natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Endelig bemærker Kommissionen, at Cypern har accepteret, at nærværende afgørelse vedtages og offentliggøres på engelsk —
As regards the routes proposed as compensatory measures, the Commission has consistently accepted as compensatory measures abandoning or reducing capacity in non-loss making routes, that is to say routes which have a positive gross contribution, taking into account variable costs.
VEDTAGET DENNE AFGØRELSE:
However, the Commission observes that the route LCA-ATH, for which the Cypriot authorities proposed to reduce the capacity operated by Cyprus Airways as a compensatory measure, had a negative gross contribution and the Cypriot authorities did not provide evidence to support their argument that the part of the route relevant as compensatory measure (reduction of frequency by 4 flights a week) was non-loss making.
Artikel 1
Nevertheless, the Commission notes that the proposed 24 % reduction of ASK as compared to the 2012 capacity is higher than the reduction of ASK proposed in other airline restructuring cases.
Den formelle undersøgelsesprocedure i henhold til traktatens artikel 108, stk. 2, der blev indledt den 6. marts 2013, i forbindelse med Cyperns potentielle tildeling af kulanceerstatning til Cyprus Airways, er bortfaldet, da Cypern har opgivet foranstaltningen.
This means that, even if the reduction in the capacity of the LCA-ATH route (representing only 0,84 % of total ASK) would not be taken into account, the reduction of ASK would still be sufficiently high.
Den pågældende procedure er hermed afsluttet.
The Commission therefore concludes that points 38-42 of the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines are fulfilled.
Artikel 2
Aid limited to the minimum: real contribution, free of aid
Statsstøtten på mindst 66 099 317,94 EUR, der udgøres af 31,33 mio. EUR i form af statens deltagelse i kapitalforhøjelsen, 34,5 mio. EUR i form af redningslånet og 269 317,94 EUR i form af uddannelsesstøtten, som Cypern ulovligt har tildelt Cyprus Airways i strid med traktatens artikel 108, stk. 3, er uforenelig med det indre marked.
According to points 43-45 of the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, beneficiaries of restructuring aid are expected to make a significant contribution to the 2013 restructuring plan from their own resources, which should be at least 50 % of the restructuring costs for large firms, such as Cyprus Airways, except for exceptional circumstances and in cases of particular hardship.
Artikel 3
The own contribution must be real, that is to say, actual, excluding all future profits such as cash flow.
Enhver statsstøtte ud over de i artikel 2 omhandlede beløb, som Cypern har tildelt eller eventuelt ønsker at tildele Cyprus Airways under foranstaltning 4, er uforenelig med det indre marked.
The Commission takes note of the updated amount of proposed own contribution of EUR 61,57 million.
Artikel 4
This represents 41,8 % of the total restructuring costs of EUR 147,4 million and the restructuring aid would be adjusted to the realised own contribution, so that the sum of the two amounts covers only the restructuring costs.
Cypern skal tilbagesøge den i artikel 2 omhandlede uforenelige støtte fra støttemodtageren.
The Commission observes that the proposed own contribution of 41,8 %, even if it were fully achieved, would be below the threshold of 50 % set by the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines.
Cypern skal ligeledes tilbagesøge den i artikel 3 omhandlede yderligere støtte fra støttemodtageren.
Moreover, the Commission observes that based on table 5 in recital 79, only the sale of assets worth EUR 55,67 million has actually been realised.
De beløb, der skal inddrives, tilskrives rente fra den dato, hvor de blev stillet til rådighed for modtageren, indtil de er tilbagebetalt.
The sale of other proposed items, such as the spare parts and the Airbus A320, has not been fully realised and their values are not backed by an expert valuation.
Renten beregnes med renters rente i overensstemmelse med kapitel V i Kommissionens forordning (EF) nr. 794/2004 og Kommissionens forordning (EF) nr. 271/2008 om ændring af forordning (EF) nr. 794/2004.
As regards the sale of spare parts, the actual proceeds until now (EUR 0,86 million) demonstrate that the original estimates of EUR 2,0 million in 2013 and EUR 1,1 million in 2014 were largely overestimated.
For så vidt angår foranstaltning 4 oplyser Cypern Kommissionen om, hvorvidt Cypern har tildelt yderligere beløb ud over de i artikel 2 omhandlede beløb under denne foranstaltning, og informerer ligeledes Kommissionen om de nøjagtige tildelte beløb og tildelingsdatoerne.
In the absence of any expert valuation of the remaining spare parts to be sold and without any other evidence such as an agreement indicating clearly the future purchase commitment by the buyer, possible future proceeds from the spare parts sales cannot be taken into account as sufficiently real and actual own contribution.
For så vidt angår foranstaltning 5 oplyser Cypern Kommissionen om tildelingsdatoerne for de enkelte beløb.
As regards the sale of the Airbus A320, which the Cypriot authorities in their submission of 11 May 2014 describe as ‘an old aircraft’, four out of the five offers submitted during 2014 have been withdrawn and in the case of the fifth offer the bidder has not responded to Cyprus Airways’ counter-proposal.
oplysningerne anført i artikel 4, stk. 4 og 5
As the Cypriot authorities have not provided any expert valuation of the aircraft, the projected sales revenue of EUR 2,5 million cannot be accepted as a sufficiently real and actual own contribution.
det samlede beløb (hovedstol og renter), der skal tilbagesøges fra støttemodtageren
In addition, the Commission does not agree with the Cypriot authorities and considers that the transfer of a property to the Provident Fund cannot be considered as an actual and real own contribution.
en detaljeret beskrivelse af allerede trufne og planlagte foranstaltninger med henblik på at efterkomme denne afgørelse
That is because, as confirmed by the Cypriot authorities and as identified in the Company’s annual accounts, the Provident Fund is controlled by Cyprus Airways, regardless of its legal status, its funds are ultimately at the disposal of the Company and its deficit is part of the restructuring costs.
dokumentation for, at støttemodtageren har fået påbud om at tilbagebetale støtten.
Therefore, by transferring an asset to the Provident Fund, Cyprus Airways does not bring any real own contribution to its restructuring costs.
Cypern holder Kommissionen orienteret om fremskridtene med de nationale foranstaltninger, der træffes for at efterkomme denne afgørelse, indtil den i artikel 2 og 3 omhandlede støtte er tilbagebetalt.
In light of the above, the Commission considers the level of actual and real own contribution as EUR 55,67 million, which is 37,8 % of the restructuring costs.
Cypern indsender på Kommissionens anmodning straks oplysninger om, hvilke foranstaltninger der allerede er truffet eller planlagt for at efterkomme afgørelsen.
The Cypriot authorities argue that the own contribution can be exceptionally lower than 50 % in case of particular hardship.
Cypern giver tillige detaljerede oplysninger om de støttebeløb og renter, støttemodtagen allerede har tilbagebetalt.
More specifically, they argue that a lower level of own contribution in case of Cyprus airways can be justified by the economic and financial crisis as well as the Turkish airspace ban putting additional burden on the Company.
Artikel 7
The Commission takes note of the particular situation of the Cypriot economy and acknowledges that disposing assets in such a situation may not be an easy process.
Denne afgørelse er rettet til Republikken Cypern.
However, the Commission notes that Cyprus Airways operates in an international and liquid market, because the potential buyers of its assets, including aircraft, slots, spare parts, may come from any part of the world and may thus not be concerned by the situation in the Cypriot economy, as they can obtain financing easier and can transfer the assets or use them without any link to Cyprus.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den 9. januar 2015.
Further, the Turkey overflight ban has been in place for many years and is not related in any way to the sale of airline-related assets which can be used elsewhere.
Medlem af Kommissionen
Finally, while the Commission has based on the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines accepted own contributions as low as 40 % of the restructuring costs, due to exceptional circumstances, this still exceeds the level of own contribution by Cyprus Airways.
SA.35888: EUT C 152 af 30.5.2013, s. 12, SA.37220 og SA.38225: EUT C 117 af 16.4.2014, s. 125.
The Commission therefore concludes that points 43-45 of the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines are not fulfilled.
Se fodnote 1.
The 2013 restructuring plan does not limit the aid to the minimum necessary, since it does not include a sufficiently high, real and actual own contribution to the restructuring costs of Cyprus Airways.
SA.27573 (2012/MX) — Scheme for constant training programmes for individual enterprises — Cyprus (ordning for programmerne for løbende uddannelse for individuelle virksomheder — Cypern), godkendt af Cypern ved afgørelse truffet af den cypriotiske Commissioner for State Aid Control og offentliggjort i Cyperns statstidende nr. 8025 af 21. november 2008.
Special conditions in relation to companies in assisted areas
Kommissionens henstilling 2003/361/EF af 6. maj 2003 om definitionen af mikrovirksomheder, små og mellemstore virksomheder, EUT L 124 af 20.5.2003, s. 36.
The 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines provide that the conditions for authorising aid may be less stringent as regards the implementation of compensatory measures and the size of the beneficiary’s contribution, when justified by reasons of regional development and in particular if the beneficiary of the aid is located in an assisted region.
Kommissionens beslutning af 3. maj 2005 i sag N69/2005 (EUT C 191 af 5.8.2005, s. 4) og Kommissionens beslutning 2008/137/EF af 7. marts 2007 — statsstøtte C 10/06 (ex N555/05) — Cyprus Airways Public Ltd. — Omstruktureringsplan (EUT L 49 af 22.2.2008, s. 25).
In the case of Cyprus, for the period 2007-13 as well as 2014-20, two regions covering together 50 % of the Cypriot population are eligible to receive regional investment aid under the derogation of article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty (the Western Zone and the Easter Zone).
ATH: Athen, SKG: Thessaloniki, HER: Heraklion-Crete, RHO-Rhodes, LED: St. Petersburg.
Finally, they argued that the economic recession of the Cypriot economy should a fortiori merit the treatment of Cyprus as an assisted area.
FCO: Rom Fiumicino, VIE: Wien, LHR: London Heathrow, STN: London-Stansted.
The Commission notes that Cyprus Airways has its seat in Nicosia, which is not situated in any of the two assisted areas of Cyprus.
LON: Betegnet under ét som lufthavne i London-området.
Larnaca airport, arguably the main centre of Cyprus Airways’ operations, is also not situated in one of those assisted areas.
AMS: Amsterdam Schiphol, CDG: Paris Charles de Gaulle, SVO: Moskva Sheremetyevo, SOF: Sofia, FRA: Frankfurt am Main, MUC: München, ZRH: Zürich, TLV: Tel Aviv, BEY: Beirut.
In addition, the Commission notes that, in order to ensure a level playing field, the status of an assisted area can only be established by a Commission decision, according to the criteria of the applicable Regional Aid Guidelines, and not based on other territorial characteristics or an economic recession.
Available seat kilometres (udbudte sædekilometer).
Thus, the Commission cannot accept less stringent conditions as regards the criteria for the aid.
I 2013-omstruktureringsplanen blev ruter, der yder et positivt dækningsbidrag til virksomhedens omkostninger, dvs. indtægter minus variable omkostninger, betragtet som rentable ruter.
‘One time, last time’ principle
Kommissionens forordning (EF) nr. 800/2008 af 6. august 2008 om visse former for støttes forenelighed med fællesmarkedet i henhold til traktatens artikel 87 og 88 (EUT L 214 af 9.8.2008, s. 3).
Point 73 Section 3.3 of the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines stipulates that rescue and/or restructuring aid should be granted only once and ‘where less than 10 years have elapsed since the rescue aid was granted or the restructuring period came to an end or implementation of the restructuring plan has been halted (whichever is the latest), the Commission will not allow further rescue or restructuring aid.’
Meddelelse fra Kommissionen om Fællesskabets rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte til redning og omstrukturering af kriseramte virksomheder (EUT C 244 af 1.10.2004, s. 2), hvis gyldighed blev forlænget i 2009 (EUT C 156 af 9.7.2009, s. 3) og i 2012 (EUT C 296 af 2.10.2012, s. 3).
This condition is known as the ‘one time, last time’ principle.
Denne rente er lavere end den rente, der blev angivet i anmeldelsen af redningsstøtten, jf. betragtning 29.
An exception to the ‘one time, last time’ principle is provided for in point 73(c) of Section 3.3 [please confirm]:
Kommissionens beslutning af 22. februar 2006 i sag N 464/2005 om omstruktureringsstøtte til AB Kauno ketaus liejykla (EUT C 270 af 7.11.2006, s. 2), Kommissionens beslutning af 18. juli 2001 i sag NN 92/1999 om foranstaltninger til fordel for Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG — Sachsen (EFT C 328 af 23.11.2001, s. 5), Kommissionens beslutning af 1. juni 2005 i sag N 584/2004 om omstruktureringsstøtte til AB Vingriai (EUT C 187 af 30.7.2005, s. 15) og Kommissionens beslutning 2010/3/EF af 6. november 2008 om Polens statsstøtte C 19/05 (ex N 203/05) til Stocznia Szczecińska (EUT L 5 af 8.1.2010, s. 1).
in exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances.’
De cypriotiske myndigheder forelagde imidlertid aldrig data, der dokumenterede denne påstand.
The Commission has approved restructuring aid to Cyprus Airways in 2007 on the basis of a restructuring plan.
PASYPI-PALPU (Pancyprian Airline Pilots Union), SYNIKA (Cyprus Airways Employees Trade Union), ASYSEKA (Independent Trade Union of Employees in Cyprus Airways Group), SIDIKEK PEO (Trade Union of Semi-public, municipal and communal employees of Cyprus) og SYPKKA (Trade Union of Flight Attendants of Cyprus Airways).
Cyprus Airways is therefore in principle not eligible for further restructuring aid at present according to the ‘one time, last time’ principle and the Commission raised doubts as to whether exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances within the meaning of point 73(c) exist in this case.
Se f.eks. sag C-305/89, Italien mod Kommissionen (»Alfa Romeo«), Sml. 1991 I, s. 1603, præmis 18 og 19, sag T-16/96, Cityflyer Express mod Kommissionen, Sml. 1998 II, s. 757, præmis 51, forenede sager T-129/95, T-2/96 og T-97/96, Neue Maxhütte Stahlwerke og Lech-Stahlwerke mod Kommissionen, Sml. 1999 II, s. 17, præmis 104, forenede sager T-268/08 og T-281/08, Land Burgenland og Østrig mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2012 II, s. 0000, præmis 48.
Despite having commented extensively on that point following the opening of two formal investigation procedures, the Cypriot authorities were not able to justify why Cyprus Airways was faced with exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances, which would merit further restructuring aid.
Sag C-364/90, Italien mod Kommissionen, Sml. 1993 I, s. 2097, præmis 20.
In particular, the Turkey overflight ban was introduced in 1974 and Cyprus has put in place an approved scheme for compensation of the additional costs incurred by any affected airlines, including Cyprus Airways (see recital 23 above).
Cyprus Airways har ikke offentliggjort regnskaber siden første halvdel af 2012.
Thus, this event cannot qualify as exceptional and unforeseeable circumstance and the Cypriot authorities did not bring forward new evidence in that respect.
Dom i de forenede sager T-102/07, Freistaat Sachsen mod Kommissionen, og T-120/07, MB Immobilien and MB System mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2010 II, s. 585, præmis 106.
For similar reasons, the operation of an ‘illegal’ airport in the northern part of Cyprus also cannot be considered as exceptional and unforeseeable circumstance, as the possibility for tourists to travel to and from the northern part of Cyprus has been in place at least since 2004.
Se Kommissionens afgørelse 2008/716/EF af 2. april 2008 om statsstøtte C 38/07 (ex NN 45/07) iværksat af Frankrig til fordel for Arbel Fauvet Rail SA, betragtning 35 (EUT L 238 af 5.9.2008, s. 27).
The Commission also disagrees with the Cypriot authorities that the entry of any competitor, either a low-cost or full-service airline, can be considered as an exceptional and unforeseeable circumstance, given that Cyprus Airways operates in a liberalised sector and provided that its competitors are operating legally.
Se Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.34191 (2012/C) om foranstaltninger gennemført af Letland til fordel for A/S Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic), endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 179, Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.32715 (2012/C) om Adria Airways d.d. (endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 131), Kommissionens afgørelse 2013/151/EU af 19. september 2012 om den tjekkiske republiks statsstøtte SA.30908 (11/C) (ex N 176/10) til České aerolinie a.s.
As regards the allegation that the Cypriot State is subsidising competitors of Cyprus Airways, the Commission did not receive any substantiation of this allegation.
(ČSA — Czech Airlines — Omstruktureringsplan) (EUT L 92 af 3.4.2013, s. 16, betragtning 107), Kommissionens afgørelse 2012/661/EU af 27. juni 2012 om Maltas planlagte statsstøtte SA.33015 (2012/C) til Air Malta plc.
At any rate, the Commission stresses that it cannot be argued that the State needs to provide State aid to Cyprus Airways in order to offset the harmful effects of an alleged measure that the State is claimed to have introduced itself, and qualify the latter as exceptional and unforeseeable circumstance.
(EUT L 301 af 30.10.2012, s. 29, betragtning 93), og Kommissionens afgørelse af 29. juli 2014 i sag SA.36874 (2013/N) om omstruktureringsstøtte til LOT Polish Airlines S.A. (endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 241).
As regards the unrest in the Middle East, the Commission considers that such a situation cannot be considered as exceptional, given the persistent unrest in parts of the region for many decades.
Cyprus Airways vil kun indskrænke sin kapacitet med 35 %.
Thus, even a significant drop in traffic would have a relatively small (even if ‘not negligible’) impact, that is to say it would affect at maximum 10 % of the total revenues of Cyprus Airways.
Se f.eks. Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.34191 (2012/C) om foranstaltninger gennemført af Letland til fordel for A/S Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic), endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 185, eller Kommissionens afgørelse af 29. juli 2014 i sag SA.36874 (2013/N) om omstruktureringsstøtte til LOT Polish Airlines S.A. (endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 234).
As regards the deterioration of the Greek and Cypriot economies, the Commission acknowledges those events, as well as the possible drop in the average fare for the Greek flights.
Fuldt koordinerede lufthavne defineres i artikel 2, litra g), i Rådets forordning (EØF) nr. 95/93 af 18. januar 1993 om fælles regler for tildeling af ankomst- og afgangstidspunkter i Fællesskabets lufthavne (EFT L 14 af 22.1.1993, s. 1).
However, the Commission recalls that Cyprus Airways expanded its domestic flights in Greece between 2011 and 2013, and was thus consciously increasing its exposure to the Greek market.
Ifølge artikel 3, stk. 4, i forordning (EØF) nr. 95/93 har disse lufthavne i det mindste i visse perioder kapacitetsproblemer.
The available evidence in the 2013 restructuring plan and the information provided by competitors suggests that the total passenger traffic in the Cypriot market has increased since 2009 while the market share of Cyprus Airways has been reduced.
Se Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.34191 (2012/C) om foranstaltninger gennemført af Letland til fordel for A/S Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic), endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 194, Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.32715 (2012/C) om Adria Airways d.d., endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 143, og afgørelse 2013/151/EU, betragtning 130.
In addition, other airlines operating in the region have also been confronted with the economic crisis, but have adjusted their pricing policy and network, in order to remain in the market.
Se Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.34191 (2012/C) om foranstaltninger gennemført af Letland til fordel for A/S Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic), endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 195, og Kommissionens afgørelse af 9. juli 2014 i sag SA.32715 (2012/C) om foranstaltninger gennemført af Slovenien til fordel for Adria Airways d.d., endnu ikke offentliggjort, betragtning 136.
In fact, Ryanair pointed that it has even achieved growth in those markets.
Det fremgår af Cyprus Airways' vedtægter og virksomhedens årsregnskaber, at virksomheden har en række pensionsordninger, herunder pensionsfonden, og at virksomheden har pligt til at beskytte pensionsfondens værdi, og denne forpligtelse indgår i virksomhedens gæld og hensættelser.
In the light of the above, the Commission considers that Cyprus Airways, despite acknowledging the risks through explicit, albeit ‘generic’, statements in the annual reports in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and despite the options available, failed to make the necessary adjustments to its business, in order to avoid the effect of the economic deterioration in its main markets and to profit from new markets, as its competitors did.
Virksomheden garanterer desuden pensionsydelsernes købekraft og således en samlet minimumsydelse.
Those effects can therefore not qualify as an exceptional and unforeseeable circumstance, but should rather be attributed to the poor management and performance of Cyprus Airways.
Se Kommissionens beslutning 2010/175/EF af 22. juli 2009 om Polens statsstøtte C 18/05 (ex N 438/04, N 194/05 og PL 34/04) til Gdańsk skibsværft (EUT L 81 af 26.3.2010, s. 19, betragtning 276).
The Commission therefore concludes that the exception of point 73(c) of Section 3.3 of the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines is not fulfilled and that restructuring aid to Cyprus Airways would breach the ‘one time, last time’ principle.
Se Kommissionens beslutning af 24. januar 2006 i sag N 814/2006 om regionalstøttekortet for perioden 2007-2013 (EUT C 68 af 24.3.2007, s. 28).
Conclusion
Se Kommissionens afgørelse af 27. juni 2012 i sag SA.32523 (11/N), betragtning 11.
In view of the above, the Commission finds that Cyprus has unlawfully implemented measures 1, 2, 4 and 5 in favour of Cyprus Airways, in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
Se virksomhedens årsberetning for 2007, s. 97, årsberetning for 2008, s. 88, og årsberetning for 2009, s. 91.
The Commission also considers that measures 1, 2, 4 and 5 and the 2013 restructuring plan do not meet the conditions of the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines.
Se sag C-70/72, Kommissionen mod Tyskland, Sml. 1973, s. 813, præmis 13.
The Commission has not identified any other compatibility basis and the Cypriot authorities have also not claimed any alternative basis for compatibility of the measures (with the exception of the application of the GBER to the training aid — measure 5).
Se forenede sager C-278/92, C-279/92 og C-280/92, Spanien mod Kommissionen, Sml. 1994 I, s. 4103, præmis 75.
Therefore, the Commission considers the aid to be incompatible with the internal market.
Se sag C-75/97, Belgien mod Kommissionen, Sml. 1999 I, s. 30671, præmis 64 og 65.
RECOVERY
Rådets forordning (EF) nr. 659/1999 af 22. marts 1999 om fastlæggelse af regler for anvendelsen af artikel 108 i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde (EFT L 83 af 27.3.1999, s. 1).
According to the Treaty and the Court’s established case-law, the Commission is competent to decide that the Member State concerned must abolish or alter aid when it has found that it is incompatible with the internal market.