natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
I Piaggio-sagen fandt Domstolen desuden, at den potentielle indvirkning på de offentlige kreditorer ikke er et væsentligt aspekt, men snarere en indikator for bl.a. at fastslå eksistensen af en selektiv fordel, der er finansieret af statsmidler.
Allegedly, the measure does not qualify as an expropriation in favour of the State.
Denne dom kræver endvidere, at Kommissionen godtgør, at staten eller offentlige organer hører til blandt de vigtigste kreditorer i en kriseramt virksomhed, hvilket ifølge Italien ikke er tilfældet her.
It would be a mere implementation of a general rule of law from article 2497 of Civil Code which provides for liability of the parent company vis-à-vis shareholders and creditors of its subsidiaries, in case of maladministration (‘responsabilità patrimoniale dell'impresa-holding’), as stated in a judicial decree of 28 October 2014 rendered on the matter).
Endelig understreger Italien, at den omtvistede foranstaltning i den foreliggende sag blot gennemfører et generelt princip i italiensk ret, der er forankret i artikel 111 i den italienske konkurslov (»Legge Fallimentare«, Regio decreto nr. 267 af 16. marts 1942), som også er til stede i andre bestemmelser heri, såsom artikel 182c og d, som giver almindelige dommere kompetence til at kvalificere visse lån som massekrav, især hvis sådanne lån er afgørende for videreførelse af aktiviteterne i virksomheden og sikre, at kreditorer bedre tilgodeses.
Furthermore, the Fondo Unico di Giustizia is a mere custodian (custode ex lege) who is bound to respect the applicable legal provisions (e.g. the Ministerial Decree of 30 July 2009) and the indications from the judicial authority.
Økonomisk fordel
It does not have the amounts at its free disposal.
De italienske myndigheder er af den opfattelse, at vilkårene for lånet er sædvanlige markedsvilkår for et lån med en lav sikkerhedsstillelse.
The sum in question will be used solely for restoring the environmental damage caused, in line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
Det lån, der er ydet af de finansielle institutioner, har en rente på Euribor 3 mdr. + […] basispoint pr. år.
In addition, the initial owners of the seized assets will not lose their property rights since, in case of acquittal, they receive the bonds and a relevant right to cash-in the relevant value plus interests.
Da Ilva i mellemtiden blev sat under ekstraordinær administration, hvorunder kreditorer ikke er berettiget til at håndhæve deres fordringer, blev lånet ikke tilbagebetalt på udløbsdatoen.
After the settlement agreement referred to in recital 21 was signed, the Italian authorities presented the following additional arguments.
Med hensyn til spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt ydelsen af lånet blev muliggjort gennem kvalificering som massekrav, hævder de italienske myndigheder, at anerkendelse af kvalificering som massekrav kun vil ske, efter den kompetente nationale ret har kontrolleret, at lånet opfylder alle de betingelser, der kræves i henhold til artikel 12, stk. 5, i lovdekret nr. 101/2013, efter proceduren, der skal fuldende listen over kreditorer (accertamento del passivo).
As a result, the amounts have been voluntarily transferred from the Riva family to Ilva, once and for all, without the Fondo Unico di Giustizia exercising any control on them.
På tidspunktet for ydelsen af lånet var kvalificeringen som massekrav derfor rent hypotetisk.
Effect on State budget
De italienske myndigheder bemærker for det første, at det garanterede lån ved lov udelukkende er øremærket til investeringer i miljøplanen.
According to Italy, for the purposes of determining the existence of State aid, it is necessary to establish a sufficiently direct link between, on the one hand, the advantage given to the beneficiary and, on the other, a reduction of the State budget or a sufficiently concrete economic risk of burdens on that budget.
Det skal derfor imødekomme Kommissionens betænkeligheder i den begrundede udtalelse.
In this regard, the Commission's argument in the Opening Decision that, by investing the seized amounts in Ilva's bonds rather than in State bonds the State may forego possible revenues, is merely hypothetical and not founded.
Statsmidler og økonomisk fordel
First, there is no reason to believe that, in a counterfactual scenario, the seized amounts would have been invested in State bonds and not simply deposited on a bank account held by the Fondo Unico di Giustizia.
Ifølge de italienske myndigheder skyldes anvendelsen af statsmidler ikke, at statsgarantier bringer statens midler i fare, hvis de tages i brug.
Second, the Commission has not demonstrated a sufficiently direct link between the decision not to invest the seized amounts in State bonds and a potential negative effect on the State budget.
Statsmidler påvirkes kun, hvis det potentielle tab for staten ikke honoreres behørigt.
Therefore, the Italian authorities conclude that measure 1 does not have any negative effect on the State budget.
I denne henseende mener de italienske myndigheder, at den ekstra garanti på 3,12 % af flere grunde er markedsorienteret.
On the contrary, it may have a positive effect on it.
For det første bestilte de italienske myndigheder en ekspertundersøgelse (»[…] udtalelsen«) for at fastsætte denne ekstra garanti.
Selective advantage
udtalelsen er baseret på en metode, som er fastlagt i overensstemmelse med punkt 3.2. litra d), i Kommissionens meddelelse om anvendelsen af EF-traktatens artikel 87 og 88 på statsstøtte i form af garantier (»garantimeddelelsen«):
Italy also argues that no selective advantage has been conferred to Ilva.
Låntagers kreditrisiko blev analyseret ved hjælp af en model, som giver en kreditvurdering på grundlag af de foreliggende oplysninger.
The amounts at issue are intended to be placed in a separate account and dedicated to the Environmental Plan, including the works prescribed in the Reasoned Opinion.
Ud fra denne kreditberegning blev der foretaget en benchmarkinganalyse for at udvælge et rimeligt antal markedsværdier for garantipræmien på grundlag af de forskellige metoder, der anvendes som international praksis.
Therefore, the measure merely complies with the ‘polluter pays’ principle by striking the correct balance between constitutional interests of protection of health, employment and environment.
De opnåede resultater blev yderligere bekræftet af ekstra evalueringskriterier.
In fact, it aims at: (i) facilitating Ilva's extraordinary administration by putting at its disposal the funds necessary to comply with the works that the Commission itself imposed on Italy in the Reasoned Opinion; and (ii) preserving the legal rights of the individuals undergoing the criminal investigation.
Resultatet var Euribor 6 mdr. + mellem 2,5 % og 3,12 %.
More generally, in light of its peculiar nature, the measure at issue cannot be considered as conferring a selective advantage for at least two reasons.
Den højeste procent blev valgt.
First, Member States are free to decide how they manage the situation pending the conclusion of criminal proceedings (res controversa), this issue being outside the Commission's scrutiny under State aid rules.
For det andet falder den garantipræmie og rentesats på lånet, som Ilva betalte, inden for de grænser, der er angivet i betragtning 90 i indledningsafgørelsen (dvs. at margenen for et lån til en teknisk insolvent virksomhed med en lavere kreditvurdering end CCC ville være mellem 400 og 1000 basispoint).
Second, the anticipation on the provisional basis of the outcome of the pending criminal proceedings is a general principle shared by a large part of the European legal systems and cannot as such confer a selective advantage on the undertaking that benefits from this anticipation.
I denne henseende bør der tages højde for lånets kvalificering som massekrav ved vurderingen af den kreditrisiko, der knytter sig hertil.
Last, as to the financial conditions of the bonds issued by Ilva, the Italian authorities explain that the bonds would be issued at the average interest rate applied to accounts in the name of the Fondo Unico di Giustizia, for instance […] in the year 2015.
For det tredje skal den risiko, som staten har påtaget sig, vurderes i forhold til statens samlede rentabilitetsmål.
They also stress that it is not unusual for undertakings in difficulty or placed under extraordinary administration to issue bonds to cover their financial needs.
I denne forbindelse bør det understreges, at foranstaltningen var øremærket til udgifter, der var nødvendige for at opfylde den italienske stats miljømæssige forpligtelser som følge af Kommissionens begrundede udtalelse.
Selectivity
Den markedsøkonomiske aktørs princip skal derfor vurderes samlet for alle relevante overvejelser for staten, herunder den omstændighed, at den endelige belastning af statsmidlerne ville være mindre, hvis de miljømæssige investeringer gennemføres takket være foranstaltning 3.
According to Italy, the legislative provision in question merely implements a general principle of law that allows for the pre-deductibility status of credits if this is necessary to preserve the value of an undertaking and the management of its assets.
Endelig understreger Italien, at det ikke er ualmindeligt, at kreditinstitutter, der allerede er eksponeret for en virksomhed under konkursbehandling, yder supplerende midlertidig finansiering som massekrav til denne virksomhed, selv i tilfælde hvor en sådan finansiering ikke er dækket af nogen statsgaranti.
No other undertaking has benefitted from this provision yet only because this legislative provision was introduced recently.
Bankernes, Intesa Sanpaolo og Banco Popolare, adfærd med hensyn til foranstaltning 3 er derfor ikke usædvanlig.
State resources and impact on State budget
Disse banker samt andre banker, der allerede er eksponeret for Ilva, har haft åbne kreditbevillinger til fordel for Ilva på trods af manglende statsgarantier for disse kreditbevillinger.
According to Italy, measure 2 does not involve State resources.
De italienske myndigheder fremhæver, at bestemmelsen i artikel 3, stk. 5, i lovdekret nr. 1/2015 ikke pålægger virksomhederne nogen forpligtelse til at nå frem til en aftale, men udelukkende var processuel og gør det muligt for Ilvas ekstraordinære kommissærer at bruge midlerne fra forliget i forbindelse med den ekstraordinære administration.
The legal provision in question did not grant to the competent authority ‘the power to direct or influence the administration of the funds’.
Forliget blev indgået frit og frivilligt af Ilva og Fintecna.
In this case, the Italian authorities were not involved in the relationship between the financing institutions and Ilva.
Princippet om den markedsøkonomiske aktør
In addition, the measure has no negative impact on the State budget also with respect to State credits vis-à-vis Ilva.
De italienske myndigheder gentager, at Fintecna, der er et statsejet selskab, efter deres opfattelse generelt fungerer som enhver anden markedsøkonomisk aktør.
Apart from fiscal measures, the Commission has to demonstrate a sufficiently direct link between the advantage given to the beneficiary and a concrete economic risk of burden on the State budget.
Dette blev bekræftet af selve indledningsafgørelsen, hvor det ifølge de italienske myndigheder anføres, at kontraktbestemmelsen fra 1996 var et tilsagn som en privat sælger ville have givet, og at det beløb, der betales af Fintecna, var i overensstemmelse med en rationel beslutning truffet af en privat investor.
In this case, the link is inexistent.
I indledningsafgørelsen synes der imidlertid at blive sået tvivl om, hvorvidt en privat aktør ville have ventet en mere fremskreden fase af Ilvas omstrukturering, inden denne ville opfylde sine forpligtelser.
First, the State does not waive any resources, from whatever source (taxes, contributions or others), which should be paid by Ilva to the State.
De italienske myndigheder er af den opfattelse, at transaktionen blot er en opfyldelse af en kontraktlig forpligtelse vedrørende skader på miljøet.
Second, the measure does not reduce the possibility for the State to collect its credits and it does not disadvantage State credits more than other credits.
Derfor medfører den finansielle byrde for Fintecna ikke en særlig fordel for de berørte virksomheder som defineret i Domstolens domme i Sloman Neptun og Ecotrade.
On the contrary, by safeguarding Ilva's assets the measure had positive effects on all creditors, including the State, who will satisfy their claims from those assets.
Den alternative adfærd nævnt i betragtning 96 i indledningsafgørelsen (dvs. manglende eller langsommere betaling i lyset af Ilvas ledelsesmæssige ændringer) ville have udgjort en opportunistisk og risikobetonet adfærd, der ikke ville have været forenelig med en markedsøkonomisk aktør som defineret af Domstolen.
Moreover, in the Piaggio judgement the Court considered that the potential impact on public creditors is not an essential aspect, but rather an indicator among others, to establish the existence of a selective advantage financed through State resources.
Selektiv økonomisk fordel
That judgement also requires the Commission to prove that the State or public entities are among the chief creditors of the undertaking in difficulty, which according to Italy is not the case here.
De italienske myndigheder er af den opfattelse, at lånet er ydet på sædvanlige markedsvilkår.
Finally, Italy stresses that the contested measure merely implements in the present case a general principle of Italian law enshrined in Article 111 of the Insolvency law (‘Legge Fallimentare’, Regio decreto 16 March 1942, No 267), which is also present in other provisions thereof such as Article 182-quarter and quinquies, which give competence to ordinary judges to grant privilege of pre-deductibility to certain loans, notably if such loans are indispensable for the continuation of the activities of the company and ensure that creditors are better served.
Lånet ydet af staten forrentes årligt med Euribor 6 mdr. + 300 basispoint.
Economic advantage
Én arbejdsdag inden ydelsen af lånet lå Euribor 6 mdr. på – 0,04 %.
The Italian authorities are of the opinion that the conditions of the loan are normal market conditions for a loan granted with low collateral.
Rentesatsen blev derfor fastsat til 2,96 %.
The loan granted by the financing institutions has an interest rate of Euribor 3 months + […] basis points per year.
Italien gør gældende, at denne sats er i overensstemmelse med […] udtalelsen udarbejdet med henblik på tildeling af foranstaltning 3 (se betragtning 98).
The duration of the loan is from 11 September 2014 to 28 February 2015.
udtalelsen viser, at en rentesats på mellem 2,50 % og 3,12 % vil være markedskonform.
The contract has all the usual conditions.
I mangel af væsentlige ændringer i Ilvas situation mellem tidspunktet for tildeling af foranstaltning 3 og foranstaltning 5 (april 2015 i forhold til december 2015) mener de italienske myndigheder, at […] udtalelsen kan anvendes til at vurdere, om foranstaltning 5 er markedskonform.
Since in the meantime Ilva entered into extraordinary administration, during which creditors are not entitled to enforce their claims, the loan was not reimbursed at its expiry.
Italien understreger desuden, at lånet er klassificeret som massekrav — og det er vigtigt, at Kommissionen tager hensyn til dette, når den vurderer kreditrisikoen knyttet til lånet.
During the extraordinary administration all debts have to be reimbursed according to the applicable rules.
Endvidere hævder Italien, at foranstaltning 5 har til formål at fremme salget af Ilva og i mellemtiden garanterer driften på en måde, der er forenelig med kravene til miljøbeskyttelse, sundhed og beskæftigelse.
As to the question whether the granting of the loan was made possible through the granting of a pre-deductibility, the Italian authorities claim that the recognition of the pre-deductible nature will only occur after the competent national court verifies that the loan complies with all the conditions required by Article 12, paragraph 5, of Law Decree No 101/2013, following the procedure to complete the list of creditors (accertamento del passivo).
Endelig minder Italien om, at lovdekret nr. 98/2016 den 9. juni 2016 ændrede forpligtelsen til tilbagebetaling af lånet ved at overføre det fra erhververen af Ilvas aktiver til Ilva selv.
Therefore, at the time of granting the qualification of the credit as pre-deductible was merely hypothetical.
Derudover, som følge af ændringer i salgsprocessen og for at undgå at udskyde den endelige dato for lånets tilbagebetaling ud over den endelige afhændelse af Ilvas aktiver, ændredes med artikel 1, stk. 1, litra a), i lovdekret nr. 243/2016 datoen for tilbagebetaling af lånet til 60 dage efter den endelige afhændelse af Ilvas aktiver, hvorved lånet blev afkoblet fra det dekret, hvorved ophøret af Ilvas aktivitet blev erklæret.
The Italian authorities first note that the guaranteed loan is by law exclusively earmarked for the investments included in the Environmental Plan.
BEMÆRKNINGER FRA INTERESSEREDE PARTER
Therefore, it is meant to address the Commission's concerns included in the Reasoned Opinion.
Bemærkninger fra Ilva
State resources and economic advantage
Ilva meddelte Kommissionen, at virksomheden fuldt ud tilslutter sig de italienske myndigheders bemærkninger, som er opsummeret i afsnit 3 i denne afgørelse.
According to the Italian authorities, the use of State resources does not derive from the fact that State guarantees put State resources at risk in case they are called.
Bemærkninger fra Peacelink
Instead, State resources are only impacted if the potential loss for the State is not properly remunerated.
Peacelink er en italiensk ikkestatslig organisation, der har til formål at give borgerne gennemsigtige oplysninger om forskellige emner såsom militære eller miljømæssige konflikter.
In this respect, the Italian authorities consider that the 3,12 % guarantee premium is a market oriented one, for several reasons.
Peacelink mener, at den tvivl, som Kommissionen udtrykte i sin indledningsafgørelse, er fuldt ud berettiget.
First, the Italian authorities commissioned an expert study (hereafter, ‘the […] opinion’) to determine this premium.
Vedrørende foranstaltning 1 anfører de, at den forventede betaling af de retligt beslaglagte beløb ville medføre, at staten skulle bære risikoen for resultatet af den retslige procedure.
The […] opinion relies on a methodology established in line with point 3.2(d) of the Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees (‘the Guarantee Notice’):
Ingen privat investor ville acceptere at bære en sådan risiko.
the credit risk of the borrower was analysed through a model allowing the assignment of a credit score on the basis of the available information;
Med hensyn til foranstaltning 2 er Peacelink af den opfattelse, at ingen markedsøkonomisk aktør ville have ydet et lån til Ilva uden statslige indgreb.
considering that credit score, a benchmarking analysis was carried out to select a reasonable range of market values for the guarantee premium on the basis of the various methodologies used by the international practice;
Dette indgreb indebærer desuden en risiko for statsmidlerne, eftersom det påvirker tilbagebetalingsrækkefølgen af offentlige kreditter.
the results obtained were further corroborated with additional evaluation criteria;
Og hvad angår foranstaltning 4, mener Peacelink, at der er tale om statsstøtte, fordi Fintecna kun besluttede at bilægge sit krav på grund af bestemmelserne i lovdekret nr. 1/2015.
the highest percentage was selected.
Den omstændighed, at Fintecna er offentligt ejet, sår endvidere tvivl om dens evne til at handle som en privat aktør
Second, the guarantee premium and the loan interest rate paid by Ilva overall fall within the range indicated at recital 90 of the Opening Decision (i.e. that the margin for a loan to a technically insolvent company with a rating below CCC would be between 400 and 1000 basis points).
Peacelink anmodede også Kommissionen om at udvide sin tilbundsgående undersøgelse til offentlig støtte ydet under lovdekret nr. 191/2015 i form af et lån på 300 mio. EUR og et andet på 800 mio. EUR.
In this respect, the pre-deductible nature of the guaranteed loan should be taken into account when assessing the credit risk attached to it.
Endelig kommenterede Peacelink de miljømæssige aspekter af Ilva, som ikke er relevante for den nuværende statsstøtteprocedure.
Third, the risk taken by the State has to be assessed against the State's overall profitability objectives.
Bemærkninger fra WF Stahl
In this respect, it should be stressed that the measure was earmarked for the expenditures needed to comply with the environmental obligations of the Italian State deriving from the Commission Reasoned Opinion.
WV Stahl er en brancheforening for stålindustrien i Tyskland.
The market economy investor principle should therefore be assessed globally against all relevant considerations for the State, including the fact that the final burden on State resources would be lower if the environmental investments are performed thanks to measure 3.
Den har hjemsted i Düsseldorf.
In summary, Italy believes that: (i) the guarantee is remunerated at market conditions; and (ii) the risk taken by the State as guarantor is economically rational and coherent with the overall profitability objectives of the State.
WV Stahl er enig i den tvivl, som Kommissionen gav udtryk for i indledningsafgørelsen.
Last, Italy stresses that it is not uncommon that credit institutions already exposed to a company undergoing insolvency proceedings provide additional pre-deductible interim financing to this company, even in cases where such financing is not backed by any State guarantee.
For så vidt angår foranstaltning 1, mener WV Stahl, at forudbetalingen af de retligt beslaglagte beløb ville give Ilva en økonomisk fordel.
Therefore, the behaviour of the banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Banco Popolare with respect to measure 3 is not unusual.
Med hensyn til foranstaltning 2 mener de, at kvalificeringen som massekrav virker som en form for garanti og derfor er vektor for ulovlig støtte.
These banks as well as other banks already exposed to Ilva have been keeping credit lines open for the benefit of Ilva, despite the lack of State guarantees on these credit lines.
Forekomsten af statsstøtte i foranstaltning 3 er efter deres opfattelse indlysende.
The Italian authorities stress that the legal provision in Article 3, paragraph 5, of Law Decree No 1/2015 did not impose on the undertakings any obligation to find an agreement but was merely procedural, allowing Ilva's Extraordinary Commissioners to use the funds from the settlement in the context of the extraordinary administration procedure.
For så vidt angår foranstaltning 4, forklarer WV Stahl, at en markedsøkonomisk aktør ikke ville have accepteret en sådan aftale.
The settlement was freely and voluntarily concluded by Ilva and Fintecna.
WV Stahl advarede Kommissionen om den mulige tildeling af yderligere statsstøtte i form af to lån på henholdsvis 300 mio. EUR og 800 mio. EUR.
Market economy operator principle
De anmoder Kommissionen om at sikre, at der ikke ydes yderligere offentlig støtte til Ilva.
The Italian authorities repeat that in their view Fintecna, a State owned corporation, generally operates as any other market economy operator.
Navnlig skal alle statens udgifter til foranstaltninger, som er bydende nødvendige for at håndtere eksisterende forurening og for at garantere borgernes sundhed i Taranto, fortsat være i overensstemmelse med princippet om, at forureneren betaler, og ikke være et påskud for opgradering af Ilvas stålværker.
This was confirmed by the Opening Decision itself which, according to the Italian authorities, states that the 1996 contract clause was a commitment that a private vendor would have undertaken and that the amount paid by Fintecna was coherent with a rational decision taken by a private investor.
Og endelig anmoder WV Stahl Kommissionen om at sikre en hurtig tilbagebetaling af eventuel støtte, som måtte anses for uforenelig efter den tilbundsgående undersøgelse.
However, the Opening Decision seemed to question whether a private operator would have waited a more advanced phase of Ilva's restructuring before fulfilling its obligation.