natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Den første af disse sager blev ført ved Landesgericht og vedrørte KFBG's civile søgsmål mod AUA på grund af de udestående lufthavnsafgifter.
It should firstly be noted that, during the procedure, neither Austria nor any interested third party has suggested to the Commission a sample of comparison airports that may be used in this case and that are sufficiently comparable to KLU in terms of traffic volume, type of traffic, type and level of airport services provided, proximity of the airport to a large city, number of inhabitants in the catchment area, prosperity of the surrounding area, and different geographical areas from which passengers could be attracted.
Den anden sag omhandlede en stævning i henhold til kartelloven, som AUA havde indgivet ved den nationale karteldomstol mod KFBG.
The Oxera study of 4 July 2011 was limited to a comparison between charges paid by Ryanair at […] and […] airports, and the charges paid by Ryanair under the airport services agreements at KLU.
I forligsaftalen blev der indgået følgende ordninger:
The study did not assess whether the sample of benchmark airports fulfilled all the criteria spelled out in the 2014 Aviation guidelines, as it only assessed traffic volumes, type of airport traffic and prosperity of the surrounding area.
AUA forpligtede sig til at betale et beløb på […] EUR til KFBG.
Even if a sample of comparison airports had been available, a comparative method would have been totally unworkable in this case.
Parterne aftalte, at KFBG's incitamenter af 1. september 2005 bliver en del af forligsaftalen og skulle gælde med tilbagevirkende kraft fra den 1. oktober 2003 for AUA.
As showed above, the incentive scheme to be analysed offers different discounts for airlines for providing very specific air transport services (for new flight destinations, for intensified existing flight connections and for more frequent and more reliable existing flight connections).
De østrigske myndigheder gør gældende, at KFBG/DMG ikke på forhånd har udarbejdet en forretningsplan inden indgåelsen af forligsaftalen med AUA.
Moreover, regarding the marketing agreements between KFBG and the airlines, complex packages have to be analysed.
Endvidere bemærkede de, at KFBG, KLH og det advokatkontor, som repræsenterede KFBG i begge retssager, indgående havde vurderet de retlige og økonomiske fordele og ulemper ved undertegnelsen af aftalen.
The packages consist of an airport services agreement and a marketing services agreement (sometimes combined within the same legal medium).
Som dokumentation for disse vurderinger og overvejelser fremsendte Østrig talrige rapporter og referater, som direktionen har forelagt tilsynsrådet for KFBG, samt de tilgængelige procesdokumenter.
These transactions involve several ‘prices’, namely the various airport charges, price of the ground handling services and price of the marketing services, some of which depend on the number of passengers and others on the number of aircraft movements, with others involving fixed amounts.
På baggrund af disse dokumenter kan der drages følgende konklusioner:
Each of these transactions therefore leads to a complex set of financial flows between the airport operator and the airline and its subsidiaries, consisting of the revenue from the airport charges, revenue linked to the ground handling services and revenue linked to the marketing services.
På den ene side skyldte AUA i oktober 2005 KLU ubetalte turnaround-afgifter i en samlet størrelsesorden af […] EUR.
Accordingly, a comparison between just the airport charges invoiced by the KFBG to the airlines concerned and the airport charges invoiced at the comparison airports would not provide any useful indication as to whether the MEO test was satisfied.
På den anden side skal det bemærkes, at AUA indgav et omfattende svarskrift den 7. januar 2004.
At the very least, in order to validly compare the transactions covered by this assessment, it would be necessary to identify, for the airports in the comparison sample, a set of comparable transactions, which must particularly include equivalent marketing services and equivalent ground handling services.
Dermed var KFBG i forsøget på at gøre sit krav gældende over for AUA om betaling af det fulde afgiftsbeløb konfronteret med kraftig juridisk modstand fra luftfartsselskabets side.
Identifying such a sample of comparable transactions would prove impossible, given that the transactions covered by this assessment are so complex and specific, and all the more so as the prices of ground handling services and marketing services are rarely made public and would be difficult to obtain in order to form a basis for comparison.
Dertil kommer, at de udestående lufthavnsafgifter og en retssag, som trak ud, havde graverende konsekvenser for KFBG's økonomiske situation.
Lastly, assuming that it could be established, based on a valid comparative analysis, that the ‘prices’ applied in the various transactions covered by this assessment were equivalent to or higher than the ‘market prices’ established using the sample of comparison transactions, the Commission could not, however, conclude that those transactions corresponded to the market price if it proved that, on their conclusion, the airport operator may have expected them to lead to incremental costs higher than the incremental revenues.
Af rapporterne fra KFBG's tilsynsråd fremgår det, at KFBG's likviditetssituation var yderst anspændt på grund af disse udestående beløb, og at KFBG's selskabsdeltagere måtte betale et tilskud på […] EUR.
An MEO would not in fact be interested in offering goods or services at the ‘market price’ if this led to an incremental loss.
Dette behov for likvide midler fremgår af KFBG's pengestrømsopgørelser for perioden 2003-2005.
The Commission considers it appropriate to reiterate in the context of this analysis that, following the adoption of the 2014 Guidelines, both Austria and the interested parties were invited to submit comments on the application of those guidelines to the present case (see recital 8).
Samtidig afviste AUA at betale det samlede beløb for turnaround-afgifter, da disse var klart højere end de tilsvarende afgifter, som Ryanair betalte i KLU.
In the light of all the above, the Commission considers that the approach generally recommended in the 2014 Guidelines for applying the MEO test to relationships between airports and airlines, namely the ex ante incremental profitability analysis, must be applied to the present case.
AUA krævede at få den samme behandling som Ryanair og fremførte følgende argumenter i den forbindelse: KLU's kontraheringspligt og forpligtelse til lige behandling KLU's misbrug af en dominerende stilling og beskyttelse mod illoyal konkurrence.
This approach is justified by the fact that an airport operator may have an objective interest in concluding a transaction with an airline where it may reasonably expect this transaction to improve its profits (or reduce its losses) compared to a counterfactual situation in which this transaction is not concluded, regardless of any comparison with the conditions offered to airlines by other airport operators, or even with the conditions offered by the same airport operator to other airlines.
Desuden gjorde AUA gældende, at KLU har handlet i strid med § 63 i Luftfahrtgesetz (herefter »LFG« (luftfartsloven)) og § 20 Zivilflugplatz-Betriebsordnung (herefter »ZFBO« (bestemmelser om drift af civile flyvepladser)).
In addition to the above considerations, the airport infrastructure must be open to all airlines and not dedicated to a specific airline in order to exclude that the advantage resulting from compatible aid to the airport operator is not passed on to a specific airline.
I henhold til § 63 i LFG skal civile lufthavne stilles til rådighed for alle luftfartsselskaber på samme vilkår.
The Commission also notes in this context that price differentiation is a standard business practice.
I henhold til § 20 i ZFBO skal lufthavnsafgifterne vurderes efter objektive kriterier.
Such differentiated pricing policies should, however, be commercially justified.
Da disse retlige argumenter umiddelbart ikke var fuldstændigt ubegrundede, kunne KFBG ikke være sikker på, at AUA ville tabe den civile retssag ved Landesgericht.
The 2005 incentive scheme was introduced to enhance the competitiveness of KLU.
Desuden dokumenterer brevvekslingen mellem KFBG og AUA i forbindelse med de to retssager, at AUA under sagerne truede KFBG med ikke længere at beflyve AUA-mållufthavnen KLU i fremtiden.
When drawing up the 2005 incentive scheme, the operator of KLU analysed passenger numbers, airport movements as well as the financial results of the previous years.
For KLU var — og er — AUA-ruteflyvningen mellem Klagenfurt og den østrigske hovedstad imidlertid den vigtigste rute.
According to Austria, a market comparison undertaken at that time showed that KLU due to its high average fixed costs was a particularly expensive airport in Austria.
Derfor var opretholdelsen af regelmæssige forbindelser til AUA-knudepunktet Wien af afgørende betydning for KFBG.
The Commission observes that since 1 October 2003 AUA had unilaterally reduced its payments for the turnaround fees due at KLU.
På grund af truslen fra AUA søgte KFBG i 2004 og 2005 efter alternative udbydere for at kunne sikre flyforbindelsen til Wien, selv om AUA's tjenester i KLU skulle bortfalde fuldstændigt.
Although on 20 October 2005 KFBG and AUA signed a settlement agreement concerning the payment of turnaround feed during the period of 1 October 2003 until 20 October 2005, KFBG had to face considerable shortfalls regarding the payments of airport charges from October 2003 to October 2005.
Som Østrig bemærkede, kunne KFBG imidlertid ikke opspore noget andet luftfartsselskab, der ville kunne tilbyde tilsvarende tjenester som AUA mellem KLU og Wien lufthavn.
In addition, all 2002 agreements between KFBG, DMG, Ryanair, LV and AMS ended suddenly in October 2005, when Ryanair stopped to operate the passenger air services between KLU and STN due to economic reasons.
For KLU ville AUA's indstilling af flytrafikken have betydet tabet af dens vigtigste luftfartsselskab og medført overdreven gældsætning.
All these factors together led KLU to reconsider its pricing policy and to introduce the 2005 incentive scheme.
På anmodning af Kommissionen fremsendte Østrig den 20. oktober 2005 en detaljeret rekonstrueret forhåndsanalyse af KFBG's økonomiske situation.
According to the information submitted by Austria, a detailed ex ante profitability study was prepared by the executive board of KFBG and authorised by the supervisory board of KFBG.
Tabel 8
When assessing this ex ante profitability study, the Commission observes that KFBG prepared a comprehensive study on the basis of its full cost basis accounting system.
Rekonstrueret forhåndsanalyse af fire forskellige scenarier for relationerne mellem KFBG og AUA
This ex ante cost-benefit analysis contains a detailed formula for the calculation of the full costs of KFBG.
Scenarier beregning på basis af fremskrivningen fra 2005
The costs are split into different cost factors that cover all costs incurred when operating the airport (landing tariff, infrastructure landing tariff, infrastructure air tariff, passenger tariff, traffic handling fee, ramp handling fee).
Scenarie 1
The profitability study also contains a detailed explanation on how the cost factor of EUR […] for the costs depending on the number of flights, i.e. MTOW, and of EUR […] depending on the number of passengers were calculated, based on the cost calculation system of KFBG in force at the time.
inkl. AUA som fuld betaler
As 51 % of the traffic handling was subcontracted to Tyrolean Airways, these costs were indicated in the cost calculation as costs of services of a third party.
fuldstændigt bortfald af AUA
As non-aeronautical income, KFBG listed income factors such as the airport shops, the parking at the airport, the freight storehouse and the income from rent and lease agreements.
Scenarie 3
The average income of these sources less the costs of these sources, measured on the basis of observed data from recent years, resulted in an average non-aeronautical income of EUR […] per passenger.
inkl. AUA med incitament
Brought down to a round figure, KFBG indicated EUR […] of non-aeronautical income per passenger.
Scenarie 4
All those underlying assumptions appear reasonable.
procesår AUA
In particular, they are based on cost and revenue observations and, in the case of cost data, on an elaborate cost measurement system.
Driftsresultat
These established values for costs and incomes of KFBG were used subsequently in the cost-benefit analysis in different calculation models.
Årsresultat
These models represented different envisaged routes from and to KLU with different aircrafts and under the assumption of varying degrees of capacity utilisation.
Cashflow
The routes chosen corresponded to typical routes of interest of a small regional airport such as Klagenfurt airport.
Basis 2005 (i 1000 EUR)
On request of the Commission, Austria submitted additional models, with the aim of covering all typical scenarios and possible routes of interest for KFBG in 2005.
Passagerer afrejsende
Austria has submitted that KLU expected that no additional investments would be required to provide additional airport services to airlines attracted by the 2005 incentive scheme.
Indtægter luftfart
In this context, the Commission observes that the 2005 incentive scheme offered discounts only for new airlines, new connections, or increased passenger numbers with the consequence that it did not impact negatively on the status quo at the airport.
Værdiregulering indtægter AAG
Austria confirmed that there was no need to hire new staff or to expand existing infrastructure or other equipment in order to serve new airlines or connections (for instance the existing baggage belts and personnel were sufficient).
Indtægter luftfart
Hence, the Commission concludes that the incremental costs were limited to the incentives offered by the 2005 incentive scheme.
Øvrige indtægter
Moreover, KLU expected that with any new airline or connection, aeronautical as well as non-aeronautical revenues would be generated.
Materialeudgifter
Given that the level of costs remained stable, any new airline or connection would, according to Austria, provide a positive contribution to the airport's profitability.
Personaleudgifter
KLU could therefore expect from an ex ante perspective that any new airline or connection would lead to an increase of revenues as no investments were necessary at the same time.
Afskrivninger
The Commission is of the view that indeed the 2005 incentive scheme has been incrementally profitable form an ex ante perspective.
Driftsudgifter
This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that KFBG indeed managed to attract a number of new airlines (such as Air Berlin, Robin Hood, Condor, Lufthansa, Germanwings), to intensify existing destinations (AUA), and to establish new connections after the introduction of the 2005 incentive scheme.
Projektomkostninger
KLU's discount-based strategy to increase its business was successful.
Omkostningskompensation markedsføringsaftaler
The available data finally demonstrates that the 2005 incentive scheme resulted in a gradual increase of revenue for the airport (aviation and non-aeronautical revenues from EUR […] in 2006 to EUR […] in 2010).
Finansielt resultat
The Commission further notes that when assessing the 2005 incentive scheme, it should also assess the extent to which the arrangements can be considered part of the implementation of an overall strategy of the airport to lead to profitability at least in the long term.
Cashflow (årets resultat plus Afa)
Notably, the Commission should take into account the market changes induced by the liberalisation in the air transport market, the market entry and development of low cost carriers and other point-to-point carriers, changes in the organisational and economic structure of the airport industry as well as the degree of diversification and complexity of the functions undertaken by airports, the enhancement of the competition between airlines and airports, the uncertain economic environment due to the changes in the prevailing market conditions or any other uncertainty in the economic environment.
Nødvendige genanskaffelsesinvesteringer pr. år 1500-2000 (1000 EUR)
The Commission notes that, as described in recitals 279-280, several reasons (such as the shortfalls regarding the payments of airport charges from October 2003 to October 2005 by AUA as well as the departure of Ryanair as of October 2005) led KLU to consider the 2005 incentive scheme a necessary step in ensuring its future viability and profitability.
Projekt AAG mållufthavn Wien og Frankfurt 2005
Finally, the Commission notes that the airport infrastructure of KLU is open to all airlines and not dedicated to a specific airline.
MTOW (Wien og Frankfurt)
Likewise the 2005 incentive scheme was published on the website of KLU and was open to all interested airlines.
Passagerer afrejsende (Wien og Frankfurt)
In the light of these considerations, the Commission concludes that KLU acted like a MEO when adopting the 2005 incentive scheme.
Rotationer
Therefore, the measure did not grant the affected airlines any economic advantage and did not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article of 107(1) TFEU.
Indtægter projekt
It has to be emphasised that this conclusion only holds for airlines to which the 2005 incentive scheme was applied as such.
Projektomkostninger/grænseomkostninger
Whenever the application of the scheme to a given airline was combined with a bilateral agreement, for instance a marketing agreement, this conclusion does not automatically apply.
Groundhandling
Indeed, in such circumstances, the combined effects of the incentive scheme and of the bilateral agreement have to be taken into account when applying the MEO principle.
Ruteafhængigt
The conclusion of the settlement agreement with AUA and the application of the 2005 incentive scheme to AUA
Passagerafhængigt
AUA, by providing air transport services, performs an economic activity and therefore constitutes an undertaking within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
I alt projektomkostninger afrundet
In order to assess whether an agreement between a publicly-owned airport with public resources at its disposal and an airline confers an economic advantage on the latter, it is necessary to analyse whether that agreement complied with the MEO principle as described above under recitals 261 to 278.
Projektresultat afrundet
Time frame for the Assessment of incremental costs and revenues
Incitament afrundet
When deciding on whether to enter into an airport services agreement and/or a marketing services agreement, a MEO will choose a time frame for its assessment based on the term of the agreement.
Ved udarbejdelsen af analysen i tabel 8 lagde Østrig følgende oplysninger til grund.
In other words, a prudent MEO will assess the incremental costs and revenues for the term of application of the agreement.
Analysen vedrører fire forskellige scenarier og deres respektive finansielle virkninger på KFBG:
In this case a particularity has to be observed for the situation of KFBG at the moment of signing the agreement with AUA.
scenarie med fortsættelse af aftalen, hvor AUA betaler de fulde lufthavnsafgifter, som det var tilfældet indtil oktober 2003 (den situation, hvor AUA fortsat ville have betalt afgifterne)
On 20 October 2005 KFBG had to take into consideration not only the development of its contractual relation with AUA for the future, but also the past until October 2003.
scenarie med fuldstændigt bortfald af AUA-tjenester i KLU
Since 1 October 2003 AUA had unilaterally reduced its payments for the turnaround fees due at that time at KLU.
scenarie med fortsættelse af aftalen med AUA under anvendelse af incitamentsordningen fra 2005 (undertegnelse af forligsaftalen)
On 17 November 2003 KFBG therefore brought against AUA a civil law action at the local district court concerning the airport fees still due.
scenarie med fortsættelse af aftalen, hvor AUA fortsat kun betaler en del af de forfaldne lufthavnsafgifter (ingen undertegnelse af forligsaftalen).
When signing the settlement agreement on 20 October 2005 following this dispute, KFBG therefore had to take into consideration not only the future airport charges to be paid by AUA but also the still outstanding airport charges of the past period, which it hoped to recover.
Kommissionen fastslår, at det for KFBG i lyset af de verserende retssager med AUA kun var de sidste tre scenarier, der kom i betragtning som alternativer, idet det første scenarie kun var af teoretisk karakter.
Assessment
Sammenlignet med de andre scenarier ville scenarie fire have betydet en entydigt negativ pengestrøm i KFBG i fremtiden.
On 20 October 2005 KFBG and AUA signed a settlement agreement concerning the period from 1 October 2003 to 20 October 2005.
Resultatet ville have været endnu værre ved scenarie to, hvis AUA havde indstillet alle tjenester i KLU, fordi forligsaftalen ikke blev underskrevet og retssagen fortsatte.
In this settlement agreement the two parties agreed to end two different ongoing litigations.
Ved dette scenarie ville pengestrømmen i KFBG være blevet yderligere forværret i fremtiden.
The first litigation at the local district court concerned the civil law action of KFBG against AUA concerning the airport fees still due.
På baggrund af disse overvejelser konstaterer Kommissionen, at det tredje scenarie var det eneste fornuftige valg for en markedsøkonomisk investor i den situation, som KFBG befandt sig i oktober 2005.
The second litigation concerned an action of AUA against KFBG in competition law at the national cartel court.
Ved det tredje scenarie ville AUA ganske vist betale de forfaldne lufthavnsafgifter, men ikke fuldt ud, nemlig kun […] EUR i stedet for den samlede gæld på […] EUR.
The following points were agreed within the settlement agreement:
En markedsøkonomisk investor ville have indkalkuleret de delvise tab i forbindelse med lufthavnsafgifterne ved vurderingen af de positive virkninger af forligsaftalen.
AUA agreed to pay EUR […] to KFBG,
Som følge af forligsaftalen ville AUA betale næsten to tredjedele af den samlede gæld, hvilket ville medføre en positiv pengestrøm i fremtiden, løse KLU's likviditetsproblemer og samtidig sikre opretholdelsen af regelmæssige AUA-lufttransporttjenester i KLU.
both parties agreed that the 2005 incentive scheme became part of the settlement agreement and was to be applied for AUA as of 1 October 2003.
Det forventede diskonterede resultat af det tredje scenarie var positivt.
Austria asserts that KFBG/DMG did not prepare an ex ante business plan before concluding the settlement agreement with AUA.
Derfor konkluderer Kommissionen, at en markedsøkonomisk investor ud fra en forhåndsvurdering ville have undertegnet forligsaftalen i stedet for at vælge et af de andre alternativer.
It explained that prior to the signature of the settlement agreement, KFBG, KLH and the law firm representing KFBG in both court proceedings had evaluated in detail the legal and economic advantages and disadvantages of signing the agreement.
Det er Kommissionens opfattelse, at KFBG/DMG handlede som en markedsøkonomisk investor, idet det indgik en forligsaftale med AUA.
To demonstrate these evaluations and considerations Austria has submitted numerous reports and protocols submitted by the management board of KFBG to the supervisory board of KFBG as well as the available legal documents of the legal proceedings.
Dermed gav beslutningen om undertegnelse af forligsaftalen ikke AUA en økonomisk fordel, og denne udgør ikke statsstøtte i henhold til artikel 107, stk. 1, i TEUF.
From these documents the following conclusion can be drawn:
Aftalerne med Ryanair, LV og AMS fra 2002
On the one hand, AUA had in October 2005 a total debt of EUR […] of unpaid turnaround fees towards KLU.
Ryanair leverer luftfartstjenester, mens LV og AMS leverer markedsføringstjenester.
For this reason KFBG had brought a civil law action at the local district court against AUA, as it believed that AUA was not entitled to unilaterally reduce its payments as of October 2003.