natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Kommissionen fastslår følgelig, at støtten til NCHZ udgør ulovlig statsstøtte.
It can therefore be concluded that the continuation of NCHZ's operations was based on a decision determined by the private creditors, as the public creditors were not in a position to veto NCHZ's continued operation.
Foranstaltningens forenelighed med det indre marked
For this reason, the decision to continue operating NCHZ after the Act expired cannot be considered imputable to the State.
Eftersom den ovennævnte foranstaltning udgør statsstøtte efter artikel 107, stk. 1, i TEUF, skal dens forenelighed vurderes på grundlag af de undtagelser, der er fastsat i denne artikels stk. 2 og 3.
This also shows that the decision of the various public creditors to actively support the continuation of NCHZ's operation in the second period was taken at the same time and under the same conditions (pari passu) as the decisions of the comparable private creditors, which means that the public creditors acted in line with the market economy creditor principle.
Ifølge Domstolens retspraksis er det op til medlemsstaterne at anføre mulige grunde til en foranstaltnings forenelighed og dokumentere, at betingelserne for en sådan forenelighed er opfyldt [18].
In addition, for the sake of completeness, the Commission verified the economic analysis produced by the administrator, which was available to the creditors and the court at the relevant point in time.
De slovakiske myndigheder mener, at foranstaltningen ikke udgør statsstøtte, og har ikke anført nogen grund til, at den skulle kunne anses for at være forenelig.
The analysis identifies several possible scenarios and compares the costs and revenue from the point of view of NCHZ's creditors.
Vurderingen af, om statsstøtten er forenelig med det indre marked, skal derfor principielt foretages på grundlag af kriterierne i disse rammebestemmelser.
At the same time, the expected revenue from the sale of individual assets was in the region of EUR 47-52 million (without taking into account additional costs of dismantling and removing the equipment).
Kommissionen konstaterer, at betingelserne for redningsstøtte i afsnit 3.1 i rammebestemmelserne for kriseramte virksomheder ser ud til ikke at være opfyldt: i særdeleshed består foranstaltningerne ikke af likviditetsstøtte i form af lånegarantier eller lån, de var ikke ledsaget af et tilsagn fra Slovakiet om at indsende en omstrukturerings- eller likvidationsplan osv.
As the outstanding (public and private) liabilities incurred from operating during the bankruptcy proceedings (EUR 16 million at that time) had preferential treatment, none of the pre-bankruptcy claims would be satisfied.
Hvad angår omstruktureringsstøtte, jf. afsnit 3.2 i rammebestemmelserne, bemærker Kommissionen, at Slovakiet ikke har anmeldt nogen af de ovennævnte foranstaltninger som omstruktureringsstøtte og ikke har påvist, at de opfylder nogen af de betingelser, der kræves opfyldt for at blive betragtet som omstruktureringsstøtte (omstruktureringsplan, egetbidrag, kompenserende modydelser osv.).
However, the analysis considers that the sale of the undertaking with continued operation was likely to bring higher revenue, since some of the technological equipment would be irreparably damaged if operation were discontinued.
I henhold til punkt 34 i rammebestemmelserne for kriseramte virksomheder skal ydelse af støtte gøres betinget af, at der gennemføres en omstruktureringsplan, som altid skal godkendes af Kommissionen, når der er tale om individuelle foranstaltninger.
The analysis also states that, despite the failure of the first tender, there were several interested buyers.
I den konkrete sag blev støtten ydet uden en troværdig omstruktureringsplan, der opfyldte kravene i rammebestemmelserne.
Overall, the analysis concludes that it was in the interests of the creditors to continue operating NCHZ and sell the business as a going concern.
Det er i sig selv tilstrækkeligt til at udelukke, at foranstaltningen kan være forenelig med det indre marked.
The economic analysis by the administrator was also accompanied by an analysis produced by the management of NCHZ.
Kommissionen bemærker desuden, at Slovakiet ikke har henledt Kommissionens opmærksomhed på noget forhold, der kunne bevirke, at kravene til omstruktureringsstøtte kunne anses for at være opfyldt, f.eks. i relation til genoprettelse af NCHZ's langsigtede rentabilitet, tilstrækkeligt egetbidrag, tilstrækkelige kompenserende modydelser osv.
That analysis considered the expected real value of the company's assets in the event of discontinued operation to amount to only EUR 15,5 million, making the discontinuation of NCHZ's operation even less attractive for the creditors.
Kommissionen har draget den konklusion, at den ovennævnte foranstaltning ikke er forenelig med det indre marked på grundlag af rammebestemmelserne for kriseramte virksomheder og følgelig udgør uforenelig statsstøtte.
Furthermore, the study argued that the company could be successfully sold following certain restructuring measures to be adopted; since the Act made laying off staff rather difficult, the staff cuts were implemented by NCHZ only after the Act ceased to apply at the beginning of the second period.
Tilbagesøgning af støtten
Overall, the study also concluded that the creditors would be best off if NCHZ were sold as a going concern.
I henhold til traktaten og ifølge Domstolens faste retspraksis skal Kommissionen normalt påbyde medlemsstaten at ophæve enhver ulovligt ydet statsstøtte, når den er fundet uforenelig med det indre marked [20].
The proposal for continued operation based on those documents was subsequently accepted by all creditors, both public and private.
Domstolen har også konsekvent fastholdt, at formålet med at påbyde en medlemsstat at ophæve en støtte, der er erklæret uforenelig med det indre marked, er at genoprette den oprindelige situation [21].
The Commission notes that the debts owed to at least some of the private creditors had also been increasing during the bankruptcy period, amounting in the end to EUR 11,5 million.
Domstolen har i forbindelse hermed udtalt, at dette mål er nået, når støttemodtageren har tilbagebetalt de beløb, den har modtaget i ulovlig statsstøtte, og dermed mistet den fordel, den havde opnået i forhold til sine konkurrenter, og når den oprindelige situation er blevet genoprettet [22].
In addition, the in-depth investigation showed that only two of the four public creditors represented in the creditor bodies (the National Property Fund, the Environmental Fund, the Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank and the Town of Nováky) were directly concerned by the threat of further accumulation of the debts owed to them by NCHZ during its continued operation.
På linje med denne retspraksis fastsættes det i artikel 14, stk. 1, i Rådets forordning (EF) nr. 659/1999 [23], at »i negative beslutninger om ulovlig støtte bestemmer Kommissionen, at den pågældende medlemsstat skal træffe alle nødvendige foranstaltninger til at kræve støtten tilbagebetalt fra støttemodtageren …«.
These were the Environmental Fund, whose additional claims during the second period were only EUR [100-500] thousand, and the Town of Nováky, whose additional outstanding claims during the second period came to EUR [300-800] thousand.
Så eftersom ingen af de her omhandlede foranstaltninger blev anmeldt til Kommissionen i overensstemmelse med traktatens artikel 108, men må betragtes som ulovlig og uforenelig statsstøtte, skal de beløb, der blev ydet i støtte, tilbagesøges for at genoprette den situation, der bestod på markedet, før den blev ydet.
The main public creditors to whom the amounts owed mounted up during the bankruptcy proceedings, in particular the public health and social security insurance companies, were not represented on any of the creditor bodies deciding on the continuation of NCHZ's operation.
Tilbagesøgningen bør omfatte perioden fra det tidspunkt, hvor støttemodtageren opnåede fordelen, dvs. hvor støtten blev stillet til rådighed for støttemodtageren, og indtil den faktiske tilbagebetaling, og de tilbagesøgte beløb bør pålægges renter indtil den faktiske tilbagebetaling.
Therefore, they had no possibility of directly influencing the decision-making and thus could not prevent NCHZ's continued operation.
Ved tilbagesøgningen skal der tages hensyn til de udestående fordringer, som udgør statsstøtte, og som kan dokumenteres allerede indfriet ved hjælp af provenuet af salget af NCHZ's aktiver.
Those public creditors did all they could to recover the debts by registering their claims with the bankruptcy administrator and using all the enforcement mechanisms available under the Bankruptcy Act.
I betragtning af, at NCHZ er blevet afhændet til Via Chem Slovakia og Fortischem, vil Kommissionen undersøge, om der består økonomisk kontinuitet mellem disse virksomheder for at afklare, om tilbagesøgningspåbuddet også bør gælde dem.
In view of the above, the Commission considers that the behaviour of the different state entities was in line with the private creditor test.
Økonomisk kontinuitet efter afhændelsen af NCHZ
Therefore, the Commission concludes that NCHZ did not benefit from an advantage over its competitors that it would not have received under normal market conditions in the second period when the Act was no longer applicable and NCHZ continued its operation on the basis of the decision of the creditors' committee.
Når Kommissionen efter artikel 107 og 108 i TEUF træffer en afgørelse om, at en støtte til en virksomhed er uforenelig med det indre marked, skal den pågældende medlemsstat som nævnt ovenfor tilbagesøge den uforenelige støtte.
Since at least two of the cumulative conditions for defining state aid (imputability to the State and existence of an economic advantage) are not fulfilled, the Commission concludes that the continued operation of NCHZ under the decision of the creditors' committee does not constitute state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
Denne tilbagesøgningspligt kan udvides til også at omfatte en ny virksomhed, hvortil den pågældende virksomhed har overført eller solgt en del af sine aktiver, når forholdene omkring denne overførsel eller afhændelse fører til den konklusion, at der er økonomisk kontinuitet mellem de to virksomheder [24].
Unlawful aid
Hvad angår formålet med denne transaktion, bemærker Kommissionen, at selv om den ikke har direkte belæg for, at formålet med den var at omgå et potentielt tilbagesøgningspåbud, var det dog klart for de slovakiske myndigheder, at Kommissionen siden den 17. oktober 2011 havde haft en klage mod NCHZ til behandling (se betragtning (2)), og at der desuden var et krav om betaling af den kartelbøde på 19,6 mio. EUR, som NCHZ fik pålagt ved en afgørelse af 22. juli 2009 (se betragtning (12)).
The Commission notes that, since the application of the Act to NCHZ constitutes state aid, it was granted in breach of the notification and stand-still obligations laid down in Article 108(3) TFEU.
Ifølge Domstolens dom i Italien og SIM 2 mod Kommissionen [25], hvorpå Kommissionen baserede sine afgørelser i sagerne om Olympic Airlines, Alitalia og SERNAM [26], skal vurderingen af, hvorvidt der består økonomisk kontinuitet mellem støttemodtageren og den virksomhed, som har overtaget dens aktiver, baseres på en række forskellige indikatorer.
Thus, the Commission notes that the aid granted to NCHZ constitutes unlawful state aid.
Der kan tages hensyn til følgende: om salgsprisen svarer til en markedspris eller ej, hvilke aktiver der blev afhændet (visse aktiver og forpligtelser, personale, samtlige aktiver), hvem køber(ne) var, hvornår afhændelsen fandt sted (efter indledning af den foreløbige vurdering, den formelle undersøgelsesprocedure eller den endelige afgørelse), og om der var økonomisk logik i transaktionen.
Compatibility of the measures with the internal market
Disse indikatorer blev stadfæstet af Retten i dom af 28. marts 2012 i Ryanair mod Kommissionen [27], der bekræftede Alitalia-beslutningen.
Since the measure identified above constitutes state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, its compatibility must be assessed in the light of the exceptions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of that Article.
På baggrund af, at NCHZ blev solgt til Via Chem Slovakia og derefter til Fortischem, vil Kommissionen undersøge, om der på grundlag af de ovennævnte kriterier består en økonomisk kontinuitet mellem NCHZ og den virksomhed, som i sidste ende blev overtaget og nu drives af Fortischem.
According to the case-law of the Court of Justice, it is up to the Member State to cite possible grounds of compatibility and to demonstrate that the conditions for such compatibility are met [18].
Kommissionen finder det forkert at undersøge spørgsmålet om økonomisk kontinuitet særskilt i de to transaktioner, der førte til Fortischems overtagelse af NCHZ, dvs. først salget til Via Chem Slovakia og derefter salget til Fortischem.
The Slovak authorities consider that the measures do not constitute state aid and have not cited any possible grounds on which to assess compatibility.
Via Chem Slovakia afhændede virksomheden til Fortischem i den anden transaktion, der fandt sted den 1. august 2012, dvs. dagen efter den første transaktions afslutning.
The Commission has none the less assessed whether any of the grounds laid down in the TFEU would be applicable prima facie to the measures under assessment.
De NCHZ-aktiviteter, der blev overtaget, blev derfor aldrig reelt drevet af Via Chem Slovakia.
Since NCHZ was the subject of bankruptcy proceedings at the time when the measures were granted, it was clearly a firm in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (‘the R&R Guidelines’) [19].
Kommissionen anerkender, at de to transaktioner ikke omfattede helt det samme, eftersom Via Chem Slovakia beholdt en del af den faste ejendom (bygninger og grunde).
Therefore, any assessment of the compatibility of state aid with the internal market should in principle be made on the basis of the criteria set out in those guidelines.
Men af de foreliggende oplysninger fremgår det klart, at alle de af NCHZ's økonomiske aktiviteter, der blev overtaget af Via Chem Slovakia, omgående blev videreafhændet til Fortischem.
The Commission notes that the conditions for rescue aid laid down in point 3.1 of the R&R Guidelines do not seem to be met: in particular, the measures do not consist of liquidity support in the form of loan guarantees or loans and they were not accompanied by a commitment from Slovakia to communicate to the Commission a restructuring plan or a liquidation plan and so on.
Med den faste ejendom som eneste undtagelse overtog Fortischem fra Via Chem Slovakia alle aktiver og rettigheder i tilknytning til kemikalieproduktionen (maskiner og udstyr, kontrakter osv.) samt forpligtelserne i forbindelse hermed (herunder alle ansættelseskontrakter).
In relation to restructuring aid as defined in point 3.2 of the R&R Guidelines, the Commission observes that Slovakia did not notify any of the measures identified above as restructuring aid and that it has failed to demonstrate that any of the necessary elements for them to be considered as such are present (restructuring plan, own contribution, compensatory measures and so on).
Den faste ejendom, som ikke blev afhændet til Fortischem, men var nødvendig for videreførelsen af driften af NCHZ, blev lejet ud til Fortischem.
Point 34 of the R&R Guidelines requires the granting of the aid to be conditional on implementation of a restructuring plan, which must be endorsed by the Commission in all cases of individual aid.
Kommissionen vil derfor foretage en direkte analyse af, om der består økonomisk kontinuitet mellem NCHZ og de NCHZ-aktiviteter, der blev overtaget af Fortischem.
The aid in the case at hand had been granted without a credible restructuring plan satisfying the conditions laid down in the R&R Guidelines.
Der vil blive taget hensyn til de særlige træk ved de to transaktioner i det omfang, hvor de er relevante for denne analyse.
This circumstance would in itself be sufficient to exclude compatibility of the measures with the internal market.
Salgsprisen
In addition, the Commission observes that Slovakia has not brought to the attention of the Commission any facts that would ensure compliance with the necessary requirements for finding restructuring aid compatible: restoration of the long-term viability of NCHZ, acceptable levels of own contribution, adequate compensatory measures, and so on.
I åbningsafgørelsen udtrykte Kommissionen tvivl om, hvorvidt den pris på 2,2 mio. EUR, som vinderen af udbuddet, Via Chem Slovakia, betalte for NCHZ's aktiver, stemte overens med markedsprisen.
The Commission concludes that the measure identified above is not compatible on the basis of the R&R Guidelines and thus constitutes state aid which is incompatible with the internal market.
Til udbuddet var der knyttet en række betingelser, der må antages at have kunnet formindske aktivernes værdi.
Recovery of the aid
Ifølge udbudsbetingelserne kunne de bydende, når de afgav deres bud, vælge mellem at påtage sig eller ikke påtage sig en række køberbetingelser (jf. betragtning (17) og (18)).
According to the Treaty and the Court's established case-law, the Commission should normally decide that the Member State concerned must abolish aid illegally granted when such aid has been found to be incompatible with the internal market [20].
Det var fastsat i udbudsbetingelserne, at hvis det højeste bud blev afgivet af en tilbudsgiver, der havde valgt ikke at påtage sig disse forpligtelser, ville den højst bydende blandt de tilbudsgivere, der gik ind på at påtage sig dem, få mulighed for at matche det højeste bud.
The Court has also consistently held that the obligation on a Member State to abolish aid declared incompatible with the internal market is designed to re-establish the previously existing situation [21].
Kommissionen finder, at når en enkelt tilbudsgiver får mulighed for at forhøje sit bud, efter at alle bud er afgivet, må det antages at kunne afholde andre potentielt interesserede tilbudsgivere fra at byde og/eller få negativ indvirkning på de bud, der afgives.
In this context, the Court has established that this objective is attained once the recipient has repaid the amounts granted by way of unlawful aid, thus forfeiting the advantage which it had enjoyed over its competitors on the market, and the situation prior to the payment of the aid is restored [22].
En af de faktorer, der sikrer, at det er den højst bydende, der vinder udbuddet, ligger i usikkerheden om, hvilke priser de andre tilbudsgivere byder.
In line with the case-law, Article 14(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 states that ‘where negative decisions are taken in cases of unlawful aid, the Commission shall decide that the Member State concerned shall take all necessary measures to recover the aid from the beneficiary …’ [23].
Hvis en tilbudsgiver, der ønsker at afgive et bud med disse forpligtelser, ved, at han kun behøver at være den højst bydende af de tilbudsgivere, der også vil påtage sig forpligtelserne, og at han vil få mulighed for at matche det højeste bud, der afgives uden disse forpligtelser, er det meget tænkeligt, at han vil afgive et bud, der er lavere, end hvis han ikke fik denne mulighed for at matche.
Thus, given that none of the measures in question were notified to the Commission, in violation of Article 108 of the Treaty, but are to be considered unlawful and incompatible aid, the amounts granted must be recovered in order to re-establish the situation that existed on the market before they were granted.
Denne betingelse kunne desuden afholde andre interesserede, som ikke ønsker at afgive et bud med disse forpligtelser, fra at byde, fordi de ved, at selv om deres bud var højst, ville det kunne blive forkastet, fordi en anden tilbudsgiver, som var villig til at påtage sig forpligtelserne, vil kunne forhøje sit bud.
Recovery should cover the time from when the advantage accrued to the beneficiary, that is to say when the aid was put at the disposal of the beneficiary, until effective recovery, and the sums to be recovered should bear interest until effective recovery.
Den tilbudsgiver, der afgav sit bud uden disse forpligtelser, ville i så fald ikke få mulighed for at afgive et nyt bud med en højere pris.
Recovery will take into account the amounts of outstanding debts constituting state aid which have been demonstrated to have been already repaid from the proceeds of the sale of NCHZ's assets.
På baggrund af det ovenstående forekommer udbudsbetingelserne at give forrang til tilbudsgivere, der påtager sig disse forpligtelser, for hvis der er to tilbudsgivere, der byder den samme pris, men hvoraf kun den ene vil påtage sig forpligtelserne, vil det være buddet med forpligtelserne, der vil blive foretrukket.
In view of the sale of the business of NCHZ to Via Chem Slovakia and Fortischem, the Commission will examine possible economic continuity between these companies in order to analyse whether the recovery of aid should be extended to them or not.
Det tyder på, at den pris, der vil kunne opnås uden forpligtelserne, vil kunne være højere end prisen i det vindende bud.
Economic continuity of NCHZ through the sale of the business
Det er rimeligt at antage, at disse forpligtelser har økonomiske konsekvenser for køberen, som denne tager hensyn til ved afgivelsen af sit bud.
As indicated, in the event of a negative Commission decision regarding the recovery of incompatible aid to an undertaking in the context of Articles 107 and 108 TFEU, the Member State in question is required to recover the incompatible aid.
Uden disse forpligtelser ville køberen altså sandsynligvis have budt en højere pris.
The recovery obligation may be extended to a new company to which the company in question has transferred or sold part of its assets, where that transfer or sale structure leads to the conclusion that there is economic continuity between the two companies [24].
Slovakiet gør gældende, at selv om en tilbudsgiver afgav et bud med disse forpligtelser, kunne han ikke være sikker på, at der ikke ville være andre bud med forpligtelser, der kunne være højere.
As regards the purpose of the transaction, the Commission notes that, although it does not have direct evidence that the intention of the transaction was to evade the effects of a potential recovery decision, it was however clear to the Slovak authorities that the Commission had been preliminarily investigating a complaint against NCHZ since 17 October 2011 (see recital 2) and that there was the existing claim for the payment of the cartel fine of EUR 19,6 million imposed on NCHZ by a decision of 22 July 2009 (see recital 12).
Det afkræfter imidlertid ikke konstateringen af, at de tilbudsgivere, der ikke ville påtage sig disse forpligtelser, generelt blev stillet ringere end dem, der påtog sig dem, og at det kunne have afholdt potentielt interesserede tilbudsgivere, som ikke var villige til at påtage sig forpligtelserne, fra at byde.
According to the Court decision in Italy and SIM 2 v Commission [25], on which the Commission based its decisions concerning the companies Olympic Airlines, Alitalia and SERNAM [26], the assessment of economic continuity between the aid beneficiary and the undertaking to which its assets were transferred is established based on a set of indicators.
Slovakiet fremfører også, at på baggrund af forpligtelsernes samlede beløbsmæssige omfang på over 11 mio. EUR var det yderst usandsynligt, at der var nogen, der ville afgive et bud med disse forpligtelser.
The following factors may be taken into consideration: the sale price corresponding to a market price or not, the scope of the sold assets (assets and liabilities, maintenance of workforce, the assets as a whole), the identity of the buyer(s), the timing of the sale (after the initiation of preliminary assessment, the formal investigation procedure or the final decision) and the economic logic of the operation.