natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
for det første, hvorvidt tjenesten ville være utilstrækkelig, hvis dens levering alene blev overladt til markedskræfterne i lyset af kravet til offentlige tjenester vedrørende rimelige takster, der er fastsat af medlemsstaten, og
The MEIP applies when the public authorities act in their role of shareholders (i.e. in the first place with a view to obtain a profit from the operation), whilst Altmark is relevant when the public authorities pursue public interest objectives, which are not typical of a private operator (i.e. the perspective to make a profit is of secondary importance, if any).
for det andet, hvorvidt rederiet virkelig fik overdraget forpligtelser til offentlig tjeneste, som var klart defineret.
The arguments raised by RAS to justify the compensation for the operation of the two routes between Sardinia and mainland Italy appear therefore contradictory.
Af de årsager, der er angivet nedenfor, konkluderer Kommissionen, at disse betingelser ikke er blevet overholdt fuldt ud i det foreliggende tilfælde.
The Commission notes moreover, that a measure can only be MEIP-compliant if based on sound viability perspectives for the beneficiary.
Sommersæsonen 2011 og 2012
RAS argues that the process and steps it followed before taking the decision to entrust Saremar with the operation of the routes in question are comparable to those of a private market operator in similar circumstances.
I sommeren 2011, hvor Saremar fik overdraget driften af de to ruter, var der fire andre rederier i rutefart på ruten Civitavecchia-Olbia og tre på ruten Genova-Porto Torres.
Nonetheless, the business plan or market investigation presumably carried out by Saremar before obtaining public support has not been provided to the Commission in the course of the investigation, even though it was for the Member State to provide objective evidence showing that the compensation for the operation of the two routes between Sardinia and mainland Italy is to be ascribed to the State acting as shareholder.
Hertil kommer, at Tirrenia tilbød lignende tjenesteydelser i forhold til Saremars, og som opfyldte de temmelig uklare forpligtelser, der var fastsat i overdragelsesakten(erne).
On the contrary, by letter of 26 September 2013 RAS confirmed that, although the preparation of a business plan was foreseen by Decision 36/6/EC, no such plan was prepared as concerns the operation of the routes in summer 2012.
Som det er beskrevet ovenfor, leverede Tirrenia indtil juli 2012 kombinerede tjenesteydelser på både ruten Genova-Porto Torres og Civitavecchia-Olbia under en ordning om offentlige tjenesteydelser til PSO'er vedrørende fartøjstype, sejlfrekvens og reducerede takster for personer bosiddende på Sardinien og særlige kategorier under de oprindelige aftaler (se betragtning 14 ovenfor).
Thus, at least as concerns the 2012 summer season, the decision to resume operation on the two routes was taken by RAS before any business plan was drawn up by Saremar.
Den oprindelige aftale, som forblev i kraft indtil juni 2012, fastsatte også PSO'er med hensyn til takster for at sikre rimelige priser på de pågældende tjenesteydelser.
Furthermore, according to Saremar's balance sheet, and as confirmed by Saremar in the framework of the national civil proceedings, the operation of the two routes in the 2011 summer season had been loss making and could not therefore reasonably justify the decision to continue operation of the same routes in 2012, notably in the absence of any business plan or projections showing that the routes would have become substantially profitable in the future.
I lyset af den kendsgerning, at visse og navnlig de to undersøgte ruter »sikrede særligt høje trafikniveauer«, besluttede de italienske myndigheder at suspendere forpligtelserne vedrørende de takster, som Tirrenia var blevet pålagt i sommersæsonen (med undtagelse af takster for personer bosiddende på Sardinien og andre forpligtelser vedrørende sejlfrekvens og fartøjstyper) for at sikre, at Tirrenia har fuld kommerciel frihed, hvad angår priserne til sine kunder.
In conclusion, the Commission finds that the compensation for the operation of the two routes between Sardinia and mainland Italy cannot be ascribed to the State acting as shareholder and as a consequence does not comply with the MEIP.
Den kendsgerning, at RAS selv indledningsvis vurderede, at Saremar kunne drive de to ruter til rimelige priser og opnå økonomisk balance antyder, at markedsvilkårene på disse ruter er således, at markedskræfterne kan levere tilfredsstillende tjenesteydelser, navnlig om sommeren, hvor trafikken er særligt høj.
As regards the alleged fulfilment of the Altmark criteria, Italy claims that the public mission defined was the operation of the two cabotage routes mentioned above at affordable rates.
På den anden side har RAS ikke fremført nogen objektiv begrundelse med hensyn til, hvorfor de tjenesteydelser, som Tirrenia allerede har leveret i henhold til den oprindelige aftale, der allerede var blevet forlænget på tidspunktet for Saremars overdragelse, ikke ville have været tilstrækkelige til at sikre territorial kontinuitet.
In this context, the Commission notes that services could only be qualified as SGEIs if in the absence of a public compensation they would not be provided by the market satisfactorily and under conditions (such as price) similar to those defined by the public authorities.
NCA's beslutning præciserede, at mens Tirrenia også havde forhøjet priserne i en vis udstrækning i referenceperioden, var denne forhøjelse væsentlig lavere end de private konkurrenters.
According to RAS, entrusting Saremar with the provisional operation of the two routes was a short-term measure, until more effective remedial measures were in place to address the market failure in the provision of affordable connections between Sardinia and mainland Italy.
Med hensyn til RAS' argument om, at pålæggelsen af PSO'er ville være berettiget af usikkerheden omkring Tirrenias privatiseringsproces, fastslår Kommissionen, at den oprindelige aftale blev forlænget allerede i 2010 indtil afslutningen af privatiseringsprocessen.
While not explicitly qualifying the operation of the two routes to the mainland as SGEIs, the entrustment acts refer to affordability of fares as a general pre-requisite of operation.
Som følge heraf kunne en eventuel forsinkelse af salget af den forretningsdel, der drev de offentlige tjenester, ikke have forårsaget nogen afbrydelse af driften af de relevante ruter.
Throughout the formal investigation procedure, RAS and Saremar have insisted on the SGEI justification of the measure.
For så vidt angår sommersæsonen 2012 fik Saremar ved beslutning 36/6 af 1. september 2011 overdraget driften af ruterne Golfo Aranci (Olbia)-Civitavecchia og Vado Ligure-Porto Torres i perioden fra 15. maj til 15. september 2012.
This justification is particularly evident in their comments on the 2012 Decision, notwithstanding the additional argument on MEIP-compliance.
RAS fremførte, at beslutningen om at genoptage driften af ruterne i 2012 var baseret på levedygtighedsudsigter understøttet af de resultater, der blev registreret i sommersæsonen 2011.
In what follows, the Commission will examine the alleged observance of the conditions set out by the Court in its judgement in the Altmark case, in order to conclude whether or not the compensation paid to Saremar for the operation of public services constitutes an advantage within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
Begge ruter blev effektivt drevet fra 1. juni 2012.
Those conditions are cumulative, so that if only one of them is not fulfilled, the compensation is deemed to confer an advantage within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU to the beneficiary.
Fra juli 2012, da den nye aftale mellem den italienske stat og CIN trådte i kraft, blev Tirrenias tilstedeværelse på de to ruter erstattet af Tirrenia/CIN.
Those conditions may be summarised as follows:
Den nye aftale fastsætter minimumssejlfrekvenser og -kapacitet samt maksimumspriser for vintersæsonen samt reducerede takster for personer bosiddende på Sardinien og særlige brugerkategorier for hele året.
the recipient undertaking must actually have public service obligations to discharge and these obligations must be clearly defined (Altmark 1);
RAS fremfører, at driften i sommersæsonen af visse ruter i henhold til den nye aftale, herunder de to vurderede ruter, ikke er underlagt PSO'er vedrørende takster for at sikre en rimelig pris for tjenesten.
the parameters on the basis of which the compensation is calculated must be established in advance in an objective and transparent manner (Altmark 2);
Ifølge NCA havde transport- og infrastrukturministeriet bekræftet, at selv om den nye aftale ikke fastsatte specifikke (maksimale) takster for hele året, herunder juni-september, samt særlige takster for personer bosiddende på Sardinien, faldt driften af ruterne i denne periode uden for den nye aftales anvendelsesområde, og derfor fandt PSO'er ikke anvendelse.
the compensation cannot exceed what is necessary to cover all or part of the costs incurred in the discharge of public service obligations, taking into account the relevant receipts and a reasonable profit for discharging those obligations (Altmark 3);
CIN driver således ruterne Genova-Porto Torres og Civitavecchia-Olbia på kommercielle vilkår fra 1. juni til 30. september.
where the undertaking which is to discharge public service obligations, in a specific case, is not chosen pursuant to a public procurement procedure which would allow for the selection of the tenderer capable of providing those services at the least cost to the community, the level of compensation needed must be determined on the basis of an analysis of the costs which a typical undertaking, well run and adequately provided with means of transport so as to be able to meet the necessary public service requirements, would have incurred in discharging those obligations, taking into account the relevant revenues and a reasonable profit for discharging the obligations (Altmark 4).
Ud over det, der allerede er understreget ovenfor i betragtning 193-194, fastslår Kommissionen, at NCA i juni 2012 godkendte fusionen mellem Tirrenia og CIN ved en betinget beslutning.
For the sake of clarity, in the present case the Commission considers it more expedient to start its analysis from the second Altmark condition.
Beslutningen pålagde parterne specifikke betingelser bl.a. vedrørende de takster, der skulle opkræves på de pågældende ruter.
In this respect, the Commission notes that the parameters for the calculation of the compensation have not been established in advance.
Navnlig i sommersæsonen 2012 ville CIN og Moby på ruterne Civitavecchia-Olbia, Genova-Porto Torres og Genova-Olbia fastholde et prisniveau for at opretholde den gennemsnitlige enhedsfortjeneste, som Moby opnåede i sommeren 2009 (undtagen en forhøjelse, der direkte kunne knyttes til en stigning i bunkeromkostningerne).
In fact, no explicit reference to any compensation to be granted to Saremar for the operation of the routes in question was laid down by the entrustment acts, namely Decision 25/69/EC, Decision 48/65/EC and Decision 36/6/EC for the Golfo Aranci – Civitavecchia route, and Decision 27/4/EC and Decision 36/6/EC for the Vado Ligure — Porto Torres route.
I sommeren 2012 ville CIN og Moby fastholde den gennemsnitlige 2012-enhedsfortjeneste.
RAS itself admitted that no compensation had initially been foreseen because the routes were considered commercially viable and Saremar was meant to exploit those routes so as to reach economic balance.
Derudover skulle der gælde særligt reducerede takster i sommersæsonen 2012 og 2013 for personer bosiddende på Sardinien.
Indeed, RAS's intention was not to compensate Saremar for the services in question.
Derfor sikrer NCA-beslutningen vedrørende fusionen, at Tirrenia/CIN ikke opkræver urimeligt høje takster på de pågældende to ruter.
Since first, no compensation was foreseen for the operation of the two routes in question, and second, Saremar was granted a margin of manoeuvre to adjust the fares precisely in order to break-even, the Commission cannot consider that the parameters for the calculation of that (inexistent) compensation were established in advance in an objective and transparent manner.
Af samme grund havde de italienske myndigheder allerede besluttet, at der ikke var noget behov for at pålægge Tirrenia prisforpligtelser i betragtning af markedsforholdene i sommersæsonen.
As Decision 20/57/EC shows, the obligation to maintain separate accounting aimed at ensuring that Saremar ensured economic equilibrium in operating the routes, rather than establishing the parameters for a future hypothetical compensation, which was as a matter of fact excluded from the outset.
Den 18. juni 2013 indledte NCA en undersøgelse af Tirrenias og Mobys manglende overholdelse i sommeren 2012 af de relevante betingelser, som blev pålagt ved NCA's beslutning vedrørende fusionen mellem Tirrenia og CIN.
RAS's decision to compensate Saremar for operating the two routes in question was only taken on 7 August 2012 and, therefore, the compensation mechanism was developed ex-post, after the deficit in the operation of the routes had emerged.
RAS og Saremar har hævdet, at dette ville være nok til at bevise, at de af konkurrenterne opkrævede takster på de pågældende ruter ikke kunne opfylde det krav om rimelige priser, som RAS havde indført.
As already mentioned, neither the amount of compensation, nor the parameters for its calculation could have been established ex-ante since the operation of the two routes, considered to be the ‘main commercial and tourist lines’, was considered viable and the routes in question were meant to be exploited by Saremar on economic balance.
Kommissionen kan ikke godtage dette argument.
The Commission recalls that the entrustment acts clearly laid down Saremar's leeway in adjusting the fares so as to ensure the viability of operation of the two routes.
Driften af de to ruter i sommersæsonen 2012 blev overdraget til Saremar ved beslutning 36/6 af 1. september 2011, hvilket foruddaterer starten på bookningen til sommersæsonen 2012.
The Commission further notes that, not only was Saremar entitled to amend the fares in keeping with the viability objective, but it actually did so.
RAS kunne derfor ikke have forudset, at parterne ville forhøje taksterne i strid med NCA's beslutning på tidspunktet for overdragelsen.
In particular, Saremar's proposal for fares on the Porto Torres – Vado Ligure route in 2012 mentioned that proposed fares reflected a slight increase as compared to those which had been applied on the same route in 2011 to allow the company to break even.
Desuden mener Kommissionen, at selv om RAS' argument om, at CIN ikke var pålagt nogen forpligtelse til at bevare rimelige takster i sommersæsonen, skulle blive accepteret, ville dette betyde, at PSO'er vedrørende rimelige takster snarere ville være berettiget i sommersæsonen end i perioden fra januar til maj 2012.
Based on the proposed tariff Saremar had at that time forecasted a EUR […] surplus on the route.
Dette argument ville derfor ikke berettige pålæggelsen af PSO'er i vintersæsonen.
Furthermore, Decision 36/6/EC mentioned that the ‘obligation to maintain economic balance, in order to avoid granting incompatible state aids, does not allow in the immediate the start-up of other routes’.
Tabel 4
Hence, already at the time the entrustment acts were issued it was clear that RAS intended to grant no compensation for the two routes in question.
Passagertakster (dæksplads) på ruten Golfo Aranci (Olbia)-Civitavecchia
Moreover, it is also clear that already at that time RAS was aware that, in the light of the prevailing market situation, subsidies granted for the operation of cabotage routes to mainland Italy would probably qualify as incompatible State aid.
21 EUR fra 15. juni til 15. juli og 1. til 15. september
The Italian Court of Auditors in its report on RAS's financial statements for 2012 concluded: ‘the operation of the two routes […] far from observing the obligation to maintain economic balance so as to avoid granting incompatible State aids, as laid down by Decision 48/65/EC, would have generated absent the EUR 10 million paid by the Region a deficit in excess of EUR 13 million’.
35 EUR fra 16. juli 2011 til 31. august 2011.
Finally, as explained below with regard to the analysis of the first Altmark condition, the Commission considers that for part of the period analysed in the present Decision, Saremar was not entrusted with an obligation clearly defining the level of fares to be considered as affordable.
21,68 EUR (21,46 EUR) for bosiddende).
Since the parameters for calculating the compensation for the discharge of PSOs concerning affordable fares must necessarily be linked to the level of fares considered affordable and that level was not always clearly defined in the present case, the parameters for calculating the compensation cannot be considered as established in advance in an objective and transparent manner.
21 EUR på hverdage i juni og juli samt 3. til 15. september
In conclusion, the Commission considers that the second Altmark condition cannot be considered as fulfilled in the present case and therefore the compensation granted an advantage to Saremar within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
25 EUR i weekender i juni og juli samt 30., 31. juli og 1., 2. september
The Commission also has strong doubts as regards the fulfilment of the first Altmark condition.
35 EUR i august.
In this connection, it must be observed that there is no uniform and precise definition of a service that may constitute a SGEI under Union law, either within the meaning of the first Altmark condition or within the meaning of Article 106(2) TFEU.
21,68 EUR (21,46 EUR).
Point 46 of the Communication from the Commission on the application of the European Union State aid rules to compensation granted for the provision of services of general economic interest is worded as follows:
Passagertakster (dæksplads) på ruten Genova (Vado Ligure)-Porto Torres
The Commission's competence in this respect is limited to checking whether the Member State has made a manifest error when defining the service as an SGEI and to assessing any State aid involved in the compensation.
35 EUR (29,75 EUR) fra 22. maj til 15. juli samt 1. til 15. september
Where specific Union rules exist, the Member States' discretion is further bound by those rules, without prejudice to the Commission's duty to carry out an assessment of whether the SGEI has been correctly defined for the purpose of State aid control.’
53,63 EUR (37,18 EUR)
In this case, the allegedly public service mission defined by Italy was the operation of two cabotage routes connecting mainland Italy to Sardinia, namely Civitavecchia – Olbia/Golfo Aranci and Vado Ligure – Porto Torres at affordable rates.
35 EUR (30 EUR) 1. til 14. juni samt 3. til 15. september
In the field of cabotage, detailed Union rules governing PSOs have been laid down in the Maritime Cabotage Regulation and, for the purpose of examining potential State aid to undertakings engaged in maritime transport, in the Community guidelines on State aid to maritime transport (hereinafter the Maritime Guidelines).
38 EUR (33 EUR) fra 15. juni til 13. juli
Article 4(1) of the Maritime Cabotage Regulation provides:
44 EUR (38 EUR) fra 14. juli til 2. september
‘A Member State may conclude public service contracts with or impose public service obligations as a condition for the provision of cabotage services, on shipping companies participating in regular services to, from and between islands.
Derfor vurderer Kommissionen, at de italienske myndigheder ikke påviste eksistensen af et ægte behov for offentlig tjeneste for så vidt angår at pålægge Saremar en forpligtelse til at anvende rimelige takster i sommersæsonen 2011 og 2012.
Whenever a Member State concludes public service contracts or imposes public service obligations, it shall do so on a non-discriminatory basis in respect of all Community shipowners.’
Under alle omstændigheder var de takster, som Saremar anvendte på ruten Olbia-Civitavecchia sammenlignelige med og undertiden højere end dem, der allerede blev opkrævet af Tirrenia og Tirrenia/CIN i mangel af krav til offentlig tjeneste vedrørende takstniveauet.
In accordance with section 9 of the Maritime Guidelines, ‘public service obligations (PSOs) may be imposed or public service contracts (PSCs) may be concluded for the services indicated in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92’, i.e. scheduled services to, from and between islands.
Vintersæsonen
It results from established case-law that PSOs may only be imposed if justified by the need to ensure adequate regular maritime transport services which cannot be ensured by market forces alone.
I 2011 blev tjenesten på ruten Olbia-Civitavecchia indstillet af Saremar i perioden fra oktober til december 2011.
The Communication on interpretation of the Maritime Cabotage Regulation confirms that ‘it is for the Member States (including regional and local authorities where appropriate) to determine which routes require public service obligations. In particular, public service obligations may be envisaged for regular (scheduled) island cabotage services in the event of market failure to provide adequate services.’
Tjenesten blev derefter genoptaget i vintersæsonen 2012, fra 16. januar 2012 til 31. maj 2012.
Moreover, Article 2(4) of the Maritime Cabotage Regulation defines PSOs as obligations which the ship-owner in question, if he were considering his own commercial interest, would not assume or would not assume to the same extent or under the same conditions.
Samtidig drev Tirrenia denne rute i henhold til de PSO'er, der var pålagt i kraft af den oprindelige aftale, som navnlig også vedrørte de takster, som Tirrenia kunne tilbyde.
As mentioned above, RAS considers that in this case PSOs have been imposed in terms of requiring Saremar to charge affordable rates on the two cabotage routes to mainland Italy.
RAS havde ikke fremført nogen klar begrundelse, der kunne berettige nødvendigheden af forpligtelser til offentlig tjeneste i forbindelse med de takster, der skulle anvendes af Saremar på den pågældende rute i vintersæsonen.
The table below details the specific fares to be charged by Saremar on the routes, as laid down by the entrustment acts.
Ydermere viser en sammenligning mellem Saremars og Tirrenias takster, at Saremars takster ikke var lavere.
For 2012, given that no precise fares were mentioned in the entrustment acts, the fares proposed by Saremar to RAS were considered.
Følgelig kan de forpligtelser vedrørende takster, som Saremar er blevet pålagt, ikke betragtes som et forsøg på at imødekomme behovet for offentlige tjenesteydelser, som ikke blev opfyldt af de forpligtelser, der allerede var blevet pålagt Tirrenia.
Table 3
Tabel 6
Passenger fares (deck passage) laid down by the entrustment acts
21 EUR.
(Decision 25/69/EC)
19,79 EUR (18,16 EUR) lavsæson
EUR 21 from 15 June - 15 July and 1 - 15 September;
20,61 EUR (19,98 EUR) mellemsæson
EUR 35 from 16 July - 31 August.
Godstransport
EUR 35 from 22 June - 15 July and 1 - 15 September;
For så vidt angår taksterne for godstransport fastslår Kommissionen, at Tirrenia og Tirrenia/CIN fik overdraget en forpligtelse til at levere kombinerede tjenesteydelser på de to pågældende ruter.
EUR 40 from 16 July - 31 August,
Endvidere var der i 2011 fem rederier (herunder Saremar), som tilbød godstransportydelser på ruten Olbia-Civitavecchia og tre på ruten Vado Ligure-Porto Torres.
A 15 % discount would apply to Sardinian residents.
RAS gav hverken nogen forklaring på, hvorfor de takster på godstransport, som Tirrenia og andre rederier tilbød på de pågældende ruter, ikke var nok til at opfylde Sardiniens transportbehov, eller forsynede Kommissionen med komparative godsprisoplysninger fra Saremar og dens konkurrenter på de omhandlede ruter.
(Decision 48/65/EC)
Dertil kommer, at stigningen i de priser, som opkræves af private redere på de pågældende ruter som fastsat af NCA, kun vedrører 2011 og er begrænset til passagertakster.
Saremar was to apply the low season fare charged in 2011 (i.e. EUR 21).