natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
BSCA's forretningsplan fra 2001 godtgør ligeledes, at investeringerne og især opførelsen af den nye terminal ikke var planlagt alene med henblik på at opfylde Ryanairs behov, men også samtlige andre luftfartsselskabers behov, som Charleroi lufthavn ville kunne tiltrække.
In addition, the Commission notes that, in the absence of cargo, the cap introduced by the 2006 measures was reached at 637689 passengers in 2006 and at 1737378 passengers in 2007, whereas Charleroi airport already had 2170000 passengers in 2006.
Ifølge forretningsplanen vurderes antallet af passagerer, der afrejser med Ryanair, kun at vokse med 360000-700000 passagerer frem til 2015 (jf. tabel i betragtning 536).
Therefore, keeping the cap on the variable part of the concession fee at the same level should have enabled the level of SOWAER's revenue to be maintained.
Regionen og BSCA foretog derfor ikke investeringerne med henblik på at øge passagertallet hos netop Ryanair, men for at gøre det muligt at udnytte det betydelige trafikpotentiale, som ikke specifikt var knyttet til et enkelt luftfartsselskab.
In the event of exceptional circumstances leading to a fall in the variable amount of the concession fee, SOWAER could renegotiate with BSCA so as to determine the amendments to be made in order to re-establish the balance of their reciprocal undertakings.
Kommissionen konkluderer heraf, at investeringerne ikke specifikt kan tilskrives Ryanair.
The 2006 measures should not therefore have a priori reduced the revenue of the Region/SOWAER group.
Derfor er det ikke relevant at tilregne 2001-kontrakterne meromkostningerne ved investeringerne.
The 2006 measures should therefore have a priori limited the costs of the Region/SOWAER group (see recital 457), while maintaining its revenue (see recital 459).
Forventede driftsrelaterede meromkostninger
The Commission therefore concludes that these measures pass the market economy operator test.
De forventede driftsrelaterede meromkostninger som følge af 2001-kontrakterne svarer til de forventede driftsomkostninger, der direkte kan tilskrives Ryanair, hvortil Kommissionen har lagt en del af de forventede indirekte driftsomkostninger afhængigt af Ryanairs passagertal set i forhold til det samlede passagertal.
As a result, they do not constitute State aid.
Kommissionen understreger, at hvis nettonutidsværdien af 2001-kontrakterne i denne hypotese er positiv, vil den være desto mere positiv, hvis de forventede driftsrelaterede meromkostninger var blevet bestemt ved en lineær regression som foreslået i den undersøgelse, som Oxera forelagde Ryanair.
This measure is therefore excluded from the subsequent analysis.
Forventede merindtægter
2008 amendment to the Region/BSCA agreement
I modsætning til, hvad Ryanair mener, har Kommissionens analyse udelukket enhver restværdi af kontrakten med Ryanair, idet den langsigtede virkning af reklamen på den samlede trafik i Charleroi ikke er tilstrækkeligt dokumenteret og vanskelig at måle.
The amendment to the Region/BSCA agreement of 15 January 2008 introduced the Region's commitment to fund new economic services (marshalling etc.) through the subsidy for certain services associated with the airport activities.
Nettonutidsværdi af 2001-kontrakterne
These activities had previously been carried out directly by the Region.
Resultaterne af beregningen af nettonutidsværdien fremgår af tabel 21.
According to Belgium, this transfer of responsibility was in the interests of the Region/SOWAER group, even though it undertook to fund the associated costs, because it was expecting the costs to fall given that these services were going to be provided by BSCA instead of being provided directly by the Region.
Det ses, at Ryanair sikrer et positivt merbidrag i alle de omhandlede år.
In support of its position, Belgium cites the explanatory memorandum of the draft decree [174] that transferred responsibility to BSCA for the security and safety tasks, as well as a report from the Walloon Parliament of 6 December 2007 on this same decree.
Tabel 21
The explanatory memorandum of this draft decree sets out the objectives in transferring the security and safety tasks to the companies managing Walloon airports, namely:
Forventet cashflow ved 2001-foranstaltningen
generating economies of scale,
Antal afrejsende passagerer med Ryanair
ensuring the profitability of the investments granted by the Region,
Antal afrejsende passagerer i alt
making the management companies responsible for managing and financing the performance of operational tasks,
Indtjening pr. afrejsende passager
optimising the taxation of the services provided by these subsidiaries.
Passagerafgift
As regards the last point, Belgium has clarified that this involved recovering the VAT on the services provided by the subcontractor BSCA Security (for the security task), which the Region could not have recovered otherwise from BSCA.
Landingsafgift
Belgium also cites a report [175] from the Walloon Parliament on the draft decree, in which the Minister for Housing, Transport and Regional Development of the Walloon Region indicates that:
Brændstof
the total potential saving from coordinated management [176] for the Walloon budget up to 2015 is between EUR 12 million (constant policy scenario) and EUR 32 million (scenario involving the recruitment of new officials instead of subcontracting),
Free shop
with regard to VAT, the new structures will enable VAT to be recovered (i.e. 21 % of EUR 7 million each year).
Andre butikker
Lastly, according to Belgium, the services associated with security checks vary significantly from one time of day to another and from one season to another depending on the number of passengers frequenting the airport.
Hotel-, restaurant- og cafévirksomhed
When these tasks were the Region's responsibility, the latter had to ensure a constant presence, even when only a limited service was required, because it was forced to do so by the staff regulations of officials.
Groundhandling
By contrast, the working hours of employees of BSCA and its subcontractor BSCA Security can be adjusted according to the airport's activity level.
Provision/salg
The Commission takes the view that a reasonable market economy operator might have asked BSCA to relieve it of these activities by compensating BSCA for the costs incurred (instead of continuing to carry out these activities itself), since it could expect a reduction in these costs.
Omkostninger pr. afrejsende passager
The information provided by Belgium is sufficient to prove that such a reduction in costs could be expected from the measure.
Reklamebidrag
The Commission therefore concludes that the measure passes the market economy operator test and, as a result, does not constitute State aid.
Indkøb Free shop
Application of the market economy operator test to the capital increase subscribed by SOWAER in December 2002
Miljøfond
On 3 December 2002 SOWAER contributed the sum of EUR 3808660 to purchase 6143 shares in BSCA, representing 49,23 % of BSCA's capital, i.e. a price of EUR 620 per share.
Andre varer og tjenester
The consultancy firm Deloitte & Touche, in its analysis of the 2002 business plan, asserted that the Region/SOWAER had acted as a prudent investor, given that the funds invested in BSCA were expected to produce a return on investment in the order of 27 % in view of BSCA's expected results for the 2001-2010 period [177].
Løn og sociale bidrag
According to the Commission's calculations based on the BSCA 2001 business plan, the net present value of BSCA, after the capital injection, was EUR 65,6 million.
»Contribution marketing«
Given the total number of shares following the capital injection, this net present value corresponds to a price per share of EUR 5287, which is significantly higher than the price paid of EUR 620 per share.
Samlet indtjening pr. afrejsende passager med Ryanair
These points therefore suggest that the capital increase subscribed by SOWAER in December 2002 passes the market economy operator test.
Samlet omkostning pr. afrejsende passager med Ryanair
However, the Commission does not consider itself in a position to rule out the possibility that this capital increase conferred an economic advantage on BSCA.
Merbidrag pr. passager med Ryanair [3-9] [3-9]
The Commission points out that this capital increase was carried out shortly after the 2002 agreements were concluded and that, in addition, BSCA's losses, which necessitated the capital injection, were linked to the basic structure of the system defined by the 2002 agreements.
Samlet merbidrag fra Ryanair (mio. EUR)
Those agreements therefore conferred an advantage on BSCA.
Eftersom Ryanairs merbidrag er positivt i hvert af de omhandlede år, bliver nettonutidsværdien af kontrakten nødvendigvis positiv, uafhængigt af den vægtede gennemsnitlige omkostning ved den omhandlede kapital.
As a result, the Commission cannot rule out that the 2002 capital injection may also have conferred an economic advantage on BSCA.
Kommissionen har ikke desto mindre som illustration beregnet nettonutidsværdien på grundlag af en gennemsnitlig omkostning på mellem 8,7 og 9 %.
If such an advantage exists, it was conferred only on BSCA and is therefore selective.
Diskonteringsfaktoren, der er brugt til at beregne nettonutidsværdien af kontrakterne, er den vægtede gennemsnitlige omkostning ved kapitalen i den enhed, som tildeler støtten, på tidspunktet for tildelingen.
Use of State resources and imputability of the measures to the State
I det foreliggende tilfælde påvirker indtægter og udgifter ved kontrakten med Ryanair BSCA's regnskaber.
In this section, the Commission examines whether the 2002 agreements, the 2002 capital increase and the 2003 investment decision are measures granted through State resources.
Kommissionen har derfor valgt at bruge omkostningen ved BSCA's kapital som diskonteringsfaktor.
To that end, the Commission will determine (i) whether the resources of the Region and SOWAER are State resources and (ii) whether SOWAER's decisions on the measures are imputable to the public authorities.
Beregningen af den vægtede gennemsnitlige omkostning ved kapitalen for BSCA er baseret på de forskellige hypoteser:
State resources
udelukkende egenkapitalfinansiering
The resources available to the Region as a local authority [178] constitute State resources.
en risikopræmie på 5,51 % [200]
As SOWAER wholly belongs to the Region and is under its exclusive control, its resources for carrying out the tasks assigned to it by the Region constitute State resources.
en beta på 0,69 [200] Se fodnote 156.
Consequently, the measures granted to BSCA have been granted through State resources.
en omkostning før skat ved kapital, der er placeret risikofrit, på mellem 4,9 og 5,2 %
Imputability of the measures to the State
en skattesats på 40,2 %.
As the Region is a local authority [179], its decisions are imputable to the State.
Som illustration konkluderede Kommissionen således på grundlag af en gennemsnitlig sats på mellem 8,7 og 9 %, dvs. 8,85 %, at nettonutidsværdien var positiv, og at den androg 19,5 mio. EUR.
As regards the decisions made by SOWAER, the Commission takes the view that, based in particular on the Stardust judgment [180], the imputability of those decisions can be established through the following points:
Tabel 22
General points
Nettonutidsværdi af 2001-foranstaltningen
As stipulated by the recital to the 2002 SOWAER/BSCA agreement, SOWAER is a ‘specialised company acting, by delegation, on behalf of the Walloon Region’.
Diskonteringsfaktor på 8,85 %
SOWAER is wholly owned by the Region and is under its exclusive control.
Hvad angår regionens forpligtelse til at godtgøre Ryanair de tab, som selskabet måtte lide direkte som følge af en eventuel ændring af lufthavnsafgiftsniveauet eller åbningstiderne i lufthavnen i perioden 2001-2016, bemærker Kommissionen, at denne godtgørelse ikke kan overstige det tab, som Ryanair måtte lide direkte som følge af ændringen.
As clarified by Belgium [181], the Walloon Government, as the sole shareholder in SOWAER, approves the investment programme and monitors its implementation.SOWAER manages, on behalf of the Region, the financial holdings in the airport management companies (including BSCA) in order to ensure public participation in those companies and that their strategy complies with the guidelines set out by the Walloon Government.
I tilfælde af at regionen skulle betale en godtgørelse til Ryanair i henhold til denne bestemmelse, ville Ryanair derfor ikke blive stillet gunstigere, end hvis regionen havde overholdt sin forpligtelse.
Points specific to the measures examined
Denne bestemmelse giver derfor ikke Ryanair en yderligere fordel.
2002 SOWAER/BSCA agreement
I overensstemmelse med punkt 66 i luftfartsretningslinjerne indgår disse aftaler i øvrigt i en overordnet strategi til sikring af rentabilitet for lufthavnen, i det mindste på langt sigt.
In a decision of 23 May 2001, the Walloon Government approved SOWAER's financial plan.
BSCA's strategi bestod i at udvikle trafikken i Charleroi lufthavn for bl.a. at øge selskabets indtægter og således dække flere af de faste omkostninger og blive rentabel.
This financial plan includes an investment programme for Charleroi airport.
Til dette formål besluttede BSCA at specialisere sig i nichen med korte og mellemlange punkt-til-punkt-flyvninger, især lavprisflyvninger.
It was this programme that was annexed to the 2002 SOWAER/BSCA agreement.
BSCA baserede denne strategi på de undersøgelser, der var rekvireret hos eksterne konsulenter i slutningen af 1990'erne.
The amount of the fee remaining to be paid by BSCA for the provision of the infrastructure and certain services depends on the subsidy paid by the Region to BSCA to cover the fixed fee.
Ifølge visse af disse undersøgelser [201] havde Charleroi lufthavn komparative fordele med hensyn til at udvikle sig i dette segment, især lave omkostninger.
In a decision of 3 April 2003, the Walloon Government officially noted the 2003 investment programme.
Ifølge et strategidokument fra BSCA af 31. juli 2001 havde BSCA således som mål at nå op på 2,5-3 mio. passagerer [202] inden 2010, hvilket ifølge dokumentet »ikke forekommer utopisk i betragtning af etableringen af Ryanairs base og væksten i lufttransporten«.
Capital increase subscribed by SOWAER in 2002
ftalerne indgår derfor i denne strategi for vækst i trafikken og indtjeningen.
In its decision of 23 May 2001 on the SOWAER financial plan, the Region confirmed the principle of successive capital injections in the companies managing the Walloon airports [182].
Idet det markedsøkonomiske investorprincip er opfyldt, udgør 2001-kontrakterne ikke statsstøtte.
The Commission concludes from the above that the 2002 agreements, the 2002 capital increase and the 2003 investment decision constitute measures imputable to the State.
Den midlertidige forretningsramme af 2004
Distortion of competition and effect on trade
For at fastslå, om forretningsrammen af 2004 ud fra en forhåndsbetragtning bidrog til rentabiliteten hos den enhed, der havde tildelt støtten i overensstemmelse med punkt 63 i luftfartsretningslinjerne, har Kommissionen fastslået, om nettonutidsværdien af forretningsrammen af 2004 var positiv for enheden regionen-SOWAER-BSCA.
As the manager of Charleroi airport, BSCA is in competition with the managers of other airport platforms serving the same catchment area.
Det alternative scenarie til beslutningen om at vedtage forretningsrammen af 2004 er fraværet af en kontrakt med Ryanair og dermed afkald på merindtægter og meromkostninger forbundet med Ryanairs trafik.
The Commission notes in particular that Brussels airport is 69 km away by road, Liège 78 km, Lille-Lesquin 121 km and Maastricht-Aachen airport 126 km [183].
Den 22. januar 2004, forud for indgåelsen af den midlertidige forretningsramme af 2003, ajourførte BSCA sin forretningsplan.
These airports that are in competition with Charleroi airport are located in Belgium or other Member States.
Ifølge Belgien blev forretningsplanen af 22. januar 2004 udarbejdet i kølvandet på 2004-beslutningen for at validere det nye forslag, som skulle forelægges Ryanair [203].
BSCA's website confirms this international dimension of Charleroi airport, which ‘is located 45 minutes from the centre of Brussels, to the south of the Netherlands, to the north-west of France and Luxemburg, and to the west of Germany, 2 hours by road from major cities such as Cologne, Paris and Amsterdam’.
Men for det første omfatter denne forretningsplan ikke alene indtægterne fra den trafik, som Ryanair genererede, men også indtægterne fra den trafik, som andre luftfartsselskaber genererede.
Its catchment area contains ‘5 million potential passengers who are less than 1 hour away by road and more than 15 million who are less than 2 hours away’.
For det andet indeholder den kun BSCA's indtægter og udgifter, mens man for at kunne anvende det markedsøkonomiske investorprincip må lægge til grund, at den enhed, der indgik aftalen om den midlertidige forretningsramme af 2004 med Ryanair, er enheden regionen-SOWAER-BSCA.
[184]
Investeringerne i henhold til aftalen mellem SOWAER og BSCA af 2002 og 2003-investeringerne var allerede besluttet, og arbejderne indledt.
The measures granted to BSCA, insofar as they give the latter an economic advantage, encourage airlines and passengers to choose Charleroi airport — and therefore its manager BSCA — rather than airports serving the same catchment area, including airports situated in other Member States.
I øvrigt og som angivet i betragtning 533 ville investeringsprogrammet under aftalen mellem SOWAER og BSCA af 2002 sandsynligvis være blevet vedtaget, selv om der ikke blev indgået kontrakter med Ryanair.
They therefore threaten to distort competition between airport managers and affect trade between Member States.
Det samme gælder for revisionen i 2003 af investeringsprogrammet, som passede ind i samme lufthavnsudvikling med om muligt en — i henseende til luftfartsselskaber — diversificeret kundekreds.
Conclusion on the existence of aid granted to BSCA
På grundlag af disse hypoteser har Kommissionen bestemt, at de pengestrømme, der er relevante for analysen af rentabiliteten ved forretningsrammen af 2004, er følgende:
The Commission cannot rule out that BSCA's capital increase subscribed by SOWAER in 2002 may also constitute State aid granted to BSCA.
Tabel 23
Existence of State aid granted to Ryanair
Forventet cashflow ved 2004-foranstaltningen
In order to determine whether the measures granted to Ryanair constitute State aid, the Commission will firstly examine whether the 2010 amendment is imputable to the State (Section 6.2.1).
Handelskoncessioner
It will then examine whether the other measures granted to Ryanair give the latter an advantage (Section 6.2.2).
Lanceringsomkostninger
Imputability to the State of the 2010 amendment
Det ses af disse pengestrømme, at Ryanair sikrer et positivt merbidrag i alle de omhandlede år.
In this section, the Commission will examine whether the conclusion of the 2010 amendment is imputable to the State.
Forretningsrammen har således nødvendigvis en positiv nettonutidsværdi uanset den valgte vægtede gennemsnitlige omkostning ved kapitalen.
As found by the Court of Justice in the Stardust judgment [185], ‘the mere fact that a[n] … undertaking is under State control is not sufficient for measures taken by that undertaking … to be imputed to the State.
Ikke desto mindre har Kommissionen for at beregne nettonutidsværdien af 2004-foranstaltningen som illustration bestemt den diskonteringsfaktor, den vil benytte.
It is also necessary to examine whether the public authorities must be regarded as having been involved, in one way or another, in the adoption of those measures’.
Denne faktor er den vægtede gennemsnitlige omkostning ved kapitalen i den enhed, som tildeler støtten, på tidspunktet for tildelingen.
The Stardust judgment also states that ‘the imputability to the State of an aid measure taken by a public undertaking may be inferred from a set of indicators arising from the circumstances of the case and the context in which that measure was taken’.
Som præciseret i betragtning 538 anvendte Kommissionen den vægtede gennemsnitlige omkostning ved BSCA's kapital.
With regard to the capital ownership and the votes attached to shares issued by the undertaking:
På grundlag af følgende hypoteser har Kommissionen vurderet, at denne omkostning var på 9,7 %:
On 6 December 2010 when the 2010 amendment to the contract with Ryanair was concluded, BSCA's capital was owned as follows:
en risikopræmie på 5,72 % [204]
22,56 % by SOWAER, a company wholly owned by the Region and under its exclusive control,
en beta på 0,95 [204] Se fodnote 156.
27,65 % by Sogepa (‘Société Wallonne de Gestion et de Participation’), a company wholly owned by the Region and under its exclusive control, which is the Region's financial arm for assistance given to restructuring businesses,
en omkostning før skat ved kapital, der er placeret risikofrit, på mellem 4,2 og 4,4 %.
19,16 % by Sambrinvest, a venture capital company 50 % owned by the Region and under the joint control of the Region and private shareholders [186],2,32 % by Igretec (‘Intercommunale pour la Gestion et la Réalisation d'Etudes Techniques et Economiques’),
Følgende tabel viser resultaterne af beregningen af nettonutidsværdien af forretningsrammen af 2004 på grundlag af en diskonteringsfaktor på 9,7 %.
27,65 % by Belgian Airports, a wholly private company consisting of the Italian group SAVE and the Belgian company Holding Communal SA.
Tabel 24
As SOWAER and Sogepa held over half of BSCA's shares and were themselves wholly owned by the Region, the public authorities owned the majority of BSCA's capital and held the majority of the votes attached to those shares.
Diskonteringsfaktor på 9,7 %
When the amendment was concluded on 6 December 2010, BSCA's Articles of Association applicable at the time stipulated as follows [187]:
Denne positive nettonutidsværdi bekræfter, at man kunne forvente, at forretningsrammen af 2004 ville øge rentabiliteten for regionen-SOWAER-BSCA.
‘The Board of Directors of BSCA shall consist of a maximum of 19 members:
I overensstemmelse med punkt 66 i luftfartsretningslinjerne skal disse aftaler i øvrigt indgå i en overordnet strategi til sikring af rentabilitet for lufthavnen, i det mindste på langt sigt.
12 directors appointed on the proposal of category A shareholders [188];
På sit næste møde den 6. maj 2004 konstaterede bestyrelsen, »at i lyset af lufthavnens forventede udvikling kan de forslag, som for nylig blev drøftet i Dublin med Ryanairs repræsentanter, sikre, at Ryanair fortsætter sin drift i Charleroi lufthavn på de vilkår, der var gældende i den oprindelige forretningsplan (…)«.
3 independent directors, with 2 appointed on the proposal of category A shareholders, whose candidatures must have been approved in advance by the Region, and 1 independent director appointed on the proposal of category C shareholders …
Den oprindelige forretningsplan var selv en del af en langsigtet udviklingsstrategi, og Kommissionen konkluderer derfor, at forretningsrammen af 2004 faldt i tråd med samme strategi.
With regard to the 12 directors referred to in point (i), two shall be proposed by Sambrinvest, one by Igretec and two by Sogepa …
Idet det markedsøkonomiske investorprincip er opfyldt, udgør forretningsrammen af 2004 ikke statsstøtte.
Candidates proposed by category A shareholders shall always be approved in advance by the Walloon Region, except, however, for those proposed by Igretec, Sambrinvest and Sogepa’.
ontrakten
The majority of directors (12 out of 19) were therefore appointed:
For at fastslå, om 2005-kontrakten ud fra en forhåndsbetragtning bidrog til rentabiliteten hos den enhed, der havde tildelt støtten i overensstemmelse med punkt 63 i luftfartsretningslinjerne, har Kommissionen undersøgt, om nettonutidsværdien af 2005-kontrakten var positiv for enheden regionen-SOWAER-BSCA.
either with the Region's approval (9 directors, including 7 appointed by category A shareholders and 2 independent directors),
Det alternative scenarie er ikke længere at have en aftale med Ryanair efter udløbet i marts 2006 af gyldigheden af brevet fra BSCA til Ryanair af 24. juni 2004.
or on the proposal of entities under the Region's exclusive control (3 directors appointed on the proposal of Igretec and Sogepa).