natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
En markedsinvestor ville ikke anse det for acceptabelt at dække tab på denne måde, uden at der er entydige og troværdige udsigter til forbedrede resultater for virksomheden og et acceptabelt afkast.
Indeed, in this respect, VFAB refers only to the by-laws of VFAB in which the mission of the undertaking is defined first as ‘covering the region's need of air transport’ [30] (‘tillgodose regionens behov av flygtransporter’) and later as ‘serving civil aviation at Västerås Airport’ [31] (‘betjäna den civila luftfarten vid Västerås Flygplats’).
Sverige har ikke forelagt oplysninger som følge af den tvivl, der blev givet udtryk for i afgørelsen om at indlede undersøgelsesproceduren med hensyn til de meget optimistiske prognoser, som angiveligt blev udarbejdet før det første aktionærlån.
Neither of these formulations makes reference to the three alleged public service obligations and in any case they cannot be considered as clear and actual SGEI obligations (they rather appear to constitute a general description of the object of the undertaking).
Derfor indebærer aktionærlånet en økonomisk fordel for VFAB, som virksomheden ikke ville have opnået under normale markedsvilkår.
The MEO principle
Selektivitet
An advantage within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU is any economic benefit which an undertaking would not have obtained under normal market conditions, i.e. in the absence of state intervention.
Hvis en statslig foranstaltning skal være omfattet af anvendelsesområdet for artikel 107, stk. 1, i EUF-traktaten, skal den begunstige »visse virksomheder eller visse produktioner«.
Only the effect of the measure on the undertaking is relevant, neither the cause nor the objective of the state intervention.
Det er altså kun foranstaltninger, som begunstiger virksomheder selektivt, som er omfattet af begrebet statsstøtte.
Whenever the financial situation of the undertaking is improved as a result of state intervention, an advantage is present.
Fordrejning af konkurrencen og påvirkning af samhandelen
In the present case, in order to determine whether the shareholder contributions grant VFAB an advantage that it would not have received under normal market conditions, the Commission has to compare the conduct of the public authorities providing the capital injections to that of an MEO who is guided by prospects of profitability in the long term.
Når støtte, som ydes af en medlemsstat, styrker en virksomheds stilling i forhold til andre virksomheder, der konkurrerer på det indre marked, skal det anses, at sidstnævnte virksomheder er påvirket af støtten [34].
The assessment should leave aside any positive repercussions on the economy of the region in which the airport is located, since the Court has clarified that the relevant question for applying the MEO principle is whether ‘in similar circumstances a private shareholder, having regard to the foreseeability of obtaining a return and leaving aside all social, regional-policy and sectoral considerations, would have subscribed the capital in question’.
De økonomiske fordele, som blev indrømmet gennem aktionærlånene til VAFB, styrkede virksomhedens økonomiske stilling, da lufthavnsoperatøren kunne fortsætte sin virksomhed uden at behøve at afholde alle de dermed forbundne omkostninger.
In Stardust Marine the Court stated that, ‘[…] in order to examine whether or not the state has adopted the conduct of a prudent investor operating in a market economy, it is necessary to place oneself in the context of the period during which the financial support measures were taken in order to assess the economic rationality of the state's conduct, and thus to refrain from any assessment based on a later situation.’
Som det fremgår af analysen ovenfor udgør lufthavnsdrift økonomisk virksomhed.
Furthermore, the Court declared in the EDF case that, ‘[…] for the purposes of showing that, before or at the same time as conferring the advantage, the Member State took that decision as a shareholder, it is not enough to rely on economic evaluations made after the advantage was conferred, on a retrospective finding that the investment made by the Member State concerned was actually profitable, or on subsequent justifications of the course of action actually chosen’ [32].
Der forekommer på den ene side konkurrence mellem lufthavne om luftfartsselskaber og den dertil hørende flytrafik (passagerer og godstrafik) og på den anden side konkurrence mellem forskellige lufthavnsoperatører, som kan konkurrere om at blive tildelt forvaltningen af en bestemt lufthavn.
In order to be able to apply the MEO principle, the Commission has to place itself at the time when each decision to provide public funds to VFAB was taken.
Navnlig hvad angår lavprisselskaber og charterselskaber kan også lufthavne, som ikke ligger i samme opland, og til og med lufthavne, som ligger i forskellige medlemsstater, konkurrere med hinanden om at få disse luftfartsselskaber som kunder.
The Commission must also base its assessment on the information and assumptions which were at the disposal of the relevant local authorities at the time when the decision regarding the financial arrangements of the infrastructure measures at stake was taken.
Som anført i punkt 40 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2005 og som bekræftet i punkt 45 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 kan selv små lufthavne ikke udelukkes fra anvendelsesområdet for artikel 107, stk. 1, i EUF-traktaten.
In the opening decision, the Commission set out its preliminary analysis of why the shareholders' contributions to VFAB constitutes an advantage to the firm and why, in particular, the MEO principle would not be met.
Det fremgår også eksplicit af punkt 45 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014, at den omstændighed, at »den virksomhed, der modtager offentlig støtte, er relativt lille, (…) ikke i sig selv [udelukker], at samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne kan blive påvirket«.
The Commission first noted that VFAB has generated considerable losses for more than 10 years.
Västerås lufthavn er blevet benyttet af mellem 113626 og 242376 passagerer i den periode, som er omfattet af den formelle undersøgelse, og benyttes aktuelt af omkring 273000 passagerer om året (tal fra 2013).
Indeed, already at the time of the first shareholder contribution in 2003, VFAB was already at least (according to the information available to the Commission) in its fifth year of consistent losses.
En betydelig del af flytrafikken kommer fra andre medlemsstater, og der er eller har været internationale ruter fra Västerås til destinationer som f.eks. London-Stansted, Alicante og Malaga.
These losses continued without interruption throughout the period covered by the investigation such that, at the time of each shareholder contribution, VFAB was still loss-making.
Konklusionen er derfor, at VFAB driver virksomhed på et marked, som er åbent for konkurrence på europæisk plan.
In these circumstances the Commission consider it very unlikely that a private investor would be willing to contribute with capital injections of in total SEK 194 million (approx.
På den baggrund må det anses, at den offentlige finansiering, som VFAB er blevet tildelt, fordrejer eller truer med at fordreje konkurrencen og i det mindste har potentiale til at påvirke samhandelen.
EUR 21,4 million) in order to cover such losses.
På baggrund af ovenstående finder Kommissionen, at den offentlige finansiering, som VFAB blev bevilget i form af aktionærlån i perioden 2003-2010 (foranstaltning 1), udgør statsstøtte som omhandlet i artikel 107 i EUF-traktaten.
Since VFAB has been fully state-owned during the entire period in question, there are no private owners with which a comparison could be made.
Støttens lovlighed
The compliance with the MEO would in these circumstances only be demonstrated on the basis of strong prospects of long-term profitability of VFAB.
I henhold til artikel 108, stk. 3, i EUF-traktaten skal medlemsstaterne underrette Kommissionen om enhver påtænkt indførelse eller ændring af støtteforanstaltninger, og de må ikke indføre de påtænkte foranstaltninger, før underretningsproceduren har ført til endelig afgørelse.
Prior to the opening decision, the Swedish authorities argued that the shareholder contributions were made based on financial analysis similar to the ones made by the private owner of Skavsta airport (see 52 of the opening decision).
Idet VFAB allerede kan råde over disse midler, mener Kommissionen, at Sverige ikke har respekteret forbuddet i artikel 108, stk. 3, i EUF-traktaten.
However, as already noted in the opening decision, Sweden provided no concrete information showing that Skavsta's owners would have provided capital in circumstances similar to those of Västerås, and that comparability was unlikely also because Skavsta has a passenger levels 10 times higher than Västerås.
Forenelighed
No additional evidence has been provided on this point in course of the formal investigation.
Anvendelsen af retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 og 2005
Prior to the opening decision, the Swedish authorities submitted very limited evidence intended to show that the City of Västerås and LFV Holding acted as normal market economy investors when contributing the capital.
Artikel 107, stk. 3, i EUF-traktaten indeholder visse undtagelser fra hovedreglerne i artikel 107, stk. 1, i EUF-traktaten, hvoraf det fremgår, at statsstøtte er uforenelig med det indre marked.
As noted in the opening decision, there are indications that the SCAA performed some kind of market analysis before its acquisition of shares in VFAB in 2000.
Retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 udgør i denne sammenhæng en ramme for vurdering af, hvorvidt støtte til lufthavne kan anses for at være forenelig med det indre marked i overensstemmelse med artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), i EUF-traktaten.
According to the forecasts on which the purchase was made, the number of passengers at Västerås Airport should grow from 120000 in 1999 to 600000 within 8 years, which would result in a sustainable profitability of SEK 7-10 million per year.
I overensstemmelse med retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 vil Kommissionen anvende de forenelighedsregler, som var gældende på det tidspunkt, hvor den ulovlige investeringsstøtte blev ydet, hvis den ulovlige investeringsstøtte blev ydet før den 4. april 2014.
It was estimated that VFAB would reach break-even in 2003 with a passenger frequency of 400000.
Kommissionen har allerede i betragtning 136-138 fastslået, at aktionærlånet udgør ulovlig statsstøtte, som blev ydet før den 4. april 2014.
These assumptions appeared however, as indicated in the opening decision, very optimistic in view of the previous performance of Västerås Airport, and no further evidence has been provided to substantiate the solidity of these projections (indeed, as described in Table 1 above, the passenger frequency declined instead of five-folding).
Sondring mellem investeringsstøtte og driftsstøtte
By the end of 2006, LFV Holding AB sold its share back to the City of Västerås for SEK 1.
På baggrund af ovennævnte bestemmelser i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 skal Kommissionen fastslå, om den pågældende foranstaltning udgør ulovlig investerings- eller driftsstøtte.
According to the information submitted by the Swedish authorities, the reason was that the SCAA was not prepared to continue to provide shareholders' contributions as loss coverage to VFAB.
I henhold til punkt 25, litra r), i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 defineres investeringsstøtte som »støtte til finansiering af anlægsaktiver, især med henblik på at dække behovet for finansiering af kapitalomkostninger«.
The Commission further notes that according to VFAB's comments in the course of the investigation, the purpose of the shareholders' contributions from the City of Västerås and LFV holding was to ‘cover the losses arisen in VFAB's operations’ [33].
I henhold til punkt 25, litra r), i retningslinjerne kan investeringsstøtte både omfatte et beløb, som i sin helhed udbetales som forhåndsudbetalinger (til dækning af de første investeringsomkostninger) og støtte udbetalt i periodiske rater (til dækning af kapitalomkostninger vedrørende årlige afskrivninger og finansieringsomkostninger).
VFAB has argued that most of these operations are non-economic and considers that the question whether the shareholders' contributions comply with the MEO principle has to be assessed only in relation to the return on the arrangements with the commercial airlines which, in VFAB's view, is the only part of the airport's operations that is economic.
Driftsstøtte handler derimod om at dække alle eller visse driftsomkostninger for en lufthavn, som er defineret som »de underliggende omkostninger ved levering af lufthavnsydelser, herunder udgiftsposter som personaleomkostninger, udliciterede tjenesteydelser, kommunikationsydelser, affaldshåndtering, energi, vedligeholdelse, husleje og administration, men ikke kapitalomkostninger, markedsføringsstøtte eller andre incitamenter, som en lufthavn yder luftfartsselskaber, eller omkostninger, der kan betragtes som offentlige«.
As these agreements were incrementally profitable, VFAB argues that the shareholders' contributions were in line with the MEO principle.
På baggrund af disse definitioner kan det konkluderes, at aktionærlånet, som blev anvendt til at dække VFAB's vedvarende tab på driften, kan klassificeres som driftsstøtte til fordel for VFAB.
Sweden has not contested these comments.
Driftsstøttes forenelighed i henhold til retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014
The Commission first, for the reasons indicated above, does not accept VFAB's contention that the airports operations would have been largely non-economic and that the shareholders' contributions compliance with the MEO principle should be assessed only in relation to the return on VFAB's agreements with commercial airlines.
I afsnit 5.1 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 fastlægges de kriterier, som Kommissionen vil anvende, når den vurderer, om driftsstøtte er forenelig med det indre marked i overensstemmelse med artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), i EUF-traktaten.
VFAB is an undertaking and, from the shareholders' perspective, compliance with the MEO principle should be assessed in view of VFAB's financial result as a whole.
I overensstemmelse med punkt 172 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 vil Kommissionen anvende disse kriterier på alle sager vedrørende driftsstøtte, herunder udestående anmeldelser og ulovlige, uanmeldte støttesager.
In any case VFAB have not provided any substantiated figure that would allow separating its economic and non-economic activity.
I henhold til punkt 137 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014 kan ulovlig driftsstøtte, der er ydet inden overgangsperiodens begyndelse (inklusive støtte udbetalt før den 4. april 2014), erklæres for forenelig med det indre marked i et omfang, der svarer til de udækkede driftsomkostninger, hvis følgende betingelser er opfyldt:
As regards the prospects that VFAB's results would provide a return on the shareholders' contributions that would have been acceptable to a private operator, the Commission notes that neither Sweden nor interested parties have submitted any information in the course of the investigation intended to alleviate the Commission's preliminary findings that the shareholders' contributions were not compliant with the MEO principle.
Bidrag til et veldefineret mål af fælles interesse (punkt 113 og 114 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014).
Indeed, no evidence has been submitted that would complement the very limited evidence submitted prior to the opening and that would demonstrate that, in spite of the strong prima facie indications to the contrary (as summarised in recitals 119 to 121) the shareholders' contributions were provided on the basis of reasonable assumptions of a return that would be acceptable to an MEO in a similar situation.
Denne betingelse er bl.a. opfyldt, hvis støtten øger unionsborgernes mobilitet og forbindelsen til regionerne ved at etablere et adgangspunkt for flyvninger inden for EU.
On the contrary, the Commission finds that its preliminary conclusions are corroborated by VFAB's own statements (see recital 121), which Sweden has not contested, that the shareholders' contributions were not given with a view to obtaining a return that would be acceptable to an MEO, but for the purpose of covering the losses generated by VFAB's operations on a continuous basis.
Et øget antal urentable lufthavne bidrager derimod ikke til et mål af fælles interesse.
Such continuous coverage of losses without any clear and credible prospects of an improvement in the performance of the firm leading to an acceptable return would not be acceptable to an MEO.
Behov for statslig indgriben (punkt 116–118 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014).
Sweden has not submitted any information in respect of the doubts expressed in the opening decisions regarding in particular the very optimistic forecasts allegedly made prior to the first shareholders' contributions, nor has it submitted any evidence that the subsequent contributions were made on the basis of any form of assessment of future returns as opposed to the mere coverage of losses.
Støtten bør kun ydes i de situationer, hvor den kan føre til en væsentlig forbedring, som markedet ikke selv kan levere.
Conclusion
I den forbindelse har Kommissionen konstateret, at mindre lufthavne ofte har mindre gunstige forudsætninger for at udvikle sine tjenester og tiltrække privat finansiering end større lufthavne i Unionen.
In view of the above, the Commission considers that an MEO would not have provided the shareholders' contributions.
Derfor kan mindre lufthavne under de nuværende markedsbetingelser have problemer med at sikre finansiering af deres drift uden offentlige midler.
The evidence provided by the Member State does not substantiate that an assessment that would have been acceptable to an MEO was carried out when those contribution took place, but rather that the shareholders' contributions were intended to cover VFAB's losses on a continuous basis without a link to the performance of the firm.
Under de nuværende markedsbetingelser er Kommissionen derfor af følgende opfattelse:
Therefore the shareholders' contributions provide an economic advantage to VFAB which it would not have obtained on normal market conditions.
Lufthavne med op til 200000 passagerer om året er muligvis ikke i stand til i vidt omfang selv at dække deres driftsomkostninger.
Selectivity
Lufthavne med mellem 200000 og 700000 passagerer om året er muligvis ikke i stand til selv at dække en væsentlig del af deres driftsomkostninger.
To fall within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU a state measure must favour ‘certain undertakings or the production of certain goods’.
Lufthavne med mellem 700000 og 1 mio. passagerer om året bør generelt være i stand til selv at dække en stor del af deres driftsomkostninger.
Hence, only those measures favouring undertakings in a selective way fall under the notion of State aid.
Støttens virkning som incitament (punkt 124 i retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2014).
When aid granted by a Member State strengthens the position of an undertaking compared with other undertakings competing in the internal market, the latter must be regarded as affected by that aid [34].
Denne betingelse er opfyldt, hvis det er sandsynligt, at den økonomiske aktivitet i den pågældende lufthavn ville have været væsentligt lavere uden driftsstøtten, dog under hensyntagen til eventuel ydelse af investeringsstøtte samt trafikniveauet.
The economic advantage granted by the shareholder contributions to VAFB strengthened its economic position, as the airport operator was able to continue its business without bearing all of the inherent costs.
Driftsstøtte til lufthavne skal for at være proportionel være begrænset til det minimum, der er nødvendigt, for at den støttemodtagende aktivitet kan finde sted.
Competition takes place, on the one hand, between airports to attract airlines and the corresponding air traffic (passengers and freight), and, on the other hand, between airport managers, who may compete between themselves to be entrusted with the management of a given airport.
Undgåelse af uforholdsmæssigt negativ påvirkning af konkurrencen og samhandelen (punkt 131 i retningslinjerne for luftfart).
Moreover, in particular with respect to low-cost carriers and charter operators, airports that are not located in the same catchment areas and even in different Member States can also be in competition with each other to attract those airlines.
Ved vurdering af driftsstøttens forenelighed med det indre marked vil Kommissionen tage hensyn til fordrejningen af konkurrencevilkårene og påvirkningen af samhandelen.
As mentioned in point 40 of the 2005 Aviation Guidelines and reaffirmed in point 45 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, it is not possible to exclude even small airports from the scope of application of Article 107(1) of the TFEU.
Hvis en lufthavn ligger i det samme opland som en anden lufthavn med overskydende kapacitet, skal forretningsplanen, som skal være baseret på en sund prognose for passager- og fragttrafikken, udpege de sandsynlige virkninger for trafikken i andre lufthavne i oplandet.
Furthermore, point 45 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines explicitly states that ‘the relatively small size of the undertaking which receives public funding does not, as such, exclude the possibility that trade between Member States might be affected’.
Vurdering af foreneligheden af foranstaltning 1
Västerås Airport has served between 113626 and 242376 passengers per year in the period covered by the formal investigation and currently serves ca.
Bidrag til et veldefineret mål af fælles interesse
273000 passengers per year (figures for 2013).
Driftsstøtten til VFAB havde til formål at opretholde lufthavnens drift og gøre det muligt at opretholde regelmæssige nationale såvel som internationale flyforbindelser.
A significant proportion of air traffic originates from other Member States and there are, and have been, international flights from Västerås to destinations such as London-Stansted, Alicante and Malaga.
Västerås er Sveriges femtestørste by målt på befolkningstal.
It must be concluded therefore that VFAB operates in a market open to competition on a European scale.
Byen ligger i et tætbefolket og økonomisk velstående område i Mellemsverige.
In light of these facts, it must be considered that public funding to VFAB distorts or threatens to distort competition and has at least a potential effect on trade.
Allerede i 1999 var der 450000 indbyggere, som havde højst 45 minutters rejsetid til lufthavnen — svarende til ca. 5,5 % af Sveriges samlede befolkningstal.
In light of the considerations above, the Commission finds that the public funding granted to VFAB in the form of shareholders' contributions between 2003 and 2010 (Measure 1) constitutes State aid within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU.
Inden for lufthavnens opland, som defineres som højst en times rejsetid, var der én million indbyggere.
Lawfulness of the aid
Ifølge de svenske luftfartsmyndigheders beregninger fra 2000 var ca. 59 % af de passagerer, der benyttede Mälardalsregionens lufthavne, bosat i området.
Pursuant to Article 108(3) of the TFEU, Member States must notify any plans to grant or alter aid, and may not put the proposed measures into effect until the notification procedure has resulted in a final decision.
De nærmeste lufthavne ligger imidlertid mere end 100 km væk, dvs. over en times rejsetid (med undtagelse af Bromma, hvortil rejsetiden er 59 minutter med bil).
As the funds were already put at the disposal of VFAB, the Commission considers that Sweden has not respected the prohibition of Article 108(3) of the TFEU.
Lufthavnen har ruter inden for landet (i det mindste frem til 2006) og til destinationer i EU (dvs. Oslo, København og London) og har således bidraget til at øge unionsborgernes mobilitet og forbindelsen til regionen ved at etablere et adgangspunkt for flyvninger inden for Unionen et centralt sted i en tætbefolket region.
Compatibility