natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
I øvrigt har Kommissionen i en lignende sag vurderet, at den uforenelige støtte kun burde tilbagesøges for den civile del af den støttede virksomhed for at sikre, at tilbagesøgningen ikke omfatter støtte, som ellers ville gavne de militære aktiviteter.
The same considerations are applicable mutatis mutandis to the injection of additional fresh capital totalling EUR 4 million.
I den foreliggende sag noterer Kommissionen sig opdelingen af HDS i to virksomheder, nemlig en militær gren og en civil gren.
No market investor would forego the amounts subscribed in the absence of any ex ante perspective of returns.
I lyset af fordelingen af aktiverne og produktionskapaciteten (se betragtning 54-55) udgør HDS' civile gren efterfølgeren til HDS' civile produktion.
This stems from the fact that the Greek authorities have failed to provide any ex ante economic analysis of future profitability and also from the examination of the past and present financial performance of HDS in terms of actual or potential returns for the shareholder portrayed in Table 1.
Dette baseres navnlig på den kendsgerning, at alle de aktiver, der havde en tilknytning til den civile produktion i den oprindelige virksomhed HDS, som helhed blev overført til HDS' civile gren.
Indeed, it is manifest from the financial performance of HDS since 2004 that the company did not provide any return in terms of dividends from the capital invested.
Dette gjaldt bl.a. al jord og alle former for produktionsanlæg, maskiner, udstyr, transportmidler, færdige og ufærdige produkter, råvarer og fordringer fra kunder, der havde købt civile produkter fra det oprindelige HDS.
Meanwhile, until 2011, the shareholder equity went from slightly positive (EUR 41 million) to significantly negative (minus EUR 537 million), thus consuming all the capital invested by the shareholders and cancelling out, in the absence of a credible business restructuring plan, any hypothetical expectation of future increase of the value of the holding.
Desuden synes passiverne at være blevet fordelt i overensstemmelse med fordelingen af aktiverne mellem HDS' militære og civile gren.
Consequently, the Commission considers that a reasonable market investor would not have participated in HDS' share capital increases under those conditions, in particular without a credible business restructuring plan showing an ex ante prospect of restoring HDS' viability and an adequate return on the investment for the State as a shareholder and any foreseeable prospect of such return from the figures provided by Greece.
Således skal den uforenelige støtte, som stammer fra foranstaltning 1 og 3, tilbagesøges fra indtægterne og aktiverne i HDS' civile gren, mens al støtte, der stammer fra foranstaltning 1, og som måtte materialisere sig i fremtiden, skal udgå.
As such, the Commission concludes that the State's participation in the 2011 capital increases provided the beneficiary with an advantage, corresponding to the full amount of the capital increases.
Endelig minder Kommissionen om, at det er fast retspraksis, at det faktum, at virksomheder kan være i vanskeligheder eller gået konkurs, ikke berører forpligtelsen til at tilbagesøge uforenelig støtte.
The tranches of the measure and the granting dates are provided in Table 4.
Under sådanne omstændigheder kan genetablering af situationen på markedet fra tiden før ydelsen af støtten og dermed fjernelse af konkurrenceforvridningen i princippet sikres gennem opførelse af kravet om tilbagebetaling af støtten på listen over anmeldte krav.
The Commission considers that for the reasons set out in recitals 99 and 100, measure 3 was capable of affecting competition and trade between Member States.
Hvis de statslige myndigheder ikke kan tilbagesøge hele det skyldige beløb, udgør opførelsen af kravet kun en opfyldelse af tilbagesøgningspligten, hvis insolvensbehandlingen fører til en afvikling af den pågældende virksomhed, dvs. et definitivt ophør af aktiviteterne .
Conclusion with regard to the existence of State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU for measure 3
KONKLUSION
In light of the above, the Commission concludes that the capital increases defined as measure 3, granted to HDS by Greece and described in recitals 42 to 47, constitute, to the extent that they benefitted the civil activities of HDS, State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
Foranstaltning 2 er undtaget fra traktatens bestemmelser om statsstøtte i medfør af traktatens artikel 346, stk. 1, litra b).
Conclusion on existence of State aid
De dele af foranstaltning 1 og 3, der blev tildelt HDS' militære produktion, er også undtaget fra traktatens bestemmelser om statsstøtte i medfør af traktatens artikel 346, stk. 1, litra b).
In the light of the above and to the extent to which measures 1 and 3 benefitted the civil production of HDS, the Commission considers that they constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
Foranstaltning 1 og 3 udgør statsstøtte i henhold til artikel 107, stk. 1, i TEUF i det omfang, at de har gavnet HDS' civile produktion.
Unlawful aid
Grækenland har ulovligt gennemført denne statsstøtte i strid med artikel 108, stk. 3, i TEUF, og støtten er uforenelig med det indre marked.
Measures 1 and 3 constitute State aid and were granted in breach of the notification and stand-still obligations established in Article 108(3) TFEU.
De beløb, der er tildelt HDS' civile produktion, skal tilbagesøges —
Consequently, those measures constitute unlawful State aid.
VEDTAGET DENNE AFGØRELSE:
Compatibility of the aid
Artikel 1
The prohibition of State aid laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU is neither absolute nor unconditional.
Den offentlige støtte, som Grækenland i 2003 ydede til Hellenic Defence Systems S.A. i forbindelse med gennemførelsen af en investeringsplan for modernisering af Aeghion-industrianlægget, er undtaget fra bestemmelserne om statsstøtte i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde i medfør af samme traktats artikel 346, stk. 1, litra b).
In particular, paragraph 2 and 3 of Article 107 TFEU constitute legal bases allowing some aid measures to be considered compatible with the internal market.
Foranstaltningerne til fordel for Hellenic Defence Systems S.A. i form af i) statsgarantier i perioden 2004-2011 og ii) statens bidrag til virksomhedens kapitalforhøjelser i 2011 er undtaget fra bestemmelserne om statsstøtte i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde i medfør af samme traktats artikel 346, stk. 1, litra b), i den udstrækning, at foranstaltningerne vedrører virksomhedens militære produktion.
According to the case-law of the Court of Justice, it is up to the Member State to invoke possible grounds of compatibility and to demonstrate that the conditions for such compatibility are met.
Artikel 2
The Greek authorities did not invoke any possible grounds of compatibility.
Den statsstøtte, der er ydet til Hellenic Defence Systems S.A. i form af i) statsgarantier i perioden 2004-2011 og ii) statens bidrag til virksomhedens kapitalforhøjelser i 2011 blev ydet ulovligt af Grækenland i strid med artikel 108, stk. 3, i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde og er uforenelig med det indre marked i den udstrækning, at foranstaltningerne vedrører virksomhedens civile produktion.
They insisted that measures 1 and 3 aimed exclusively at supporting the military production relevant for the essential security interests of Greece and, as regards measure 3, that it did not in any event constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU since it did not grant any advantage to HDS but was carried out in line with the behaviour of a market economy investor.
Artikel 3
However, given that the measures constitute State aid, the Commission has considered it appropriate to, nevertheless, assess them with regards to their compatibility under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, according to which ‘aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest’ may be considered compatible with the internal market.
Grækenland skal tilbagesøge den i artikel 2 omhandlede uforenelige støtte fra støttemodtagerens efterfølger, dvs. Hellenic Civilian Production Systems Industrial Commercial Ltd.
In order to be found compatible with the internal market under that Article, aid must meet a clearly-defined objective of common interest, be necessary and proportional to this objective, have an incentive effect, must not affect competition and intra-EU trade to an extent contrary to the common interest and comply with the transparency principles.
Den støtte, der skal tilbagesøges, pålægges renter fra det tidspunkt, hvor den blev udbetalt til støttemodtagerne, og indtil den er tilbagebetalt.
However, the Commission observes that it cannot identify any objective of common interest that might have been pursued by the aid, which, as was stated above, was also not argued by the Greek authorities.
Beløbene 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.
Even if HDS were to be considered a firm in difficulty, in which case the compatibility of the aid would need to be assessed under the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, the Commission observes that the compatibility conditions under those Guidelines are clearly not fulfilled for measure 1 (State guarantees) as well as measure 3 (capital increases).
Artikel 4
There is no evidence that the aid was limited to the minimum necessary, notably through a significant own contribution of the aid beneficiary.
Tilbagesøgning af den støtte, der henvises til i artikel 2, skal være øjeblikkelig og effektiv.
Finally, the authorities did not provide a liquidation plan either.
Grækenland efterkommer denne afgørelse senest fire måneder efter meddelelsen deraf.
The Commission has not identified any other possible grounds for the compatibility of measures 1 and 3.
Artikel 5
In the light of the above, the Commission concludes that the State aid granted to HDS through measures 1 and 3 is incompatible with the internal market.
Senest to måneder efter meddelelsen af denne afgørelse sender Grækenland følgende oplysninger:
Aid amount to be recovered
det samlede beløb (hovedstol og renter), som støttemodtageren skal tilbagebetale
According to the Treaty and 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.
en detaljeret beskrivelse af allerede trufne og planlagte foranstaltninger med henblik på at efterkomme denne afgørelse
The Court has also consistently held that the obligation on a Member State to abolish aid regarded by the Commission as being incompatible with the internal market is designed to re-establish the previously existing situation.
dokumentation for, at støttemodtagerne har fået påbud om at tilbagebetale støtten.
In this context, the Court has established that this objective is attained once the recipient has repaid the amounts granted by way of incompatible aid, thus forfeiting the advantage which it had enjoyed over its competitors on the market and the situation prior to the payment of the aid has been restored.
Grækenland underretter løbende Kommissionen om resultaterne af gennemførelsen af de nationale foranstaltninger, der er vedtaget i henhold til denne afgørelse, indtil tilbagesøgningen af den i artikel 2 nævnte støtte er afsluttet.
In accordance with the case-law, Article 16(1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 lays down that that ‘(w)here negative decisions are taken in cases of unlawful aid, the Commission shall decide that the Member State concerned shall take all necessary measures to recover the aid from the beneficiary […]’.
Grækenland indsender på Kommissionens anmodning straks oplysninger om, hvilke foranstaltninger der allerede er truffet eller planlagt for at efterkomme afgørelsen.
Consequently, since measure 1 and measure 3 were implemented in breach of Article 108 TFEU and are to be considered aid that is unlawful and incompatible with the internal market, the amount of undue advantage disbursed on the basis of those measures must be recovered in order to re-establish the situation that existed on the market before the aid was granted.
Grækenland giver tillige detaljerede oplysninger om de støttebeløb og renter, støttemodtagerne allerede har tilbagebetalt.
As such, recovery must cover the period during which the advantage was conferred on the beneficiary; that is to say from the time the aid was made available to the beneficiary until it was actually recovered.
Artikel 6
The sums to be recovered should therefore include interest due until recovery takes place.
Denne afgørelse er rettet til Den Hellenske Republik.
In accordance with the relevant case-law, the recovery interest accrues from the date on which the aid was actually made available to the beneficiary.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den 20. november 2017.
However, the Commission has concluded that the part of HDS' production which concerned military material can be considered to fall within the scope of application of Article 346(1)(b) TFEU.
På Kommissionens vegne
To the extent that they benefitted this part of the production, measures 1 and 3 are exempt from an assessment under the State aid provisions of the Treaty.
Medlem af Kommissionen
It is, therefore, necessary to apportion the public funding between the two sides of the production, namely military and civil, in order to be able to establish the amount of incompatible aid to be recovered from the civil side.
EUT C 152 af 30.5.2013, s. 1.
In order to determine to which extent the State aid identified in measures 1 and 3 benefited the civil production in the absence of separate accounts, the Commission, following relevant case practice, will rely on a proxy and will consider the division between HDS' sales of military products and those of civil products and allocate accordingly the advantage deriving from measures 1 and 3.
Se Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece — First Review December 2012, http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/occasional_paper/2012/pdf/ocp123_en.pdf
The Commission considers it appropriate to use the percentage of military and civil product sales for the period 2004-2011 as provided by the Greek authorities (see recital 24 above) given that it covers the period during which the measures were granted.
Den Hellenske Republik Asset Udviklingsfond (HRADF) er et »Société Anonyme« (S.A.), som blev etableret den 1. juli 2011 for at forvalte privatiseringsprocessen.
During that period, the military production represented 94,34 % of the sales, while the civil production represented 5,66 %.
Jf. fodnote 1.
As regards measure 1, this means that the State aid granted in relation to the civil activity, which has to be recovered as incompatible aid, corresponds to 5,66 % of the amount calculated on the basis of the methodology of determination of the economic advantage explained in recital 89 for the guarantees granted for loans obtained in the period 2004-2006 and in recital 91 for the guarantees granted for loans obtained in the period 2007-2011.
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 advantage has been materialised in the form of payments of lower guarantee fees.
Inkl. infanterivåben, ammunition, våbensystemer og brændstoftanke til luftfartøjer.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the aid has been put at the disposal of the beneficiary at the time when the guarantee fees were due by the original HDS (i.e. prior to the split between HDS civil and HDS military).
Inkl. små pistoler, sprængstoffer til bygge- og anlægsarbejde samt fyrværkeri.
As regards the parts of the guaranteed loans of 2011 that were not used. the Commission observes the following regarding the amount of the loan principal that should be used in the methodology described in recital 91.
forretningshemmeligheder
Since the Greek State committed to grant guarantees for the full amount of EUR 40 million, the guarantee must be considered to have been granted for EUR 40 million.
Uniformer og tilbehør.
Indeed, at the moment of that commitment by the Greek State, HDS was conferred the legal right to receive the aid on the basis of an amount of EUR 40 million to be borrowed.
Fremstilling af kobberlegeringer til møntrondeller osv.
However, since not the full amount of EUR 40 million was taken up as loans by HDS, the aid should be regarded as disbursed only for the amount actually borrowed under the guaranteed loans, namely EUR 7095858 for loan 10 and zero for loan 11.
Meddelelse fra Kommissionen — Fællesskabets rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte til redning og omstrukturering af kriseramte virksomheder (EUT C 244 af 1.10.2004, s. 2).
Therefore, while the full amount of aid granted (even if not disbursed) must be abolished for the future, it is only the amount actually disbursed to date on the basis of those guaranteed loans that must be used as the loan principal for the calculation of the amount to be recovered on the basis of the methodology described in recital 91.
I 1958 udarbejdede Rådet en liste over våben, ammunition og krigsmateriel, for hvilke den første sætning i artikel 346, stk. 1, litra b), i TEUF finder anvendelse, som tillæg 1 til bilag D til Rådets afgørelse 255/58.
For measure 3, the corresponding State aid to be recovered amounts to EUR 8953593,86.
Listen blev aldrig offentliggjort officielt, men den er nu offentligt tilgængelig.
As regards the recovery interest, the Commission considers that it has to be calculated on the basis of the dates on which the aid was actually made available or materialised for each measure (guarantee or capital increase).
Præsidentielt dekret nr. 514/1977 (reference i den nationale officielle tidende: A/165/14.6.1977); lov nr. 3978/2011 (reference i den nationale officielle tidende: FEK A/137/16.6.2011).
Furthermore, the Commission has considered in a similar case that the recovery of the incompatible aid should only be provided by the civil part of the aided company, in order to ensure that the recovery is not covered by funds that would otherwise benefit the military activity.
Se Domstolens dom af 16. september 1999, Kommissionen mod Spanien, C-414/97, ECLI:EU:C:1999:417, præmis 22, og Domstolens dom af 8. april 2008, Kommissionen mod Italien, C-337/05, ECLI:EU:C:2008:203, præmis 42-44.
In the present case, the Commission takes note of the split of HDS into two succeeding companies, namely HDS military and HDS civil.
Domstolens dom af 29. juni 1999, DMT, C-256/97, ECLI:EU:C:1999:332, præmis 22.
Based on the allocation of the assets and production capacity (see recitals 54-55), HDS civil is the successor of the civil production of HDS.
Se i den henseende også Kommissionens meddelelse om anvendelsen af EF-traktatens artikel 87 og 88 på statsstøtte i form af garantier, navnlig afsnit 4.2 (EUT C 155 af 20.6.2008, s. 10).
This is, in particular, based on the fact that all assets related to the civil production of the original HDS were transferred, as a whole, to HDS civil, including all land and production facilities, machinery, equipment, means of transport, finished and unfinished products, raw materials and claims from clients of civil products of the original HDS.
Meddelelse fra Kommissionen om revision af metoden for fastsættelse af referencesatsen og kalkulationsrenten (EUT C 14 af 19.1.2008, s. 6).
Moreover, the liabilities seem to have been allocated in line with the allocation of the assets between HDS military and HDS civil.
Se sag C-334/99, Tyskland mod Kommissionen, EU:C:2003:55, præmis 138, og sag C-288/96, Tyskland mod Kommissionen, EU:C:2000:537, præmis 30-31.
Thus, the incompatible aid resulting from measures 1 and 3 must be recovered from the revenues and assets of HDS civil and any aid resulting from measure 1 which would still materialise in the future has to be abolished.
Se betragtning 90 i denne afgørelse.
Lastly, the Commission recalls that it is settled case-law that the fact that undertakings might be in difficulties or bankrupt does not affect the obligation of recovery of incompatible aid.
Se den nylige dom i sag T-220/14, Saremar mod Kommissionen, EU:T:2017:267, præmis 175.
In such circumstances the restoration of the situation on the market before the aid was granted and, thereby, the elimination of the distortion of competition may, in principle, be achieved by registration of the liability relating to the repayment of the aid in the schedule of liabilities.
Domstolens dom af 28. april 1993, Italien mod Kommissionen, C-364/90, ECLI:EU:C:1993:157, præmis 20.
Where the State authorities are unable to recover the full amount of aid, the registration of the liability meets the recovery obligation only if the insolvency proceedings result in the winding up of the undertaking concerned, i.e. the definitive cessation of its activities .
Se Domstolens dom af 12. juli 1973, Kommissionen mod Tyskland, C-70/72, ECLI:EU:C:1973:87, præmis 13.
CONCLUSION
Se Domstolens dom af 14. september 1994, Spanien mod Kommissionen, forenede sager C-278/92, C-279/92 og C-280/92, ECLI:EU:C:1994:325, præmis 75.
Measure 2 is exempt from the State aid provisions of the Treaty on the basis of Article 346(1)(b) thereof.
Se Domstolens dom af 17. juni 1999, Belgien mod Kommissionen, C-75/97, ECLI:EU:C:1999:311, præmis 64 og 65.
Also the parts of measures 1 and 3 apportioned to the military production of HDS are exempt from the State aid provisions of the Treaty on the basis of Article 346(1)(b) thereof.
Rådets forordning (EU) 2015/1589 af 13. juli 2015 om fastlæggelse af regler for anvendelsen af artikel 108 i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde (EUT L 248 af 24.9.2015, s. 9).
Measures 1 and 3, to the extent that they benefited the civil production of HDS, constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
Rettens dom af 30. januar 2002, Keller og Keller Meccanica mod Kommissionen, T-35/99, ECLI:EU:T:2002:19, præmis 106-109.
Greece unlawfully implemented this State aid in breach of Article 108(3) TFEU and it is incompatible with the internal market.
Se betragtning 55-60 i Kommissionens afgørelse af 24. marts 2009 om statsstøtte, C 47/05 (ex NN 86/05), gennemført af Grækenland for Hellenic Vehicle Industry S.A.
The amounts apportioned to the civil production of HDS must be recovered.
(ELVO), EUT L 118 af 12.5.2010, s. 81.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Naturligvis justeret, så de afspejler den ikkemilitære del af aktiviteterne, som beskrevet i betragtning (134).
Article 1
Dvs. forskellen mellem hele det beløb, som der blev stillet en garanti for, nemlig 40 mio. EUR, og det beløb, der reelt blev lånt, nemlig 7095858 EUR.
The public grant provided by Greece to Hellenic Defence Systems S.A. in 2003 for the implementation of an investment plan for the modernisation of the Aeghion industrial facility is exempt from the State aid provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the basis of Article 346(1)(b) thereof.
Se betragtning 92-94 ovenfor.
The measures granted to Hellenic Defence Systems S.A., to the extent the measure relates to its military production, in the form of (i) State guarantees during the period 2004-2011 and (ii) the State's participation to the company's capital increases in 2011 are exempt from the State aid provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the basis of Article 346(1)(b) thereof.
Dvs. retten til to statsgarantier på i alt 40 mio. EUR.
Article 2
Dvs. 7095858 EUR.
The State aid granted to Hellenic Defence Systems S.A., to the extent the measure relates to its civil production, in the form of (i) State guarantees during the period 2004-2011 and (ii) the State's participation to the company's capital increases in 2011 was unlawfully granted by Greece in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and is incompatible with the internal market.
158190704,21 EUR × 0,0566.
Article 3