natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Merudgifter
Without the operating aid the airport could not maintain the current level of traffic and its economic activity would have to be reduced.
Resultat
At the same time the aid did not exceed the amount required to cover operating losses, and therefore the aid amount is limited to the minimum necessary.
Mens forhåndsanalysen, der blev foretaget af FSG og fremlagt af Tyskland, ikke diskonterede de fremtidige betalinger til den dato, hvor kontrakten blev indgået, er det klart, at det forventedes, at kontrakten var rentabel.
Therefore the Commission considers that the operating aid to Saarbrücken Airport has an incentive effect and is proportionate.
Tyskland bekræftede, at den øgede trafikfrekvens som forudsat i markedsføringsaftalen til dato ikke har krævet ansættelse af nye medarbejdere eller særlige investeringer.
Avoidance of undue negative effects on competition and trade
Alt i alt blev lufthavnens forventninger i vid udstrækning opfyldt, og kontrakten har været rentabel.
According to point 131 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines when assessing the compatibility of operating aid to the airport, the Commission will take into account the distortions of competition and the effects on trade.
I den forbindelse lavede Tyskland en prognose for kontraktens løbetid baseret på den fortjeneste, der havde været i de første otte måneder af kontraktperioden (fra april 2011 til januar 2012), ifølge hvilken kontrakten ser ud til at være rentabel.
An indication of potential competition distortions or effect on trade may be the fact that the airport is located in the same catchment area as another airport with spare capacity.
Efter at have analyseret kontrakten og FSG's forventninger på tidspunktet for indgåelsen af kontrakten finder Kommissionen det godtgjort, at kontrakten bidrog til Saarbrücken lufthavns rentabilitet, idet de forventede merindtægter var højere end de forventede merudgifter.
As demonstrated in recitals 237 et seq., taking into account the concept of a catchment area of around 100 km and travelling time of 60 minutes, it can be assumed that three of the airports located closest to Saarbrücken, that is to say the Luxembourg Airport (121 km from Saarbrücken), Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (96 km from Saarbrücken) and Frankfurt–Hahn Airport (128 km from Saarbrücken) are not located in the same catchment area and pursue business models that are significantly different from that of Saarbrücken Airport.
Da kontrakten således var i overensstemmelse med det markedsøkonomiske princip, gav den ikke Air Berlin en fordel.
Luxembourg offers mainly scheduled flights to European capitals, Metz–Nancy–Lorraine is focused on scheduled flights to French cities and destinations in Northern Africa and the business model of Frankfurt–Hahn is based on low–cost carriers and air freight transport.
Da det er konstateret, at afgiftsplanen fra 2007 og de deri indeholdte rabatter samt markedsføringsaftalen fra 2011 mellem Air Berlin og Saarbrücken lufthavn ikke gav de respektive luftfartsselskaber en fordel, behøver de øvrige kriterier for forekomsten af støtte ikke blive vurderet.
The problem of duplication of the airport infrastructure in the same catchment area arises only regarding Zweibrücken Airport.
Det kan konkluderes, at der ikke blev ydet statsstøtte til de pågældende luftfartsselskaber.
However, as explained in recital 252 and taking into account the sequence of events regarding the extension of the infrastructure at Saarbrücken Airport and the transformation of Zweibrücken Airport from a military into a civil aviation airport, which created the spare capacity in the Saarland area, it can be concluded that it is Zweibrücken Airport which unnecessarily duplicated infrastructure with distortive effect on competition.
Da resultatet af denne insolvensbehandling ikke er klart, er Kommissionen i øjeblikket ikke i stand til at tage stilling til, om undersøgelsen vedrørende betalingerne til Cirrus Airlines kunne være blevet formålsløs.
On the basis of the above, the Commission concludes that the operating aid granted to Saarbrücken Airport is compatible with Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty in the light of the compatibility conditions laid down in Section 5.1.2 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines.
Betalingerne til Cirrus Airline er derfor ikke omfattet af denne afgørelse.
The Commission further considers that since it found the operating aid to FSBesitzG/FSG to be compatible under the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, it does not have to consider any other grounds of potential compatibility put forward by Germany.
Kommissionen konkluderer derfor, at finansieringen af FSBesitzG/FSG gennem kapitalindsprøjtning for at dække tabene i perioden 2000-2012 udgør statsstøtte, for så vidt som den vedrørte aktiviteter uden for det offentlige myndighedsområde.
For the reasons set out in recitals 179 to 182, FSBesitzG has to be considered an undertaking from the year 2000 onwards.
Støtten udgør ny støtte fra og med den 1. juni 2007.
Therefore, as far as the various transfers of land that were mentioned in the opening decision are concerned, only those that took place after the year 2000 are relevant for the purposes of the present Decision.
Overdragelsen af jordlodder uden vederlag eller til en pris under markedsprisen i årene 2002, 2003 og 2004 udgør statsstøtte, for så vidt som den vedrørte aktiviteter uden for det offentlige myndighedsområde.
Transfers that took place before 2000 did not benefit an undertaking and therefore could not amount to State aid.
Støtten er forenelig som investeringsstøtte i henhold til luftfartsretningslinjerne fra 2005.
In relation to the transfers that took place after 2000, Germany brings forward that they were necessary for safety reasons and would hence fall within the public policy remit and be exempted from State aid scrutiny.
Garantierne på lån blev alle ydet før år 2000 og udgør derfor ikke statsstøtte.
In Germany’s view, the transfers fall under § 8 Luftsicherheitsgesetz.
Den eventuelle fordel, de administrative erklæringer indebar, blev videregivet fra vh Saar til FSBesitzG/FSG.
By the same token as in recitals 186 to 194, the Commission is of the view that measures pursuant to § 8 Luftsicherheitsgesetz can, in principle, be considered to constitute activities falling within the public policy remit.
Lejekontrakten fra 2006 involverede statsstøtte til FSBG, som er forenelig driftsstøtte i henhold til luftfartsretningslinjerne fra 2014.
To the extent, however, that the transfer of plots relieved FSBesitzG or FSG of costs they had to bear pursuant to § 8(3) Luftsicherheitsgesetz, the transfers are not exempted from scrutiny under Union State aid rules.
Der blev ikke ydet statsstøtte til luftfartsselskaber gennem afgiftsplanen fra 2007 og markedsføringsaftalen med Air Berlin.
After 2000, three transfers of land took place, two of them […] (2002 and 2003) and one against payment (2004).
Startstøtten til Cirrus Airline er ikke omfattet af denne afgørelse.
The plots of land were transferred by the Land Saarland.
Endelig konstaterer Kommissionen, at Tyskland den 17. juni 2014 meddelte Kommissionen, at man undtagelsesvis accepterer, at denne afgørelse kun vedtages på engelsk —
Accordingly, the Commission can conclude that the land transfers to FSBesitzG involve State resources in the form of direct grants from the State budget and are therefore imputable to the State.
VEDTAGET DENNE AFGØRELSE:
The two transfers that took place free of charge must be considered to have granted FSBesitzG an advantage that it could not have otherwise obtained on the market.
Artikel 1
Germany provided an internal evaluation of the value of these two plots of land, according to which the combined market value would amount to approximately […].
Statsstøtten, som Tyskland har gennemført for Saarbrücken lufthavn er forenelig med det indre marked efter artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde.
The third plot of land was sold for a price of […].
Foranstaltningerne, som Tyskland gennemførte for luftfartsselskaber (afgiftsplanen fra 2007 markedsføringsaftalen med Air Berlin), udgør ikke statsstøtte som defineret i artikel 107, stk. 1, i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde.
Germany has provided an evaluation of the plots of land that were transferred in 2002.
Artikel 2
According to this evaluation, the transferred plots outside the original fence had a value of […]; the plots of land on the premises of the airport had a value of […].
Denne afgørelse er rettet til Forbundsrepublikken Tyskland.
It claims that this evaluation can be used to also determine the value of the plot sold in 2004.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den 1. oktober 2014.
On that basis, Germany estimated that the value of the plot sold in 2004 amounted to […] at the time of the transaction, which equals the sales price that FSBesitzG paid.
På Kommissionens vegne
In this regard, the Commission first notes that the evaluation referred to by Germany has not been done by an independent expert, but in house, by the unit in the Saarland’s Ministry of finance responsible for sale of land.
Næstformand
Moreover, Germany has not provided any explanation on how it arrived at its conclusion.
Med virkning fra den 1. december 2009 er EF-traktatens artikel 87 og 88 blevet til henholdsvis artikel 107 og 108 i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde (TEUF).
In particular, it remained unclear which plots of land were located on the premises and which ones outside the premises of the airport.
De to sæt artikler er indholdsmæssigt identiske.
The Commission can therefore not exclude that the price paid was below market value and thus conferred an advantage to FSBesitzG.
I nærværende afgørelse skal henvisninger til artikel 107 og 108 i TEUF efter omstændighederne forstås som henvisninger til EF-traktatens artikel 87 og 88.
As only FSBesitzG benefited from the three transfers, it must also be considered that they were selective in nature.
I TEUF blev der også foretaget visse terminologiske ændringer, bl.a. blev »Fællesskabet« erstattet af »Unionen«, og »fællesmarkedet« af »det indre marked«.
Finally, by the same token as in recitals 218 to 225, the transfers are liable to distort competition and have an effect on trade.
Terminologien i TEUF vil blive benyttet i hele denne afgørelse.
Accordingly, the transfer of three plots of land amounted to State aid.
EUT C 213 af 19.7.2012, s. 1.
The Commission furthermore considers that since the aid related to the free transfer of fixed capital assets, the aid must be qualified as investment aid.
E-3778/08 af 8. juli 2008.
The investment aid was used to allow for the extension of runway end safety areas (RESA).
Jf. fodnote 2.
As set out in Section 5.1.5.3, this investment was done with a view to keeping the airport fully operational, thereby enhancing regional development.
Meddelelse fra Kommissionen — Retningslinjer for statsstøtte til lufthavne og luftfartsselskaber (EUT C 99 af 4.4.2014, s. 3).
The Commission considers that the investment aid in the form of a transfer of land also fulfils all the other conditions for establishing compatibility pursuant to point 61 of the 2005 Aviation Guidelines, since the reasons set out in Section 5.1.5.3 equally apply.
Se fodnote 5.
It is therefore concluded that the investment aid in the form of the transfer of land is compatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty.
EFT C 113 af 15.4.2014, s. 30.
The Commission notes that the Land Saarland guaranteed loans to FSBesitzG on three occasions without receiving any remuneration.
Se fodnote 7.
However, it also notes that the guarantees were all granted before the year 2000.
http://www.flughafen-saarbruecken.de/index.php?id=372.
As FSBesitzG could only be considered to constitute an undertaking for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty from the year 2000 onwards, the Commission finds that the guarantees did not grant an advantage to an undertaking and therefore do not amount to State aid.
http://www.flughafen-saarbruecken.de/index.php?id=daten_fakten.
As regards the comfort letters provided to vh Saar, the Commission recalls its previous conclusion in recital 203 that vh Saar uses the funding it received to fulfil its financing obligations toward Saarbrücken Airport.
Forretningshemmelighed.
The loans taken out by vh Saar following the comfort letters were also passed on to Saarbrücken Airport.
Kilde: hurtigste rute ifølge Google Maps.
It can therefore be concluded that the advantage contained in these letters did not benefit vh Saar, but that the advantage therein, if any, was passed on to the Airport.
EBITDA, inklusive offentlig støtte og kompensation for aktiviteter, som hører under det offentlige myndighedsområde, eller betragtes som tjenesteydelser af almen økonomisk interesse, se oplysninger fra Tyskland af 5.5.2012, bilag II.
As to the advantage to the airport, the loans secured by the comfort letters were passed on to finance investments in infrastructure.
Da ejer og operatør var forskellige selskaber i disse år (FSBesitzG og FSBG), er den anførte EBITDA summen af EBITDA for begge selskaber.
If the comfort letters involved aid, it would thus be compatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty for the reasons set out in Section 5.1.5.3.
Tyskland påpeger, at kapitalomkostningerne på grund af det benyttede regnskabssystem ikke kan allokeres individuelt til sikring/sikkerhed eller anden infrastruktur.
The Commission already determined, in recital 181, that FSBG was an undertaking for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
Indsendelse af oplysninger fra Tyskland af 17.1.2011, bilag 6, og af 16.4.2012, s. 9.
It therefore only needs to be assessed whether the lease contracts granted an advantage to FSBG, whether such an advantage was granted from State resources, and whether it distorted competition and affected trade between Member States.
Indsendelse af oplysninger fra Tyskland af 16.4.2012, s. 9.
Distinction between existing and new aid
Kommissionens beslutning 2005/842/EF af 28. november 2005 om anvendelse af bestemmelserne i EF-traktatens artikel 86, stk. 2, på statsstøtte i form af kompensation for offentlig tjeneste ydet til visse virksomheder, der har fået overdraget at udføre tjenesteydelser af almindelig økonomisk interesse (EUT L 312 af 29.11.2005, s. 67).
The Commission first observes that a distinction needs to be drawn between the lease contract that was concluded on 7 July 1997 and effective until 1 July 2006 (‘the 1997 contract’), and the contract that was effective as from 1 July 2006 onwards (‘the 2006 contract’).
Meddelelse fra Kommissionen: Fællesskabets rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte til redning og omstrukturering af kriseramte virksomheder (2004) (EUT C 244 af 1.10.2004, s. 2).
As was stressed above, the construction and operation of an airport was not considered to constitute an economic activity until the year 2000, with the consequence that any aid scheme put into place before that date would, if considered to amount to State aid, constitute existing aid after that date (see Section 5.1.2).
Kommissionens meddelelse om anvendelsen af EF-traktatens artikel 87 og 88 på statsstøtte i form af garantier (EUT C 155 af 20.6.2008, s. 10).
Hence, it is not necessary to investigate further whether the 1997 contract (which foresaw fixed annual lease payments) did in fact amount to aid, given it would in any event have to be qualified as existing aid.
Indsendelse af oplysninger fra Tyskland af 5.5.2012, bilag II.
On the other hand, the conclusion of a new lease contract by FSBG in 2006 with changed conditions for determining the annual lease to be paid (in particular, the introduction of a new price element, namely the transfer of a certain percentage of the annual profit of FSBG) cannot be considered as merely a ‘modification of a purely formal or administrative nature which cannot affect the evaluation of the compatibility of the aid measure with the common market’.
Sag C-222/04, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze mod Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze SpA et al., præmis 111.
The 2006 contract can therefore not, if amounting to State aid, be considered as existing aid, but would rather constitute new aid.
Retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2005, punkt 34.
The 2006 contract was concluded between FSBesitzG and FSBG.
Retningslinjerne for luftfart fra 2005, punkt 39, stk. 2.
FSBesitzG was (indirectly) 100 % owned by the State, which was hence in a position to exercise control over the company.
Sag 118/85 Kommissionen mod Italien, Sml. 1987, s. 2599, sag 35/96 Kommissionen mod Italien, Sml. 1998 I, s. 3851.
As to the imputability, the Commission notes that according to the statute of FSBesitzG the members of the supervisory board of FSBesitzG are appointed by the government of Saarland and that the president is appointed by the Ministry responsible for aviation.
Forenede sager T-443/08 og T-455/08 Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG og Flughafen Leipzig Halle GmbH mod Kommissionen, (»Leipzig/Halle-dommen«), Sml. 2011 II, s. 1311, især præmis 93 og 94, bekræftet af sag C-288/11 P Mitteldeutsche Flughafen og Flughafen Leipzig-Halle mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2012, endnu ikke offentliggjort.
The conclusion of the 2006 contract needed the consent of the supervisory board, which represents the government of the Saarland.
Forenede sager C-159/91 og C-160/91, Poucet mod AGV og Pistre mod Cancava, Sml. 1993 I, s. 637.
The Commission can therefore conclude that the measure is imputable to the State.
Sag C-222/04, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze mod Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze SpA et al., Sml. 2006 I, s. 289, præmis 111.
Economic Advantage
Sag C-343/95 Cali & Figli mod Servizi ecologici porto di Genova, Sml. 1997 I, s. 1547, Kommissionens beslutning N309/02 af 19. marts 2003, Kommissionens beslutning N438/02 af 16. oktober 2002, subsidier til havnemyndighederne for udøvelse af beføjelser som offentlig myndighed.
It is therefore necessary to analyse whether a prudent MEO, interested in making a reasonable profit, would have concluded the 2006 contract.
Kommissionens beslutning N309/02 af 19. marts 2003.
The Commission observes that FSBesitzG consistently incurred losses at least since the year 2000 (see Table 3).
Se bl.a. sag C-364/92, SAT/Eurocontrol, Sml. 1994 I, s. 43, præmis 30, og sag C-113/07 P, Selex Sistemi Integrati mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2009 I, s. 2207, præmis 71.
Considering that the lease contract with FSBG was virtually its only source of income (apart from the yearly loss cover received from vh Saar), it would appear that a reasonable MEO being in the place of FSBesitzG would have attempted to cover its own costs from the income generated from this lease contract.
Se bl.a. Sag C-172/03 Wolfgang Heiser mod Finanzamt Innsbruck, Sml. 2005 I, s. 1627, præmis 36, og den nævnte retspraksis.
The costs incurred by FSBesitzG were higher than the income it generated by leasing the airport to FSBG.
Foranstaltninger i henhold til § 8 Luftsicherheitsgesetz omfatter bl.a. etablering af lufthavnsinfrastruktur, som muliggør tilstrækkelig sikkerhedskontrol, visse foranstaltninger vedrørende bagage og fragt, sikring af områder med begrænset adgang, kontrol af personale og varer, som får adgang til områder med begrænset adgang, uddannelse af sikkerhedspersonale, fjernelse og losning af fly, som udgør en sikkerhedstrussel.
It also does not appear that FSBesitzG was, in concluding the 2006 contract, pursuing a specific long–term profitability strategy.
Kommissionens afgørelse af 20. februar 2014 i sag om statsstøtte SA.35847 (2012/N) — Den Tjekkiske Republik — Ostrava lufthavn, endnu ikke offentliggjort i EUT, betragtning 16.
In light of these considerations, the conclusion of the 2006 contract cannot be considered as being in line with the MEO principle and it therefore conferred an advantage to FSBG.
Det hedder i § 27(d), nr. 1, Luftverkehrsgesetz: »Flugsicherungsdienste und die dazu erforderlichen flugsicherungstechnischen Einrichtungen werden an den Flugplätzen vorgehalten, bei denen das Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung einen Bedarf aus Gründen der Sicherheit und aus verkehrspolitischen Interessen anerkennt«.
As the 2006 contract only benefitted FSBG, it can be considered selective within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
Sag C-482/99 Frankrig mod Kommissionen (»Stardust Marine«), Sml. 2002 I, s. 4397.
Finally, the measure was liable to distort competition and have an effect on trade for the reasons explained in Section 5.1.1.
Dom af 12. maj 2011 i forenede sager T-267/08 og T-279/08, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, endnu ikke offentliggjort, præmis 108.
The Commission therefore considers that the 2006 contract involved State aid for FSBG.
Sag C-39/94 Syndicat français de l'Express international (SFEI) et al. mod La Poste et al., Sml. 1996 I, s. 3547, præmis 60 og sag C-342/96 Kongeriget Spanien mod Kommissionen for De Europæiske Fællesskaber, Sml. 1999 I, s. 2459, præmis 41.
contribution to a well–defined objective of common interest,
Sag 173/73, Den Italienske Republik mod Kommissionen for De Europæiske Fællesskaber, Sml. 1974, s. 709, præmis 13.
need for State intervention,
Sag C-482/99, Frankrig mod Kommissionen, (»Stardust Marine«), Sml. 2002 I, s. 4397, præmis 69.
existence of incentive effect,
Sag C-305/89 Italien mod Kommissionen (»Alfa Romeo«), Sml. 1991 I, s. 1603, sag T-296/97 Alitalia mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2000 II, s. 3871.
proportionality of the aid amount (aid limited to the minimum necessary),
Sag 40/85 Belgien mod Kommissionen, Sml. 1986 I, s. 2321.
The operating aid under assessment, which concerned the leasing of airport infrastructure below market price, had the objective of maintaining the appropriate level of operation at Saarbrücken Airport.
Sag C-482/99, Frankrig mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2002 I, s. 4397.
According to point 113 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, operating aid to airports will be considered to contribute to the achievement of an objective of common interest if it increases the mobility of Union citizens and the connectivity of the regions, combats air traffic congestion at major Union hub airports or facilitates regional development.
Sag C-124/10P Europa-Kommissionen mod Électricité de France (EDF), 2012, endnu ikke offentliggjort i Samling af Afgørelser, (»EDF-dommen«) præmis 85.
As explained in recital 254, operating aid to Saarbrücken Airport contributed to the connectivity and development of the region.
Sag C-280/00, Altmark Trans GmbH og Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg mod Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Altmark GmbH, Sml. 2003 I, s. 7747, præmis 87-93.
For the reasons set out in recital 284, the duplication argument applies rather to the State aid granted to Zweibrücken Airport.
Se EUT L 219 af 24.8.2007, s. 9, betragtning 111 ff.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the operating aid granted to FSBG contributed to the achievement of the objective of common interest of improving the connectivity and regional development of the Saarland region through the operation of transport infrastructure to meet the transport needs of the region.
Se Kommissionens afgørelse af 1. oktober 2014 i statsstøttesag SA.27339 — Tyskland — Zweibrücken lufthavn, endnu ikke offentliggjort i EUT.
According to point 118 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, airports with an annual passenger traffic below 700 000 passengers per annum may not be able to cover their operating costs to a substantial extent.
Fraport AG ejede en aktiepost på 51 % i FSBG indtil den 30. juni 2007.
Traffic at Saarbrücken Airport was constantly below 700 000 passengers.
»Vorlage für den Ministerrat, Gemeinsame Kabinettssitzung der Regierung des Saarlandes und der Landesregierung von Rheinland-Pfalz am 27.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the aid was necessary as it allowed an improvement in the connectivity of the region that the market would not deliver by itself.
Mai 2003«, Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau, 15. maj 2003.
As pointed out above, Saarbrücken Airport received investment aid which enabled the airport to satisfy the connectivity and transport needs of the Saarland region (see recital 285).
»Einschätzung der rheinland-pfälzischen Innenministeriums«, 15. maj 2003.
Despite rather stable passenger numbers, the airport is not able to cover its operating costs.