natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
De norske myndigheder anfører også, at størrelsen af kompensationen i henhold til HA er baseret på deling af risici og forpligtelser mellem parterne.
The Norwegian authorities also point out that this condition does not necessarily entail that clawback mechanisms or contractual arrangements to alter the level of compensation must always be in place to avoid overcompensation.
Risikoen for misligholdelse på grund af ekstreme vejrforhold blev således overført til den støtteydende myndighed i forhandlingerne mellem parterne, og størrelsen af kompensationen blev reduceret i overensstemmelse hermed, uden at dette skaber vanskeligheder med hensyn til den tredje Altmark-betingelse.
Rather, ‘[…] any mechanism concerning the selection of the service provider must be decided in such a way that the level of compensation is determined on the basis of these elements’.
Endelig, hvad angår aflysninger af sejlads på Mehamn, fremlægger de norske myndigheder en beskrivelse af begivenhederne, hvor det angives, at selskabet ydede kompensation for skaderne på havnen i efteråret 2012, og at havnen ikke blev repareret trods Hurtigrutens anmodning.
As Hurtigruten has so far not received compensation exceeding the coverage of the costs and the profit margin related to the agreed compensation, there has not been a need for such a clawback mechanism.
Under alle omstændigheder gør de norske myndigheder gældende, at som led i regnskabsgennemgangen for 2014, og fordi den støtteydende myndighed og Hurtigruten nåede til enighed om at aflyse sejlads på denne havn, betragtes aflysningen som en ændring af produktionen i overensstemmelse med paragraf 6 i HA, hvilket medfører justering af den endelige kompensation.
On the level of the reasonable profit, the Norwegian authorities have argued that profits may vary over the years, and that contracts providing incentives for the service provider do not necessarily signify overcompensation.
Aflysningen kan således ikke betragtes som misligholdelse af HA og indebærer ikke overkompensation i henhold til HA.
In addition, the Norwegian authorities explained that a financial evaluation had been carried out before the tender invitations, describing estimates on expected costs and revenues, as well as expectations for a rate on return on capital (‘RoC’), presented as a weighted average cost of capital (‘WACC’), to be within an interval of […] % to […] % on the total capital.
For så vidt angår den fjerde Altmark-betingelse og Tilsynsmyndighedens tvivl om, hvorvidt en udbudsprocedure som den i den foreliggende sag, hvor der kun blev afgivet ét bud, kan anses for at være tilstrækkelig til at sikre de laveste omkostninger for samfundet, gør de norske myndigheder gældende, at udbuddet er gennemført som et offentligt udbud i overensstemmelse med udbudsreglerne.
A subsequent financial evaluation was conducted to examine Hurtigruten's bid and concluded that it would entail a higher RoC, which could lead to cross-subsidies of the commercial operations.
De norske myndigheder gør også gældende, at anvendelse af »laveste pris« som det eneste kriterium for tildeling ikke kan betragtes som en tilsidesættelse af den fjerde Altmark-betingelse.
As a result, the Norwegian authorities entered into negotiations that resulted in a reduction of the compensation, which was considered to be acceptable (as described in paragraph (42)).
I forhold til de tre alternative ruter, der er nævnt i udbuddet, har de norske myndigheder endvidere forklaret, at i henhold til det norske Klagenævnet for Udbuds (»Kofa«'s) retspraksis skal tildelingen, hvis der ikke er givet anvisninger om alternativer, være baseret på en vurdering af, hvilket tilbud der alt i alt synes at være det økonomisk mest fordelagtige.
The results achieved through the negotiations have been examined and substantiated by the latest financial evaluation of BDO (see section 5.4 below on the second BDO report 2016).
De norske myndigheder henviser også til udbudsbetingelsernes punkt 2.14, hvoraf det fremgår, at den ordregivende myndighed forbeholder sig ret til frit at vælge mellem de tilbudte alternativer.
With regard to the Authority's concern in the opening decision that Hurtigruten does not reserve capacity for public service passengers, but rather sells the capacity to cruise passengers, while maintaining the public service compensation at the same level, the Norwegian authorities stress that the HA does not prohibit Hurtigruten from selling tickets to cruise passengers as long as there is no demand from PSO ones.
Faktisk skal der udføres en yderligere vurdering af, hvorvidt udbudsproceduren alligevel gav anledning til en tilstrækkeligt åben og ægte konkurrence.
As a result, in the vast majority of cases there is free capacity.
Efter de norske myndigheders opfattelse blev der netop truffet adskillige foranstaltninger for at tage højde for konkurrencen mellem de forskellige aktører (f.eks. alternative modeller, reduceret kapacitet, tilstrækkelig tid mellem budgivning og startdato, forlængelse af tidsfristen for afgivelse af bud).
Furthermore, the number of extra commercial tickets sold is generally low (see section 5.3 below on the first BDO report 2016).
Endvidere var Hurtigruten klar over, at andre virksomheder i det mindste havde vist interesse i at deltage i udbudsproceduren.
The Norwegian authorities acknowledge that in rare cases, PSO passengers, within the reserved capacity of 120, are not able to get a berth.
For så vidt angår betingelserne om forenelighed, anerkender de norske myndigheder, at afgørelsen om tjenesteydelse af almindelig økonomisk interesse ikke finder anvendelse, eftersom HA havde overskredet tærsklen på 300000 passagerer i de to regnskabsår, før forpligtelsen til offentlig tjeneste blev tildelt.
However, this is compensated by the travel guarantee introduced on 24 September 2014.
Selv om Norge mener, at foranstaltningen ikke udgør statsstøtte i henhold til Altmark-betingelserne, hvis den vurderes i henhold til Tilsynsmyndighedens rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte i form af kompensation for offentlig tjeneste (»rammebestemmelserne«), opfylder den alle de betingelser for forenelighed, som er specificeret deri.
In relation to the issue of the substantial increase in the compensation under the HA, as compared to the previous contract for the period 2005-2012, the Norwegian authorities state that the current HA must be assessed independently of the previous one, taking into account the actual costs of running the service and the account separation principles as explained in the BDO report 2015 (see section 5.2 below).
Især med henvisning til proportionalitetsprincippet gør de norske myndigheder gældende, at de beregninger, der er foretaget, er i overensstemmelse med kravene i retspraksis og Kommissionens beslutningspraksis, eftersom kun de faktiske omkostninger ved at opfylde forpligtelser til offentlig tjeneste er taget i betragtning i henhold til en korrekt fordeling af omkostninger og indtægter mellem PSO-delen og den kommercielle del, og under hensyntagen til en rimelig fortjeneste på […] % (EBT).
Further, on the Authority's argument that Hurtigruten continues to receive compensation for services that are not rendered, the Norwegian authorities underline that a large portion of the costs stemming from the PSO obligations are capacity costs that remain unaffected by the number of passengers on board at any given time.
BDO-RAPPORTEN 2015
In addition, cancellation of ports, for example due to extraordinary weather conditions, do not reduce the fixed costs (with the exception of the port fees), but rather generate additional costs for the company.
De norske myndigheder bestilte en rapport hos konsulentfirmaet BDO, som behandlede Hurtigrutens budgetterede og faktiske finansielle resultater i 2012 og 2013, fordelt på: a) de tjenesteydelser, som det offentlige har købt på ruten mellem Bergen og Kirkenes og b) alle de tjenesteydelser, der leveres af Hurtigruten på samme rute (dvs. både kommercielle og offentlige tjenester).
It is also argued in Norway's submission that the level of compensation under the HA is based on the division of risks and obligations between the parties.
BDO sondrede mellem omkostninger til henholdsvis kapacitet, passagerer og markedsføring og salg.
That is to say, the risk of non-performance due to extreme weather conditions was transferred to the granting authority in the negotiations between the parties, and the level of compensation was thus reduced accordingly, without this creating any difficulties in relation to the third Altmark condition.
Kapacitetsomkostninger, der betragtes som faste omkostninger, defineres som de omkostninger, der afholdes af fartøjer, som sejler på den angivne rute med specifikke anløbshavne, og omfatter alle aktiviteter i forbindelse med drift af fartøjer langs kysten.
In reference, lastly, to the cancellations of the services to the port of Mehamn, the Norwegian authorities provide a description of the events, indicating that the damages to the port were compensated by the company in the autumn of 2012 and that the port was not repaired despite Hurtigruten's request.
Kapacitetsomkostninger består af følgende elementer: sikkerhedsbesætning, olie og bunkerfuel, reparation og vedligeholdelse, havneafgifter, forsikringsomkostninger, omkostninger til afskrivning/leje af fartøjer og finansielle nettoomkostninger.
The failure of the port authority to repair the damages led to a gradual deterioration of the pier, which resulted in the company, following an agreement with the granting authority, stopping calls in the port from January 2014 until it was repaired and officially opened for Hurtigruten again in September 2014.
Passageromkostninger samt omkostninger til markedsføring og salg betragtes som variable omkostninger.
Meanwhile, a land-based transport of cargo was established and the port time in Kjøllefjord was increased.
De omfatter alle aktiviteter, der direkte eller indirekte er knyttet til passagertransport.
In any event, it is submitted by the Norwegian authorities that, as part of the 2014 financial review, due to the fact that the granting authority and Hurtigruten reached an agreement to cancel calls to the port, this cancellation is considered as a change in production in accordance with section 6 of the HA, leading to an adjustment of the final compensation.
Passageromkostningerne består af følgende elementer: omkostninger ved solgte varer, besætning, som ikke er en del af sikkerhedsbesætningen, markedsførings- og salgsomkostninger, administrative omkostninger og andre omkostninger.
Therefore, this cancellation cannot be considered as a breach of the HA and does not entail any overcompensation under the HA.
Kapacitetsomkostningerne blev derefter fordelt på de offentligt indkøbte tjenester på grundlag den andel af kapaciteten, det offentlige har reserveret, i forhold til flådens samlede kapacitet, mens passageromkostningerne blev fordelt på grundlag af de anslåede passagerkilometer, som distancepassagerer sejler, i forhold til det samlede antal passagerkilometer for alle passagerer på flåden.
Concerning the fourth Altmark condition and the doubts expressed by the Authority whether a tender procedure such as the one in the case at hand, where only one bid is submitted, can be deemed sufficient to ensure the least cost to the community, the Norwegian authorities claim that the present tender has been carried out as an open procedure in line with the public procurement rules.
Markedsførings- og salgsomkostninger blev fordelt på de offentligt indkøbte tjenester på grundlag af andelen af anslåede nettopassagerindtægter vedrørende PSO-passagerer i forhold til det samlede antal rejsende.
The Norwegian authorities also argue that using the ‘lowest price’ as the sole award criterion cannot be meant to have violated the fourth Altmark condition.
Ifølge rapporten nåede Hurtigrutens faktiske resultater ikke op på de tal, som selskabet havde budgetteret med i tilbudsdokumenterne, hvad angår både litra a) og litra b) i betragtning 62 ovenfor, og i både 2012 og 2013.
Further, in reference to the three alternatives routes mentioned in the tender, the Norwegian authorities explain that according to the case law of the Norwegian Complaints Board for Public Procurement (‘KOFA’), if no instructions are given to the tenderers on the alternatives, the award must be based on an assessment of which offer in total appears to be the economically most advantageous.
BDO anfører, at Hurtigrutens registrerede nettotab på sine kommercielle operationer ikke bør betragtes som bevis for krydssubsidiering.
The Norwegian authorities refer also to the tender specifications, section 2.14, where it is stated that the contracting authority reserves the rights to choose freely between the tendered alternative.
Det skyldes, at bruttoavancen på kommercielle passageraktiviteter er positiv, men utilstrækkelig til at dække de tilsvarende faste kapacitetsomkostninger (da det faktiske antal kommercielle passagerer har ligget under budget).
On the issue of only one bid having been submitted, which is in principle insufficient to ensure compliance with the fourth Altmark condition, the Norwegian authorities consider that this in itself cannot be understood as a general exclusion.
Derfor giver den kommercielle del samlet set et tab.
In fact, a further assessment must be carried out as to whether the procurement procedure nevertheless gave rise to a sufficiently open and genuine competition.
DEN FØRSTE BDO-RAPPORT 2016
In the opinion of the Norwegian authorities, several measures were indeed taken to accommodate competition amongst the different operators (e.g. alternative models, reduced capacity, sufficient time period between bids and start-up date, time extension for bids' submission).
Rapporten går ud fra, at eftersom udnyttelsesgraden for strækningerne synes at være den samme i 2015 og 2002, og sæsonudsvingene ikke har ændret sig ret meget, forblev denne situation konstant også mellem 2008 og 2010.
Further, Hurtigruten was aware that other companies had at least shown an interest in participating in the tender process.
Ifølge rapporten er der en hel del PSO-passagerer på alle strækninger i løbet af året.
Concerning the compatibility conditions, the Norwegian authorities acknowledge that the SGEI Decision is not applicable as the HA has exceeded the 300000 passengers threshold during the two financial years before the PSO was assigned.
Antallet er dog klart højere i sommermånederne.
Although, in Norway's view, the measure does not constitute State aid pursuant to Altmark, if it were to be assessed pursuant to the Authority's Framework for State aid in the form of public service compensation (‘the Framework’), it would meet all the compatibility conditions specified therein.
Specifikt i perioden juni-august er der på ca. 1/3 af sejladserne mindst 320 PSO-passagerer på mindst en strækning.
Particularly in reference to proportionality, the Norwegian authorities argue that the calculations made are in conformity with the case law requirements and the European Commission's decision-making practice, as only the actual costs for discharging the PSO obligations have been taken into account, pursuant to a correct allocation of costs and revenues between the PSO and the commercial services, and taking into account a reasonable profit of […] % (EBT).
Det gennemsnitlige maksimale antal PSO-passagerer i løbet af disse måneder er ca. 285, mens antallet i januar-maj og september-december ligger på omkring 142.
THE BDO REPORT 2015
Rapporten konkluderer endvidere, at der er stor variation i antallet af PSO-passagerer pr. strækning.
The Norwegian authorities commissioned a report from the consultancy BDO, which looked at Hurtigruten's budgeted and actual financial performance in 2012 and 2013, for, separately: (a) the services purchased by the government on the Bergen-Kirkenes route; and (b) the totality of services provided by Hurtigruten on the same route (i.e. including both commercial and government-procured services).
Endelig anføres det i rapporten, at der på langt de fleste sejladser var kapacitet til mindst 320 PSO-passagerer på alle strækninger.
Capacity costs, which are regarded as fixed costs, are defined as the costs incurred by the vessels sailing the set route with specific ports of call and are to include all activities associated with the operation of vessels along the coast.
DEN ANDEN BDO-RAPPORT 2016
Capacity costs consist of the following elements: safety crew, oil and fuel, repairs and maintenance, port costs, insurance costs, vessel depreciation/leasing and net financial costs.
De norske myndigheder bestilte en yderligere rapport fra BDO i efteråret 2016, idet de anmodede konsulenterne om at skabe en alternativ model til vurdering af rimelig fortjeneste på grundlag af ROCE og omkostningsfordelingsmetoden i udbudsbetingelsernes bilag D. Formålet var for det første at anslå det forventede ROCE-niveau på kontrakten som aftalt (dvs. for hele kontraktperioden), og for det andet at fastsætte et interval for rimelig fortjeneste på kontrakten på grundlag af et sæt benchmarks.
Passenger costs, as well as costs relating to marketing and sale activities, are all regarded as variable costs.
BDO anslår, at ROCE på PSO-kontrakten var […] %.
They include all activities directly or indirectly related to passenger traffic.
BDO sammenlignede dette med tre forskellige benchmarks: en WACC på […] %, som beregnet af et uafhængigt mæglerfirma i 2009, hvor de fulgte Hurtigruten på børsen, en diskonteringssats på […] %, som blev anvendt i de afskrivningstest, der fremgik af Hurtigrutens regnskab i 2009, og et benchmark på […] % på grundlag af fire børsnoterede selskaber med krydstogtaktiviteter.
Passenger costs consist of the following elements: costs of goods sold, crew not included in the safety crew, marketing costs and sales provisions, administrative costs and other costs.
BDO beregnede også den løbende gennemsnitlige faktiske ROCE i perioden 2012-2015 til […] %.
Capacity costs were then allocated to the government-procured services on the basis of the share of capacity reserved by the government compared to the total capacity of the fleet, whereas passenger costs were allocated on the basis of estimated passenger kilometres sailed by distance travellers over the total number of passenger kilometres for all travellers on the fleet.
Klagerne fik en ikke-fortrolig version af de norske myndigheders bemærkninger efter anmodning om aktindsigt hos de respektive myndigheder.
According to the report, in both segments (a) and (b) mentioned above in paragraph (62) and in both 2012 and 2013, there was a shortfall in Hurtigruten's actual results as compared to the figures budgeted by the company in its tender documents.
Klagerne støtter definitionen i HA om, at produktion af ruten udgør en tjenesteydelse af almindelig økonomisk interesse, da en sådan tjeneste ikke kan leveres af markedet alene, i betragtning af den spredte befolkning, manglen på infrastruktur og de nordnorske regioners afsides beliggenhed.
BDO submits that the fact that Hurtigruten registered a net loss on its commercial operations should not be seen as evidence of cross-subsidisation.
Vedrørende kapacitetskravet mener klagerne, at dette er af sekundær betydning for de fleste af anløbshavnene, for det afgørende er, at der er daglig og regelmæssig sejlads, dvs. passager- og godstjenester, på kystruten.
This is because the gross margin on commercial passengers activities is positive, but insufficient to cover the corresponding fixed capacity costs (because the actual number of commercial passengers has been below budgeted levels), hence the overall net loss of commercial operations.
Klagerne hævder imidlertid, at kompensationen i henhold til den nuværende HA er for høj i forhold til det reducerede antal PSO-passagerer (omkostningsstigningen på kystruten fra 2009-2014 var på ca. 17 %), og i betragtning af, at den samlede kapacitetsudnyttelse er blevet forøget, skal kompensationen dække eventuel kommerciel underudnyttelse af kapaciteten med henblik på at fastholde det samme PSO-niveau.
THE FIRST BDO REPORT 2016
Endelig har klagerne kritiseret manglen på en tilbagebetalingsmekanisme i HA eller et tydeligt kompensationsloft, som i så fald ville give tilstrækkeligt effektive incitamenter, mens overkompensation samtidig undgås.
This second report, commissioned by the Norwegian authorities, analyses the appropriateness of the minimum capacity requirement of the HA for the period 2012-2019.
VURDERING
In order to reach its conclusion, the report assesses all sailings on all ships between all ports-of-call in the years prior to the tender, i.e. the years 2008-2010, on the basis of detailed statistics received from Hurtigruten, concerning the number of passengers travelled with each ship on the different dates and legs in 2015, taking also into account the results of a study undertaken by TØI in 2002 for the same purpose in the context of the agreement covering the period 2005-2012.
EKSISTENSEN AF STATSSTØTTE
The report assumes that since the legs' utilisations seemed to be the same in 2015 and 2002, and since there has been little change in seasonal variations, this situation remained constant between 2008 and 2010 as well.
BEGREBET STATSSTØTTE
According to the report, there are a fair amount of PSO passengers on all legs during the year.
I henhold til EØS-aftalens artikel 61, stk. 1, udgør en foranstaltning statsstøtte, hvis følgende betingelser er kumulativt opfyldt.
However, the numbers are clearly higher during the summer months.
Foranstaltningen i) er ydet af staten eller ved hjælp af statsmidler, ii) giver modtageren en selektiv økonomisk fordel, eller iii) kan påvirke samhandelen mellem de kontraherende parter og fordreje konkurrencevilkårene.
Specifically, in the period June to August around 1/3 of the sailings are performed with 320 PSO passengers or more on at least one leg.
I beslutningen om at indlede proceduren konkluderede Tilsynsmyndigheden, at nr. i) og iii) er opfyldt.
The average maximum number of PSO passengers during these months is around 285, whereas during the periods January to May and September to December the number is around 142.
De norske myndigheder har ikke givet yderligere oplysninger, som anfægter dette resultat.
The report further considers that there is a large variation in the number of PSO passengers per leg.
Tilsynsmyndigheden vil derfor kun vurdere her, om HA har givet Hurtigruten en selektiv økonomisk fordel.
Out of a total 70 legs (as shown in the figures presented in the report), in 14 legs the maximum number of PSO passengers exceeded 320 for the years 2008 and 2010.
SELEKTIV ØKONOMISK FORDEL FOR HURTIGRUTEN
In 2009, there have been 7 legs where the maximum number of PSO passengers exceeded 320.
For at udgøre statsstøtte skal støtteforanstaltningen give Hurtigruten en fordel, der fritager selskabet for udgifter, som normalt afholdes over dets budget.
As far as berth utilisation is concerned, the report considers that for the year 2015, on every leg, the average maximum number of berths used by PSO passengers was 225, whereas the average number of berths used by PSO passengers was around 60.
Det følger af Altmark-dommen, at når en stat yder kompensation for de af de begunstigede virksomheder leverede ydelser til opfyldelse af forpligtelser til offentlig tjeneste, falder en sådan foranstaltning ikke ind under EØS-aftalens artikel 61, stk. 1.
Finally, the report states that in the vast majority of sailings, there was capacity for at least 320 PSO passengers on all legs.
I Altmark-dommen fastslog Domstolen, at kompensation for en forpligtelse til offentlig tjeneste ikke udgør statsstøtte, når fire kumulative kriterier er opfyldt:
THE SECOND BDO REPORT 2016