumption [129].
Da den anden, tredje og fjerde foranstaltning blev tildelt efter denne dato, betegnes disse foranstaltninger som ny støtte.
The Court therefore found the Commission's reasoning insufficient to establish imputability to the case, not that the measure was in itself not imputable.
De betragtes derfor som ulovlig støtte, da Italien ikke anmeldte dem til Kommissionen, inden de blev gennemført i 2009.
As regards the SIC-RTP judgment [130], evoked by the Italian authorities, the Commission notes that in that judgment the CFI confirmed the Commission's assessment that certain contested decisions of the formerly State owned company Portugal Telecom (consisting in the acceptance of late payments of the network fee by the public broadcaster RTP) were not imputable to the State.
STØTTENS FORENELIGHED MED DET INDRE MARKED
However, the CFI judgment was based on the specific circumstances of that case.
Da det ovenfor konstateres, at den anden, tredje og fjerde foranstaltning udgør statsstøtte som defineret i traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, skal foranstaltningernes forenelighed med det indre marked vurderes.
In particular, in the SIC-RTP case the CFI noted — inter alia — that the applicant did not contest the Commission's assessment that the payment facilities were mainly caused by a dispute between RTP and Portugal Telecom as to the level of the network fee [131].
Juridisk grundlag for vurderingen af forenelighed
Moreover, the CFI noted that the Commission had found, without being contested by the applicant, that Portugal Telecom's behaviour did not change after its privatisation [132].
Eftersom Italien og SACE ikke betragtede foranstaltningerne som statsstøtte, har de ikke fremlagt nogen begrundelse og dokumentation for, hvordan foranstaltningerne opfylder betingelserne for forenelighed.
It is therefore clear that the CFI assessment concerned a particular situation which was very different from that of the present decision.
Som anført i betragtning 81 påberåbte SACE sig rekapitaliseringsmeddelelsen og omstruktureringsmeddelelsen [157] som mulig begrundelse for foreneligheden af den tredje og fjerde foranstaltning.
The Commission found further evidence on the imputability of the measures in the additional documents submitted by Italy and SACE.
Hverken Italien eller SACE har begrundet, hvordan betingelserne i disse meddelelser opfyldes.
Similar to the opening decision, the ‘Stardust Marine’ indicators are applied in the present decision in order to prove the imputability of the second, third and fourth measures.
Kommissionen minder om, at de undtagelser, der er fastlagt i traktatens artikel 107, stk. 2 og 3, for så vidt angår forbuddet i artikel 107, stk. 1, ikke gælder for markedsmæssige risici i henhold til punkt 3.2 og 4.1 i eksportkreditmeddelelsen (»Statsstøtte […], der ydes til offentlige eller offentligt støttede eksportkreditforsikringsselskaber, der dækker markedsmæssige risici […], fordrejer konkurrencen og kan ikke fritages fra det i EF-traktatens indeholdte forbud mod statsstøtte«).
Even though SACE is not integrated in the public administration and does not exercise official authority, the Commission considers that the following general indicators demonstrate imputability of measures granted by SACE to the State [133]:
Kommissionen finder derfor ikke, at støtte, der tildeles kreditforsikringsselskaber med aktiviteter inden for markedsmæssige risici, normalt kan anses for forenelig.
All members of SACE's Board of Directors (‘Consiglio di Amministrazione’) are nominated on a proposal of the Italian State, according to Article 6(2) of Legislative Decree No 269/2003 [134].
Kommissionen vil dog påvise, at de tre støtteforanstaltninger under ingen omstændigheder opfylder betingelserne for at blive betragtet som forenelige, jf. traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3.
SACE does not exercise its activities ‘on the market in normal conditions of competition with private operators’:
Forenelighed i henhold til Fællesskabets rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte til redning og omstrukturering af kriseramte virksomheder (»rammebestemmelserne for redning og omstrukturering«) [158]
The mission of SACE in 2004 was (and, to this day, continues to be) to maintain and promote the competitiveness of the Italian economy and it essentially covers non-marketable risks within the meaning of the Export-credit Communication (i.e. it operated in the field, which is not considered to be subject to normal conditions of market competition).
I rammebestemmelserne for redning og omstrukturering defineres redningsstøtte som kortvarig støtte, der som udgangspunkt ydes for en periode på højst seks måneder med det formål at give modtageren tid til at udarbejde en detaljeret omstrukturerings- eller likvidationsplan.
The activity of SACE has always benefited of a State guarantee, unlike allowed under the state aid rules for other public undertakings operating in competition with private market operators.
Redningsstøtte er i sagens natur en midlertidig og reversibel form for bistand.
The financial statements of SACE are subject to the control of the Court of Auditors and the Ministry of Economy and Finance has to present annual reports to the Italian Parliament as regards its activity.
Redningsstøtte består normalt af lånegarantier eller lån, der ydes til en kriseramt virksomhed, mens dens fremtid vurderes.
Regarding the influence of the State on the allocation of SACE's resources, the CIPE has to deliberate every year not later than on 30 June on the financial projections as well as financial needs related to certain risks and to define global limits for the non-marketable risks to be assumed by SACE, distinctly for the guarantees of the duration inferior and superior than 24 months [135].
Med hensyn til muligheden for at betragte den anden foranstaltning som forenelig, fordi den udgør redningsstøtte, bemærker Kommissionen, at den anden foranstaltning hverken har karakter af likviditetsstøtte eller primært havde til formål at holde SACE BT i live.
The Statutes of SACE BT provide that besides the legal provisions regularly applying to private insurance companies, SACE BT is also subject to the provision of a law [136] stating that in case a new legal entity is created to provide cover for marketable risks, SACE should hold not less than 30 % of its capital.
Den anden foranstaltning kan derfor ikke betragtes som redningsstøtte.
It would thus appear that even after the constitution of SACE BT the continuous support to it (second, third and fourth measures) was influenced by the Italian State to the extent that the above mentioned legislative provision excluded that such risks be run down and/or sold in their entirety to a market operator [137].
Med hensyn til den tredje og fjerde foranstaltning kan de ikke betragtes som redningsstøtte, da de er permanente og irreversible kapitaltilførsler.
In addition to the general indicators provided in recital 177, other indicators specific to the conditions of granting the second, third and fourth measures can be identified: