natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Derudover er spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt FBS i henhold til national ret var berettiget til at indgå bilaterale kontrakter, der fastlægger vilkår, som afviger fra den gældende afgiftsordning, [67] heller ingen relevant.
Moreover, the ‘compensation’ of losses and profits generated by various companies within a group is also usual, and can take the form of a transfer agreement as well as mere payments of dividends by subsidiaries to their parent companies.
Retten fastslog følgende i Charleroi-dommen: »(…) skal der ikke tages hensyn til foreneligheden af en støtteydende institutions adfærd, når det drejer sig om, hvorvidt denne institution har handlet i henhold til princippet om en privat markedsøkonomisk investor eller i strid med artikel 87, stk. 1, EF har indrømmet en økonomisk fordel.« [68]
The mere fact that the FBS group put in place a control and profit transfer agreement in 1992 and has maintained it since then cannot as such give rise to State aid.
Virkninger af de vilkår, der blev tilbudt luftfartsselskaber i Tegel
As already stated by the Commission concerning the market economy operator test, ‘a wide margin of judgement must come into entrepreneurial investment decisions.
I bemærkningerne fra enkelte interesserede parter blev det anført, at de luftfartsselskaber, der opererer i Schönefeld, i kraft af de lave lufthavnsafgifter og andre gunstige vilkår blev subsidieret af de luftfartsselskaber, der opererer i Tegel.
The principles [of the market economy operator test] have however to be applied when it is beyond reasonable doubt that there is no other plausible explanation for the provision of public funds other than considering them as State aid.
Denne formodede krydssubsidiering er et resultat af, at FBS udligner virkningen af de lave afgifter i Schönefeld med høje afgifter i Tegel.
This approach will also have to be applied to any cross-subsidisation by a profitable part of a public group of undertakings of an unprofitable part.
I disse bemærkninger hævdes det, at de i Schönefeld tilbudte vilkår kun havde kunnet klassificeres som ikke værende støtte, hvis de havde svaret til dem i Tegel.
This happens in private undertakings when either the undertaking in question has a strategic plan with good hopes of long-term gain, or that the cross-subsidy has a net benefit to the group as a whole.
Dette er imidlertid ikke tilfældet.
In cases where there is cross-subsidisation in public holding companies the Commission will take account of similar strategic goals.’ [53]
Tegel og Schönefeld adskiller sig nemlig ikke alene fra hinanden, for så vidt angår lufthavnsafgifter, men i mange andre henseender, og navnlig for så vidt angår typen af lufthavnsinfrastruktur og afstanden til bykernen.
Therefore, in this case, the cross-subsidisation cannot be deemed to confer an economic advantage on Schönefeld if it is part of a strategic plan with long-term gains or if it is overall beneficial for the FBS group.
Derfor kan de ikke betragtes som værende fuldgyldige alternativer til hinanden.
For all the reasons mentioned in section 7.2.2, it was clear at least since 1992, and therefore well before the ‘Aéroports de Paris’ judgment [54], that it was rational to maintain Schönefeld in operation instead of closing it down even if it generated losses for many years.
Dette dokumenteres af det fejlslagne forsøg inden gennemførelsen af LCC-strategien på at få luftfartsselskaber til at flytte deres aktiviteter fra Tegel til Schönefeld.
Indeed, Schönefeld’s closure would have caused serious economic harm to BER airport (which as the future single Berlin airport was expected to generate profits at least in the long term, and even put the viability of this major strategic project into question.
Desuden er luftfartsselskaberne ikke »tvunget« til at operere fra Tegel eller Schönefeld.
Indeed, the decision to build a sole airport in Berlin was not only driven by land planning or environmental considerations, but also with the view to absorbing potential increase in traffic and increasing revenues.
Dertil kommer, at luftfartsselskaberne har yderligere to løsningsmodeller til rådighed: hverken at operere fra Tegel eller Schönefeld eller at tilbyde færre flyvninger i disse lufthavne (og indsætte deres fly og besætninger på andre ruter end fra Berlin, for det er påvist, at lavprisselskaber meget hurtigt kan omstille deres kapacitet efter nye markedsvilkår).
As recognised by the 2009 Commission decision approving the aid to the financing of the BER airport, the success of the project relied on the expected traffic growth in Berlin [55] in a single airport [56].
Dermed kunne ethvert forsøg fra FBS' side på at pålægge et luftfartsselskab, som overvejer at starte flydrift i Schönefeld, de samme vilkår som i Tegel, betyde, at luftfartsselskabet opgiver sine planer og beslutter sig for hverken at operere fra Schönefeld eller Tegel eller at tilbyde færre flyvninger fra Berlin.
In order to maintain Schönefeld in operation, possibly with a view to transforming Schönefeld into a profitable airport (first by inviting airlines to relocate at Schönefeld and later by implementing the LCC strategy), it was necessary to ensure its economic viability by using part of the profits generated by Tegel and Tempelhof to finance it.
Der var således ingen grund til, at en privat markedsøkonomisk investor skulle tage hensyn til vilkårene i Tegel ved fastsættelsen af lufthavnsafgifterne for Schönefeld.
Therefore, the cross-subsidisation occurring in this case is part of ‘a strategic plan with good hopes of long-term gain’, and in any event, it is beneficial to the FBS group as a whole in the long run compared to a counterfactual situation where Schönefeld would be closed down.
Som følge af de samme overvejelser og i betragtning af den begrænsede økonomiske betydning af henholdsvis neddroslingen i eller lukningen af Tempelhof ville en privat markedsøkonomisk investor heller ikke have nogen grund til at tage hensyn til vilkårene i Tempelhof ved fastsættelsen af lufthavnsafgifterne for Schönefeld.
These long-term benefits – the successful opening and profitable operation of a new single airport for the Berlin agglomeration (plus the expected profits from the operations of Schönefeld after some years of implementing the LCC strategy) – could be expected by FBS to exceed the losses accumulated by Schönefeld before the opening of BER.
Anvendelse af princippet om den private markedsøkonomiske investor på kontrakterne mellem lufthavnen og luftfartsselskaberne
Therefore, by concluding and maintaining in place the control and profit transfer agreement and maintaining Schönefeld in operation, the FBS group has not conferred any economic advantage on Schönefeld [57].
Kommissionen bemærker, at de omtalte kontrakter skal betragtes som en del af gennemførelsen af LCC-strategien, som på mellemlang og lang sigt skulle resultere i positive resultater for Schönefeld.
The conclusion and implementation of the control and profit transfer agreement since 12 December 2000 thus does not involve State aid.
Med henblik på en vurdering af hvorvidt en af de pågældende kontrakter rummer en økonomisk fordel, skal det undersøges, om en privat markedsøkonomisk investor ville have fundet det sandsynligt, at der med den pågældende kontrakt kunne opnås et højere overskud, end dette ellers ville have været tilfældet.
Agreements between FBS and various airlines: preliminary remarks
Dette højere overskud beregnes ved forskellen mellem de forventede trinvist voksende indtægter som følge af kontrakten (dvs. forskellen mellem de indtægter, der kunne være opnået, hvis kontrakten var blevet indgået, og de indtægter, der kunne være opnået, hvis kontrakten ikke var blevet indgået) og de forventede trinvist voksende omkostninger som følge af kontrakten (dvs. forskellen mellem de omkostninger, der ville være opstået, hvis kontrakten var blevet indgået, og de omkostninger, der ville være opstået, hvis kontrakten ikke var blevet indgået).
Before the agreements between FBS and various airlines are assessed, it is useful to make various preliminary remarks, notably in light of the judgment of the General Court in the Charleroi case (the ‘Charleroi judgment’) [58], which was issued after the formal investigation procedure was opened in the present case.
Den heraf afledte pengestrøm skal mindskes ved hjælp af en passende diskonteringsrentesats.
Application of the market economy operator principle to the agreements between FBS and various airlines
Endvidere skal der i denne undersøgelse tages højde for alle relevante trinvist stigende indtægter og omkostninger i forbindelse med den almindelige forretningsgang.
Certain third parties argued in substance that the agreements at issue confer an economic advantage on the airlines concerned because the conditions offered through these agreements would deviate from the general rules applicable to airport charges at Schönefeld or because the same conditions are not offered equally to all airlines.
De forskellige elementer (rabatter på lufthavnsafgifter, markedsføringstilskud, andre økonomiske incitamenter) må ikke vurderes særskilt.
The crucial question raised by these arguments is the following.
I den forbindelse kan følgende passus fra Charleroi-dommen inddrages: »Ved anvendelsen af kriteriet om den private investor er det nødvendigt at vurdere den kommercielle transaktion (…) i sin helhed for at afgøre, om det statslige organ og det organ, som kontrolleres heraf, vurderet under ét, har handlet som rationelle erhvervsdrivende på markedsøkonomiske vilkår.
If there is a system of published charges at a given airport run by a public company and if the airport manager offers discounts to these charges or financial incentives having the same effect as such discounts [59], do such discounts and incentives [60] confer by themselves and in all circumstances an economic advantage on the airlines concerned?
Kommissionen er således forpligtet til ved vurderingen af de omtvistede foranstaltninger at gennemgå alle de relevante forhold og disses sammenhæng (…)« [69].
The answer to this question is no.
De forventede trinvist stigende indtægter skal navnlig indeholde indtægterne fra lufthavnsafgifterne under hensyntagen til rabatterne og den i kraft af kontrakten forventede yderligere trafik samt de forventede ikke-luftfartsrelaterede indtægter, som opnås via den yderligere trafik.
Indeed, in the Charleroi judgment which concerned in particular a discount offered by the Walloon region to an airline at an airport for which the region was responsible for setting airport charges, the General Court stated: ‘The mere fact that, in the present case, the Walloon Region has regulatory powers in relation to fixing airport charges does not mean that a scheme reducing those charges ought not to be examined by reference to the private investor principle, since such a scheme could have been put in place by a private operator.’ [61] It follows from this statement that discounts to airport charges (or financial incentives which reduce the net financial flows from the airlines to the airport manager) do not automatically confer an economic advantage.
De forventede trinvist stigende omkostninger skal først og fremmest indeholde alle trinvist stigende drifts- og investeringsomkostninger, som ikke ville være opstået, hvis kontrakten ikke var blevet indgået.
In order to determine whether they do so, it is necessary to assess whether a prudent market economy operator guided by profitability prospects would have accepted to grant similar discounts and incentives to the particular carrier concerned [62].
Desuden skal de trinvist stigende omkostninger indeholde omkostningerne til markedsføringstilskuddene og til andre økonomiske incitamenter.
For a prudent market economy operator running an airport, there can be many reasons for not offering the same conditions to all airlines.
Vurdering af easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 (foranstaltning 2)
In particular, it can be rational to offer specific financial incentives (including in the form of marketing grants) and specific discounts to the published airport charges to airlines that bring a high number of passengers to the airport.
easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 blev inden ikrafttrædelsen af afgiftsordningen fra 2004 oprindeligt indgået for en periode på 10 år med mulighed for en forlængelse af kontrakten med yderligere 10 år.
These favourable conditions can be objectively justified by the expected additional traffic, in view of the non-aeronautical revenues brought about by that additional traffic [63] and also because, even if the margin per passenger generated by the airport charges paid by the airline is reduced by the discounts and financial incentives, this margin may be significant in absolute terms in light of the numbers of passengers at stake.
Tyskland har fremlagt dokumenter, der viser de på forhånd udarbejdede finansielle prognoser for projektet, som navnlig baserer sig på FBS' prognoser af 17. december 2003, dvs. før indgåelsen af kontrakten mellem FBS og easyJet den 19. december 2003 (jf. betragtning 42).
Numerous factors can be taken into account by a prudent market economy operator running an airport to determine the conditions offered to airlines, not only the expected additional traffic but also the moment in which the agreement with the airline is negotiated (and the situation of the airport in that period, in particular in terms of capacity utilisation), the routes on which the airline considers operating [64], the airline’s operational requirements at the airport, the types of services required from the airport and their characteristics, the pressure exerted by airlines during negotiations [65] etc.
FBS anslog, at kontrakten i perioden fra 2004 til 2012 ville betyde en årlig stigning i driftsresultatet, og at det operationelle break-even ville være nået i 2010.
For a prudent market economy operator running an airport, it can thus be justified to offer different conditions to different airlines in terms of airport charges and financial incentives, whether through bilateral agreements or through discount and financial incentive schemes embedded in the acts setting the charges [66].
Tabel 9
For the purposes of assessing whether such discounts and financial incentives confer an economic advantage, it must be determined whether, when the airport manager took the decision to offer them, it could reasonably expect this decision to be profitable, or in other words, to lead to a higher profit (or lower losses) than would be achieved in the counterfactual situation.
FBS' prognoser for stigningen i driftsresultatet som følge af easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 (i mio. EUR)
Furthermore, contrary to what certain third parties have suggested, when it comes to conditions offered by airport managers to airlines through bilateral agreements (for instance specific grants for the opening of new routes) and not resulting from general discount or financial incentive schemes embedded in a published schedule of charges, a prudent market economy operator has no reason to ensure that such conditions are based on a set of general and transparent criteria applicable to all carriers.
Driftsresultat uden easyJet
When negotiating a bilateral arrangement with an airline, a prudent market economy operator is expected to take into account all the relevant features of the airline’s proposed services rather than a set of pre-determined transparent criteria which may constrain its margin of negotiation.
Driftsresultat med easyJet
Therefore, the comments made by certain third parties as regards the alleged lack of transparency of the discount and financial incentives offered by FBS in this case are irrelevant in the context of the application of the market economy operator principle.
Driftsresultat i alt
Lawfulness of the 2004 Schedule and of the bilateral agreements between FBS and various airlines under national law
Kommissionen betragter disse prognoser og de antagelser, der ligger til grund herfor, som et solidt fundament for underskrivelsen af easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003.
The question of whether the 2004 Schedule lawfully entered into force under national law, while important under German law, is irrelevant in the context of the application of the market economy operator principle.
De trafikprognoser, der forventedes på grundlag af easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003, blev beregnet på basis af det antal fly, som easyJet i henhold til kontrakten med tiden skulle stationere i Schönefeld, samt på basis af en kapacitetsudnyttelsesfaktor på […], som synes at være plausibel på baggrund af de gængse kapacitetsudnyttelsesfaktorer for lavprisselskaber.
Indeed, the fact that a discount to generally applicable airport charges, or a financial incentive with an equivalent effect, is granted via a bilateral agreement rather than through a general scheme embedded in a published schedule of charges is irrelevant.
I forretningsplanen var der taget hensyn til prognoserne for alle relevante trinvist stigende omkostninger og indtægter, herunder luftfarts- og ikke-luftfartsindtægtskategorier, samt omkostningerne for easyJet i forbindelse med de økonomiske incitamenter.
As a matter of fact, a prudent market economy operator could decide to grant discounts or incentives through either type of mechanism and the profitability of such decisions would not depend on the chosen mechanism.
I disse prognoser var der også taget særlig højde for det ekstra trafikvolumen og de yderligere start- og landingsoperationer, som blev forventet på baggrund af kontrakten og kontraktvilkårene.
Therefore, the question of whether the conditions offered by FBS to certain airlines resulted from the mere implementation of a valid applicable schedule of charges or from bilateral arrangements is irrelevant.
Det andet konsulentfirma baserede sin analyse af easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 på de allerede i betragtning 158 nævnte prognoser fra FBS.
Besides, the question of whether FBS had the right, under national law, to enter into bilateral agreements that would set conditions deviating from the applicable schedule of charges [67] is equally irrelevant.
I denne sammenhæng foretog det andet konsulentfirma en tilpasning af forretningsplanen for at medtage investeringsomkostninger på […] mio. EUR til etableringen af yderligere gates til easyJet i terminal B. Endvidere blev der foretaget tilpasninger, for at tage højde for at FBS' prognoser var baseret på et udkast til kontrakten med easyJet, som ikke helt svarede til den i sidste ende underskrevne kontrakt.
Effects of conditions offered to airlines operating at Tegel
Det andet konsulentfirma foretog derfor tilpasninger i forretningsplanen for at sikre fuld overensstemmelse mellem forretningsplanen og vilkårene i den underskrevne kontrakt.
In their comments, certain interested parties have argued that airlines operating at Schönefeld would be subsidised by airlines operating at Tegel through low airport charges and other favourable conditions.
Kapitalværdien er et driftsøkonomisk nøgletal, som virksomheder anvender til vurdering af et projekts rentabilitet.
This alleged cross-subsidisation would come from the fact that FBS would compensate the effect of low charges at Schönefeld through high charges at Tegel.
Det andet konsulentfirma beregnede den aggregerede kapitalværdi af easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 ved udgangen af hvert år indtil kontraktens udløb.
These comments suggest that for the conditions offered at Schönefeld to be free of State aid, they should equate to those offered at Tegel.
De beregnede kapitalværdier er angivet i tabel 10:
First, Tegel and Schönefeld differ in many respects other than airport charges, in particular concerning the nature of the airport infrastructures and the distance to the city centre.
Tabel 10
Therefore, they are not perfect substitutes for one another.
Kapitalværdier af de forventede pengestrømme som følge af esyJet-kontrakten fra 2003
This is evidenced by the failure to persuade airlines to move from Tegel to Schönefeld before the implementation of the LCC Strategy.
Det andet konsulentfirmas undersøgelse
Moreover, airlines are not ‘forced’ to operate from Tegel or from Schönefeld.
Aggregerede kapitalværdier ved årets udgang (værdi den 30. december 2003):
In addition to these options, airlines have two other options: operate neither from Tegel nor from Schönefeld or just operate with lower capacity at those airports (and use their aircraft and crew on routes other than from Berlin as LCCs have proven to be able to quickly adjust their capacity to changing market circumstances).
Kapitalværdi
Therefore, any attempt by FBS at imposing on an airline considering operating from Schönefeld the same conditions as at Tegel may simply lead that airline to abandon its plans and to decide to operate neither from Schönefeld nor from Tegel or downsize operations from Berlin.
Disse kapitalværdier er alle positive og bekræfter, at det var hensigtsmæssigt at indgå kontrakten med easyJet i 2003.
Therefore, there would be no reason for a prudent market economy operator to take into consideration the conditions prevailing at Tegel when determining the level of charges at Schönefeld.
Det andet konsulentfirma anførte i sin rapport, at FBS i 2003, hvor indgåelsen af kontrakten blev undersøgt, ikke havde taget højde for virkningen af kontrakten i dens oprindelige version, dvs. med en løbetid på 10 år med mulighed for en forlængelse heraf med yderligere 10 år, på BER.
Following the same line of reasoning and taking into account the limited economic scope, the downsizing and the eventual cessation of operations of Tempelhof, there would be no reason for a prudent market economy operator to take into consideration the conditions prevailing at Tempelhof when determining the level of charges at Schönefeld.
Ifølge det andet konsulentfirma skulle easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 med dens oprindelige vilkår fortsat gælde i flere år efter den planlagte åbning af BER i 2011.
Application of the market economy operator principle to the airport/airlines agreements
Desuden var vilkårene i kontrakten øjensynligt gunstigere end vilkårene i den generelle afgiftsordning, som efter planen skulle gælde for BER ved lufthavnens åbning.
The Commission notes that in the present case, the agreements at issue have to be seen as part of the implementation of the LCC Strategy, which was expected to lead to positive results for Schönefeld in the medium/long term.
Det andet konsulentfirma mente derfor, at der var risiko for, at den eksisterende easyJet-kontrakt fra 2003 kunne afstedkomme et betydeligt pres fra andre luftfartsselskaber på FBS for at reducere forskellen mellem de i BER gældende generelle afgifter og de med easyJet aftalte afgifter.
In order to assess whether any of the agreements at issue confers an economic advantage, it is necessary to analyse whether, at the date when the agreement was concluded, a prudent market economy operator would have expected this agreement to lead to a higher profit than would have been achieved otherwise.
I virkeligheden indtrådte denne risiko aldrig. easyJet-ændringskontrakten fra 2007, der skulle udløbe på tidspunktet for åbningen af BER, erstattede easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003.
This higher profit is to be measured by the difference between the incremental revenues expected to be generated by the contract (that is, the difference between the revenues that would be achieved if the contract were concluded and the revenues that would be achieved absent the contract) and the incremental costs expected to be incurred as a result of the contract (that is, the difference between the costs that would be incurred if the contract were concluded and the costs that would be incurred absent the contract), the resulting cash flows being discounted with an appropriate discount rate.
Den anden undersøgelse bekræfter således, at en privat investor, der opererer under markedsøkonomiske vilkår, ville have indgået easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003.
Furthermore, in this analysis, all the relevant incremental revenues and costs associated with the transaction must be taken into account.
Afslutningsvis skal det konstateres, at easyJet-kontrakten fra 2003 ikke indeholder statsstøtte.
The various elements (discounts to airport charges, marketing grants, other financial incentives) must not be assessed separately.