natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Frankrig underretter senest to måneder efter datoen for meddelelsen af denne afgørelse Kommissionen om de foranstaltninger, der er truffet for at efterkomme den.
This situation has led producers to impose quotas on major customers and increase sales prices.
Artikel 5
In these circumstances, dismembering Kem One and/or imposing a long-term reduction in its sales would only strengthen the competitive position of the Ineos/Solvay joint venture to the detriment of competition in non-European markets.
Denne afgørelse er rettet til Den Franske Republik.
The Commission therefore concludes that the interested third parties, in their analysis of overcapacity in the market, did not take sufficient account of developments in the PVC market since the Ineos/Solvay/JV decision, although these very developments can give rise to a situation in which strategically targeted exports to countries outside the EU and the reorientation of production could, with competition weakened, result in price rises to the detriment of customers located in western Europe.
På Kommissionens vegne
By way of a preliminary remark, it should be observed that point 39 of the 2004 Guidelines does not give an exhaustive list of possible compensatory measures, but merely indicates a number of solutions that are acceptable in principle, without restricting the Commission's freedom to opt for compensatory measures not listed there.
Medlem af Kommissionen
Following its investigation, the Commission has reached the conclusion that the following constitute appropriate compensatory measures:
EUT C 460 af 19.12.2014, s. 40.
cap on nominal production capacity for chlorine ([600-700] kt/year) and caustic soda ([600-700] kt/year other than for internal use) at the Fos-sur-Mer and Lavéra sites for a period of […] from the date of adoption of this Decision,
Se fodnote 1.
cap on Kem One's share of the S-PVC market in north-western Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom taken together) [22], at [10-20] % in volume terms for a period of […] from the date of adoption of this Decision,
Fortrolige oplysninger.
ban on acquiring shares or assets in undertakings in EEA product markets in which Kem One is present for a period of […] from the date of adoption of this Decision; this ban extends to Kem One and to any natural or legal person exercising control over Kem One now or in the next […] within the meaning of Article 3(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 [23].(287) These three compensatory measures are capable of counterbalancing the adverse effects of the aid measures on trading conditions by preventing Kem One from using the aid to increase its presence in the PVC market and the other markets in which it operates.
Se navnlig Kommissionens afgørelse af 8. maj 2014 i sag M.6905 — INEOS/Solvay/JV (i det følgende benævnt »afgørelsen vedrørende INEOS/Solvay/JV«).
Cap for a period of […] from the date of adoption of this Decision on nominal production capacity for chlorine ([600-700] kt/year) and caustic soda ([600-700] kt/year other than for internal use) at the Fos-sur-Mer and Lavéra sites.
Chlor anvendes til fremstilling af monomert vinylchlorid (MVC), som så igen anvendes til fremstilling af PVC.
This measure already amounts to ‘reducing’ effective production of chlorine by […] kt compared with Kem One's effective production capacity as planned after completion of the SAM project.
Journal Officiel de la République française (Frankrigs statstidende) nr. 279 af 1.12.2004, s. 20468.
The current rate of utilisation of production capacities for chlorine and caustic soda is [80-90] % (a habitual utilisation rate of [85-95] % cut by some [5-15] % as a result of an exceptional incident at the Fos-sur-Mer site in June 2014).
Ifølge det franske nationale kontor for statistik og økonomiske undersøgelsers definition er en mellemstor virksomhed en virksomhed med mellem 250 og 4999 ansatte og enten en omsætning på højst 1,5 mia. EUR eller en samlet balance på højst 2 mia. EUR.
The production capacity utilisation rate of [90-100] % in 2015 and 2016 corresponds to […] kt/year.
En virksomhed med under 250 ansatte, men med en omsætning på over 50 mio. EUR og en samlet balance på over 43 mio. EUR, opfattes også som en mellemstor virksomhed.
Once the conversion of the chlorine/caustic soda electrolysis facilities at Lavéra is complete, their intrinsically greater reliability should push this rate up to [85-95] % to reach the target for effective chlorine production included in the business plan, namely […] kt/year.
»Kun retten kan træffe afgørelse om en væsentlig ændring af planens mål eller midler på debitors anmodning og ud fra rapporten fra udvalget om planens gennemførelse.
However, it must be noted that the new membrane electrolysis facility should be capable of producing [5-15] % more than the ‘nominal’ production of […] kt/year, by increasing the electrical current density from […] to […] kA/m2.
Når debitors situation giver mulighed for at ændre planen væsentligt til fordel for kreditorerne, kan udvalget om planens gennemførelse indbringe sagen for retten.«
This is the technical solution that Kem One has opted for, and the acquisition of the necessary equipment has been negotiated with the supplier, with a view to facilitating a future increase in production, in line with the growth in the chlorine market expected in 2017 and subsequently.
Beslutningen om at optage dette lån vil blive truffet alt efter Kem Ones cash flow i 2014 og 2015.
If all of Kem One's chlorine outlets are considered together (its downstream production plants for S-PVC, paste PVC, chlorinated PVC and chloromethanes), it has sufficient capacity to absorb a chlorine production of […] kt/year.
»Når en anmodning om tilladelse vedrører et godkendt anlæg, der skal etableres på et nyt sted og eventuelt som følge af eksplosionsfare eller risiko for udstrømning af skadelige stoffer er forbundet med særdeles store risici for den omgivende befolknings sundhed eller sikkerhed og for miljøet, kan der af hensyn til almenvellet indføres servitutter vedrørende jordens anvendelse og udførelsen af de arbejder, der er omfattet af byggetilladelsen.«
Moreover, Kem One forecasts growth in demand in western Europe of […] % per year for chlorine and […] % per year for caustic soda [24].
EUT C 14 af 19.1.2008, s. 2.
Capping production capacity will therefore prevent Kem One from growing its chlorine production to [600-700] kt/year of actual production, which would have brought it close to saturating all of its potential outlets, in other words, maximising the utilisation rates of its downstream chlorine assets.
Anvendelse af forhøjelsen med 650 basispoint ved normal sikkerhedsstillelse og med 1000 basispoint ved ringe sikkerhedsstillelse.
Ultimately, capping nominal capacity at [600-700] kt/year of chlorine, or an expected actual production of […] kt/year, prevents Kem One from keeping in step with the growth in the caustic soda market, resulting in a lost opportunity of around […] % of growing sales in […].
EUT C 244 af 1.10.2004, s. 2.
Kem One's share of the caustic soda market in western Europe, estimated at [5-15] %, would therefore fall to [5-15] %.
[…] EUR i arbejdsgiverbidrag + […] EUR i skatter og afgifter + […] EUR i bidrag til den tvungne sociale sikringsordning til koncernen Malakoff Médéric.
Moreover, this measure would make it impossible for Kem One to increase its own outlets and shares of the European and/or export market for the chlorine derivatives of S-PVC, E-PVC (or PVC paste), C-PVC (or chlorinated PVC), chloromethanes and, to a lesser extent, liquid chlorine.
En andel på […] % af den ikkeeftergivne gæld, dvs. […] EUR, + den ikkeeftergivelige gæld, dvs. […] EUR, + den sociale gæld oparbejdet efter akkordproceduren, dvs. 13 mio. EUR.
The lost opportunity is calculated at around […] kt of chlorine over […].
EUT C 249 af 31.7.2014, s. 1.
By way of illustration, […] kt of chlorine can be used for example to produce […] kt of S-PVC, allowing Kem One to increase its market share from [10-20] % to [10-20] %, calculated with reference to Kem One's PVC sales ([…] kt/year) and the size of the S-PVC market that can be accessed by European producers ([…] Mt).
Europa-Parlamentets og Rådets direktiv 2010/75/EU af 24. november 2010 om industrielle emissioner (integreret forebyggelse og bekæmpelse af forurening) (EUT L 334 af 17.12.2010, s. 17).
Cap for a period of […] from the date of adoption of this Decision on the share by Kem One and its present or future subsidiaries of the S-PVC market in north-western Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom taken together), at [10-20] % in volume terms [25].
Kommissionens afgørelse af 26. juli 2011 i sag M.6218 — INEOS/Tessenderlo Group S-PVC Assets.
As regards S-PVC (including the M-PVC or ‘mass PVC’ produced at Saint-Fons, which is treated like it in the market), Kem One has a nominal production capacity of […] kt/year, representing almost […] % of total western European production capacity ([…] Mt/year).
Se også afgørelsen vedrørende INEOS/Solvay/JV.
The combination of these industrial and commercial measures should result in a significant increase in volumes sold in this geographical area (around […] Kt), bringing the undertaking's share of the S-PVC market in this area to [10-20] %.
Se punkt 805, 828 og 838 i afgørelsen vedrørende INEOS/Solvay/JV.
The Commission accordingly takes the view that capping Kem One's share of the S-PVC market at [10-20] % (in volume terms) […] as of the date of adoption of this Decision in the north-western Europe area would ensure that the aid measures are not used by Kem One for the purposes of its commercial activity in this area.
Kommissionen gav således den 9. juni 2015 tilladelse til, at ICIG opkøbte visse af INEOS' virksomheder inden for branchen »vinylchlorid«, og den godkendte ICIG som køber af de aktiver, der blev afhændet i forbindelse med oprettelsen af et joint venture-selskab (IP/15/5147).
The cap would also mitigate the effects of the aid and preclude the risk of any excessive distortion of competition.
Se punkt 403 i afgørelsen vedrørende INEOS/Solvay/JV.
Moreover, the fact that France, where Kem One has its main industrial and commercial S-PVC base, is part of this geographical area ensures that the requirements of the case-law on compensatory measures [26] are met.
Rådets forordning (EF) nr. 139/2004 af 20. januar 2004 om kontrol med fusioner og virksomhedsovertagelser (»EF-fusionsforordningen«) ( EUT L 24 af 29.1.2004, s. 1).
This option also has the benefit of maintaining the competitive pressure on the Ineos/Solvay joint venture, the main player in the S-PVC market in north-western Europe [27], without freezing the competitive situation for an unreasonable length of time.
Ifølge historikken for de seneste 10 år er der rent faktisk en tendens til, at efterspørgslen efter natriumcarbonat, som varierer voldsomt, stiger med en procentsats, der er meget tæt på stigningen i BNP, mens efterspørgslen efter chlor stiger med en procentsats, der er en lille smule lavere.
The Commission accordingly regards these temporary caps as more appropriate than a divestment of assets for the purposes of preventing an excessive distortion of competition by the aid in question, while ensuring that competitive pressure is maintained on the S-PVC market in north-western Europe.
Da salgsmængderne i det geografiske område bliver offentliggjort med en vis forsinkelse i erhvervsstatistikkerne og ikke kun afhænger af Kem One, og da overholdelsen af tærskelværdien kan kræve relativt hurtige tilpasninger af handelspolitikken, hvor salget omfordeles i det dækkede geografiske område, bør der sættes en øvre og nedre grænse for den anvendte tærskelværdi for markedsandelen.
Acquisition ban.
Hvis markedsandelen overskrider den begrænsning, der er fastsat i nærværende afgørelse, med 10 %, vil begrænsningen ikke blive opfattet som værende overskredet, hvis støttemodtageren får bragt markedsandelen tilbage på 11 % senest et år efter den første halvårsrapport, der gjorde opmærksom på denne overskridelse.
This ban will extend not only to Kem One but also to any natural or legal person exercising control over Kem One now or in the next […] within the meaning of Article 3(2) of the EC Merger Regulation, which provides that ‘control shall be constituted by rights, contracts or any other means which, either separately or in combination and having regard to the considerations of fact or law involved, confer the possibility of exercising decisive influence on an undertaking, in particular by: (a) ownership or the right to use all or part of the assets of an undertaking; (b) rights or contracts which confer decisive influence on the composition, voting or decisions of the organs of an undertaking.’
T-115/09 og T-116/09 — Electrolux og Whirlpool mod Kommissionen.
Accordingly, neither Kem One nor the entities controlling it will be in a position to divert the aid paid by France and to use it to increase their market power to the detriment of operators that have not received public subsidies.
EU:T:2012:76, præmis 50-58.
The ban will not cover acquisitions that (i) are necessary for the restoration of Kem One's viability; and (ii) do not constitute a means of circumventing the obligation to limit the effects of the aid to the strict minimum required to achieve the objectives of Kem One's restructuring plan.
Se punkt 403 ff. i afgørelsen vedrørende INEOS/Solvay/JV.
No acquisition may take place unless the Commission finds that the conditions at (i) and (ii) are met.
Samme dag anmodede Kommissionen om supplerende oplysninger, som Frankrig fremsendte den 8. maj 2015.
Any acquisition plans and information enabling the Commission to assess whether the conditions are met must be communicated to the Commission within a reasonable time-frame.
Kommissionen anmodede efterfølgende om supplerende oplysninger den 23. juni 2015, som Frankrig fremsendte den 2. juli 2015.
Monitoring and six-monthly reports
Périmètre de l’entreprise bénéficiaire des mesures
Point 49 of the 2004 Guidelines provides: ‘The Commission must be put in a position to make certain that the restructuring plan is being implemented properly, through regular detailed reports communicated by the Member State concerned’.
Kilde: Anmeldelse.
In this instance, given the amount of aid involved, the nature of the compensatory measures required to ensure compatibility of the aid with the State aid rules, the objective of ensuring Kem One's return to viability and the competitive situation in the market concerned, the Commission takes the view that France should send it six-monthly reports with information on the following:
[…] kt MVC
the proper implementation of the restructuring plan, with an assessment as to whether the objective of Kem One's return to viability is being achieved,
Saint-Fons (Frankrig)
the achievement in practice of the cap on nominal capacity for production of chlorine and caustic soda at Fos-sur-Mer and Lavéra,
Hernani (Spanien)
the achievement in practice of the [10-20] % cap on Kem One's share of the S-PVC market in north-western Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom taken together),
Elektrolyse
the absence of any acquisitions of shares or assets in undertakings in the EEA product markets in which Kem One operates,
(Mængde)
an assessment of the competitive situation in the PVC market and the upstream and downstream markets in the EEA, including in particular market shares and capacities of the market players, changes in market structure, price trends and any other element that may aid the Commission's understanding.
(Værdi)
These reports must be provided for a period of […] from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Kem Ones nuværende aktiviteter har udviklet sig inden for rammerne af Arkemas vinylpol, som i 2006 blev en selvstændig virksomhed.
The first report must reach the Commission six months after the date of adoption of this Decision.
Disse aktiviteter blev overdraget til Klesch-koncernen i 2012.
In conclusion, as regards the avoidance of any excessive distortion of competition as a result of the aid measures, given the presence of the Ineos/Solvay joint venture, which is a far stronger player in the S-PVC market, given that more drastic compensatory measures in the form of a divestment of assets as set out in point 39 of the 2004 Guidelines would threaten Kem One's viability and weaken its competitive power, something which would be detrimental to the structure and effect of competition in the market, and given that the compensatory measures examined here in Section 6.2.4 of this Decision are likely to mitigate sufficiently the effects of the aid and provide an appropriate remedy in the circumstances to the distortion of competition caused by the aid and that they will be assessed together with the competitive situation in the market in the regular reports, the Commission finds the compensatory measures concerned to be appropriate.
Kem Ones tilbagevendende problemer fik virksomheden til at anmode om indledning af en forligsprocedure ved handelsretten i Lyon i januar 2013.
Aid limited to the minimum: real contribution, free of aid
Da det ikke var muligt at nå frem til nogen aftale, konstaterede handelsretten den 27. marts 2013, at Kem One var gået i betalingsstandsning, og retten indledte en akkordprocedure.
Point 43 of the 2004 Guidelines stipulates that the ‘amount and intensity of the aid must be limited to the strict minimum of the restructuring costs necessary to enable restructuring to be undertaken in the light of the existing financial resources of the company, its shareholders or the business group to which it belongs’.
Idriftsættelsen vil efter planen finde sted i 2016.
Point 44 of the Guidelines provides that ‘the Commission will normally consider the following contributions to the restructuring to be appropriate: … 50 % for large firms.’
De samlede udgifter til SAM-projektet beløber sig til [150-250] mio. EUR.
First, the information obtained following the opening of proceedings did not justify the inclusion of the loan of EUR [60-70] million in Kem One's own contribution.
Hvis Kem Ones aktiviteter var blevet værdiansat ved anvendelse af DCF-metoden, ville deres værdi være på [80-90] mio. EUR i 2014, [110-130] mio. EUR i 2015 og [330-340] mio. EUR i 2016.
France confirmed the hypothetical and uncertain character of the loan, stressing that in any event it would not come into play before 2016.
Endelig påpeger Frankrig, at der er tale om pant med første prioritet, hvorved det sikres, at statens krav fyldestgøres inden alle de øvrige kreditorers krav.
This loan does not therefore satisfy the condition set out in the 2004 Guidelines to the effect that the beneficiary's own contribution must be real.
Ifølge europæisk lovgivning skal de europæiske operatører have omlagt kviksølvteknologien inden udgangen af 2017.
The Commission accordingly finds that it cannot be included in the calculation.
Hvis Frankrig gav Kem One mulighed for at udsætte de nødvendige investeringer, ville der være tale om positiv forskelsbehandling, som kunne udgøre en økonomisk fordel og dermed opfattes som en slags statsstøtte.
The Commission's investigation has shown that the resources that can be taken into account for the purposes of calculating Kem One's own contribution to the restructuring costs are:
Som belæg herfor har Frankrig forelagt rapporter fra uafhængige eksperter, der bl.a. er udfærdiget på tidspunktet for den delvise overdragelse af aktiver fra Arkema til Kem One i juli 2012.
Table 4
Derudover er denne overdragelses værdi blevet godkendt af en revisor.
Sources of the private contributions included in the restructuring plan, according to the Commission
EDF's elektricitetspriser.
Source: Commission
Frankrig understreger, at tredjeparternes argument om, at der skulle være ydet »discounts«, bygger på et fejlagtigt citat fra åbningsafgørelsen — der på ingen måde nævner en sådan rabat — samt på et rygte, der cirkulerede på markedet, og som den anonyme virksomhed 1 har fremført: »It is indeed well known in the market that Kem One has been granted price reductions by EDF for its new electricity contracts.« (»Markedet er fuldt ud bekendt med, at Kem One har fået rabat af EDF i forbindelse med virksomhedens nye elektricitetskontrakter.«)
Kem One self-financing
Forhindring af urimelige konkurrencefordrejninger.
A number of new elements came to light during the investigation.
Frankrig fremsætter bemærkninger til følgende punkter:
First, regarding self-financing by Kem One, only EUR 18 million has been injected by Kem One into the modernisation project to date.
Derudover fastsættes det i de nye rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte til redning og omstrukturering af kriseramte ikke-finansielle virksomheder [17] (i det følgende benævnt »de nye rammebestemmelser«), som trådte i kraft den 1. august 2014, at der skal tages højde for gældseftergivelse.
The hypothetical character of the payment of the balance means that this amount cannot be classed as an own contribution.
Frankrig mener, at denne foranstaltning har den samme virkning som en positiv pengestrøm, da den forbedrer egenkapitalen og gør det muligt at frigive likviditet, som Kem One efterfølgende kan bruge til omstruktureringen.
The factoring by [private operator 2] came in the end to EUR [55-65] million (instead of the EUR [40-50] million initially planned) following negotiations between Kem One and [private operator 2].
Endelig stammer rapporten fra juli 2012, altså fra før akkordproceduren, som blev indledt i marts 2013.
The restructuring costs are estimated at EUR 222 million.
Den aktivværdi, der skal tages i betragtning, er altså ikke den bogførte værdi, men den værdi, genstandene ville kunne sælges for, hvis kreditor, i dette tilfælde staten, udøvede sin panteret.
Kem One's own contribution to the restructuring therefore covers 60 % of the restructuring costs.
I lyset af Kem Ones økonomiske vanskeligheder skal virksomheden opfattes som en virksomhed med CCC-rating i medfør af meddelelsen om referencesatser fra 2008.
It can therefore be concluded that the aid is limited to the minimum, without it being necessary to assess the nature of the debt write-offs granted by the private creditors.
Sikkerhedsstillelsen kan ligeledes betegnes som »lav« i henhold til meddelelsen.
‘One time, last time’ principle
Hvad angår støttebeløbets størrelse, skal Kommissionen fastsætte den gældende sats i medfør af meddelelsen om referencesatser fra 2008, da der ikke foreligger tilstrækkelige reelle markedsoplysninger (f.eks. et banklån ydet til Kem One på de samme vilkår som de tilbagebetalingspligtige forskud).
In accordance with points 72 et seq. of the 2004 Guidelines, restructuring aid can be granted to an undertaking only once in a 10-year period.
Da Kem One er en kriseramt virksomhed, skal virksomheden opfattes som en virksomhed med CCC-rating i medfør af nævnte meddelelse.
France stated in its notification that neither Kem One nor the group to which it belongs had already benefited from rescue or restructuring aid in the past.
Trods de nye rammebestemmelsers ikrafttræden den 1. august 2014 vil den omhandlede støtte blive behandlet i henhold til rammebestemmelserne fra 2004.
The ‘one time, last time’ principle has therefore been complied with.
Ifølge punkt 136 i de nye rammebestemmelser skal anmeldelser, der indgår til Kommissionen før den 1. august 2014, vurderes på grundlag af de kriterier, der var gældende på anmeldelsestidspunktet.
CONCLUSION
Den bemærkede bl.a., at det nominelle scenarie med hensyn til genopretningen af likviditeten kun gav et lille likviditetsoverskud ved scenariets afslutning i 2020.
The Commission finds that the aid measures in question can be declared compatible with the internal market in accordance with Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, provided that the compensatory measures set out in Section 6.2.4.3 of this Decision are complied with and that the reports provided for in Section 6.2.4.4 of this Decision are submitted to the Commission within the deadlines laid down,
Likviditeten var langt dårligere i det pessimistiske scenarie, hvor den fremstod som et negativt beløb på [100-150] mio. EUR i 2020.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: