natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The French authorities argued finally that the measure would constitute existing aid in any event since it was granted prior to the liberalisation of the electricity market.
Francuska tijela naposljetku smatraju da je u svakom slučaju riječ o postojećoj potpori jer je dodijeljena prije liberaliziranja tržišta električne energije.
In their letter dated 20 November 2003, the French authorities reiterated their arguments concerning the revaluation reserves included in the amount of the grantor rights appearing in the accounts and concerning application of the limitation rule.
Francuska tijela u dopisu od 20. studenoga 2003. podsjećaju na svoje argumente o revalorizacijskim razlikama uključenima u iznos prava davatelja koncesije koja su iskazana u financijskim izvještajima društva te o primjeni pravila zastare.
Moreover, they claimed that the rate of corporation tax that should have been applied when EDF's balance sheet was restructured was the 1996 rate (36,67 %) and not the 1997 rate (41,66 %).
Usto, tvrde da se na restrukturiranje bilance EDF-a trebala primjenjivati stopa poreza na dobit iz 1996. (stopa od 36,67 %), a ne iz 1997. (stopa od 41,66 %).
They considered that the restructuring was carried out on the basis of a tax return filed on 23 December 1997, after closure of the accounts for 1996 but before the 1997 accounts were finalised.
Naime, francuska tijela smatraju da je to restrukturiranje provedeno na temelju porezne izjave podnesene 23. prosinca 1997., odnosno nakon zatvaranja poslovne godine 1996., ali prije zatvaranja poslovne godine 1997.
The French authorities thus disputed the Commission's claim that EDF benefited from an advantage in 1997 on account of the non-payment of corporation tax on some of the provisions created free of tax for the renewal of the high-voltage transmission network.
Francuska tijela tako osporavaju tvrdnju Komisije da je EDF 1997. ostvario prednost neplaćanjem poreza na dobit na dio rezerviranja nastalih izuzećem od oporezivanja za obnovu RAG-a.
JUDGMENTS BY THE EU COURTS
PRESUDE SUDOVA EUROPSKE UNIJE
By its judgment of 15 December 2009, the General Court annulled the Commission's decision of 16 December 2003 on the ground that it was incumbent on the Commission to determine whether a private investor would have invested a comparable amount in similar circumstances.
Opći sud je presudom od 15. prosinca 2009. poništio Odluku Komisije od 16. prosinca 2003. jer je na Komisiji da provjeri bi li razuman privatni ulagač u tržišnom gospodarstvu u sličnim okolnostima uložio približan iznos.
The General Court took the view that the Commission should have checked whether the operation satisfied the private investor test.
Opći sud ocijenio je da je Komisija trebala provjeriti odgovara li takav potez kriterij privatnog ulagača.
The General Court therefore considered that the Commission had committed an error of law and infringed Article 107 of the TFEU.
Stoga je Opći sud smatrao da je Komisija počinila pogrešku koja se tiče prava i da je prekršila članak 107. UFEU-a.
In its judgment of 5 June 2012, the Court of Justice dismissed the appeal brought by the Commission against the judgment of the General Court.
Sud je presudom od 5. lipnja 2012. odbacio žalbu koju je Komisija uložila na presudu Općeg suda.
The Court of Justice considered that the finding made by the General Court, to the effect that the obligation for the Commission to verify whether the capital had been provided by the state in circumstances corresponding to normal market conditions existed regardless of the way in which that capital had been provided by the state, was not vitiated by an error of law.
Sud je posebno smatrao da utvrđenje Općeg suda prema kojem je Komisija, neovisno o obliku unosa kapitala, imala obvezu provjeriti je li država izvršila unos kapitala u okolnostima koje odgovaraju uobičajenim tržišnim uvjetima nije zahvaćeno pogreškom koja se tiče prava.
The Court of Justice also took the view that the General Court did not err in law either in finding that the private investor test may be applicable even where fiscal means have been employed.
Sud je smatrao da niti ocjena Općeg suda prema kojoj se kriterij privatnog ulagača može primijeniti čak i u slučaju u kojem su upotrijebljena porezna sredstva nije zahvaćena pogreškom koja se tiče prava.
DECISION TO EXTEND THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
6. ODLUKA O PROŠIRENJU FORMALNOG ISTRAŽNOG POSTUPKA
As a result of the annulment of the decision of 16 December 2003, the Commission had to adopt a new decision under Article 266 of the TFEU and Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 terminating the procedure by complying with the points of law established definitively by the judgment of the General Court.
Komisija nakon poništenja Odluke od 16. prosinca 2003. mora donijeti novu odluku na temelju članka 266. UFEU-a i članka 13. Uredbe (EZ) br. 659/1999 kako bi zatvorila postupak u skladu s pravnim pitanjima koja su konačno utvrđena presudom Suda.
Since the decision of 16 December 2003 had been annulled, the Commission had to re-examine the questions relating to Articles 3 and 4 of that decision.
Budući da je Odluka od 16. prosinca 2003. poništena, Komisija je trebala preispitati pitanja koja se odnose na članke 3. i 4. te Odluke.
On the one hand, neither the Court of Justice nor the General Court had found that the opening decision was irregular.
S jedne strane, ni Sud ni Opći sud nisu smatrali da je odluka o pokretanju postupka bila nepravilna.
It could therefore form the basis for a new final decision.
Stoga se na njoj može temeljiti nova konačna odluka.
On the other hand, the General Court clearly laid down the conditions governing the applicability and application of the private investor test.
S druge strane, Sud je jasno propisao primjenjivost i primjenu kriterija privatnog ulagača u tržišnom gospodarstvu.
These criteria were based on the existence of objective and verifiable evidence showing that the decision by the Member State was to make an investment in the public undertaking on the basis of economic evaluations comparable to those which a rational private investor would have had carried out, before making the investment, in order to determine its future profitability [11].
Ti se kriteriji u prvom redu temelje na postojanju objektivnih i provjerljivih dokaza kojima se dokazuje da je odluka države članice bila uložiti u kontroliranog javnog poduzetnika, oslanjajući se na ekonomske procjene usporedive s onima koje bi razuman privatni ulagač u tržišnom gospodarstvu dao izraditi prije ulaganja kako bi ispitao buduću isplativost [11].
In the decision to extend the formal investigation procedure, the Commission noted that, at that stage of the administrative procedure, there was no evidence, demonstration or document to support the statement by the French authorities that the accounting reform of 1997 could be interpreted as a capital contribution of an amount equivalent to the partial tax exemption.
Komisija je u odluci o proširenju formalnog istražnog postupka napomenula da u toj fazi upravnog postupka nijedan dokaz, potvrda ili dokument nisu potkrijepili tvrdnju francuskih tijela prema kojoj bi se računovodstvena reforma iz 1997. mogla tumačiti kao dokapitalizacija u iznosu jednakom djelomičnom izuzeću od oporezivanja.
Contrary to the observations by the French authorities, nor was such a capital contribution an investment rather than an aid measure which a rational private investor in a market economy would have made in comparable circumstances, justified by EDF's projected profits in 1997, which were in fact achieved during subsequent years.
Suprotno primjedbama francuskih tijela, nije se činilo niti da takva dokapitalizacija nije bila potpora, već ulaganje koje bi u usporedivim okolnostima proveo privatni ulagač u tržišnom gospodarstvu na temelju izgleda za profitabilnost koje je EDF imao 1997., koji su se, uostalom, i ostvarili tijekom sljedećih godina.
Accordingly, in the extension decision, the Commission set out, in the light of the available information and documents, its preliminary analysis of the potential economic advantage arising from the non-payment by EDF in 1997 of corporation tax on the part of the provisions corresponding to the FRF 14,119 billion in grantor rights which were reclassified as capital contributions.
Prema tome, Komisija je u odluci o proširenju postupka, uzevši u obzir dostupne informacije i dokumente, pojasnila svoju prethodnu analizu eventualne ekonomske prednosti koju je EDF ostvario 1997. neplaćanjem poreza na dobit na dio rezerviranja u iznosu od 14,119 milijardi FRF na ime prava davatelja koncesije reklasificiranih u dokapitalizaciju.
In that regard, the overall assessment of the facts of the case seemed to indicate that that measure involved the public authorities, thereby precluding the applicability of the principle of the private investor.
U tom pogledu čini se da ukupna ocjena predmetnih činjenica ukazuje na to da je ta mjera bila obuhvaćena ovlašću javnog tijela, čime se odbacuje primjenjivost načela privatnog ulagača.
In support of their claim, the French authorities had not provided any information or business plan preceding or contemporaneous with the decision not to levy the tax on EDF demonstrating the profitability of such an operation.
Naime, francuska tijela nisu u prilog svojoj tvrdnji dostavila nikakvu informaciju ili poslovni plan koji je prethodio odluci o neoporezivanju EDF-a ili koji je bio izrađen za vrijeme njezina donošenja, čime bi se dokazala isplativost takvog poteza.
From a substantive perspective, having regard to the criteria laid down by the General Court, the Commission noted that it was for France to duly establish the date of the documents provided and the evidence that they had been examined by the relevant ministers and officials and the Houses of Parliament before the contested decision was adopted.
U materijalnom pogledu, što se tiče kriterija koje je naveo Sud, Komisija je napomenula da Francuska treba propisno utvrditi datume dostavljenih dokumenata te dokaz da su ih prije donošenja sporne odluke pregledali nadležni ministri i dužnosnici te parlamentarne skupštine.
In the absence of this information, however, it was in the exercise of its powers of taxation that France appeared to have reserved a more favourable tax treatment for the restructuring of the upper part of EDF's balance sheet, in relation to the reclassification of the grantor rights provided for in Article 4 of Act No 97-1026.
Međutim, u nedostatku tih elemenata, čini se da je Francuska u izvršavanju svojih poreznih ovlasti primijenila izuzeće od oporezivanja na restrukturiranje gornjeg dijela bilance EDF-a, u pogledu reklasifikacije rezerviranja prava davatelja koncesije iz članka 4. Zakona br. 97-1026.
No specific budgetary provision earmarked this tax resource to EDF, just as the rules and checks relating to investments had not been implemented to provide a legal basis for the alleged investment.
Taj se porezni prihod nijednom izričitom proračunskom odredbom nije dodijelio u korist EDF-a, niti su bila uspostavljena pravila ili provjere u području ulaganja kako bi navodno ulaganje imalo pravnu osnovu.
In that regard, the Commission added to the factors which a rational private investor would have examined before committing funds the uncertainty about the amount and the future course of the pension financing costs facing EDF in 1997, under its specific pension scheme, and the assessment that an investor would make at that time.
Komisija je u tom pogledu čimbenicima koje bi razuman privatni ulagač ispitao prije ulaganja svojih sredstva dodala nesigurnost u pogledu iznosa i kretanja troškova financiranja mirovina koje je EDF trebao pokriti 1997. u skladu sa svojim posebnim režimom te njihovu procjenu koju je u to doba mogao napraviti ulagač.
Under those conditions, the partial exemption from corporation tax in 1997 was not a productive investment by the state shareholder but rather a tax exemption measure likely to have conferred an economic advantage on EDF.
U tim se uvjetima djelomično izuzeće od poreza na dobit 1997. nije činilo produktivnim ulaganjem države u svojstvu dioničara, već mjerom poreznog izuzeća koja je mogla donijeti ekonomsku prednost EDF-u.
Furthermore, it appeared that the failure to levy the corporation tax owed by EDF involved state resources and was likely to distort competition and affect trade between Member States, thereby fulfilling the conditions for the application of Article 107(1) of the TFEU.
Nadalje, činilo se da je nenaplaćivanje poreza na dobit koji je EDF dugovao dovelo u pitanje državna sredstva te da je moglo narušiti tržišno natjecanje i trgovinu među državama članicama, ispunjavajući time preostale uvjete primjene članka 107. stavka 1. UFEU-a.
In the absence of a legal basis justifying the compatibility with the internal market of operating aid that strengthened EDF's position in relation to its competitors, the Commission, in its decision of 2 May 2013, doubted whether the aid was compatible with the internal market.
U nedostatku pravne osnove koja dokazuje da je operativna potpora kojom je ojačan položaj EDF-a u odnosu na njegove konkurente spojiva s unutarnjim tržištem, Komisija je u Odluci od 2. svibnja 2013. iznijela sumnje u pogledu spojivosti te potpore s unutarnjim tržištem.
Similar doubts had already been raised in the opening decision.
Slične su sumnje već bile iznesene u odluci o pokretanju postupka.
By letter dated 29 July 2013, EDF submitted its comments on the extension decision.
EDF je dopisom od 29. srpnja 2013. podnio primjedbe na odluku o proširenju postupka.
EDF levelled three main criticisms at the arguments set out in that decision:
EDF iznosi tri glavne kritike u pogledu obrazloženja iznesenog u toj odluci:
EDF took the view that the Commission was therefore continuing to analyse the measure adopted by the French state in 1997 from the sole perspective of its alleged tax implications, even though the General Court had clearly rejected that approach.
Prema mišljenju EDF-a, Komisija tako nastavlja analizirati mjeru koju je 1997. donijela francuska država samo kroz prizmu njegovih navodnih poreznih posljedica, dok je Opći sud jasno odbacio taj pristup.
As the General Court had confirmed, the measure implemented by the state when it reclassified the grantor rights as capital contributions constituted a recapitalisation of EDF intended to correct the imbalance on EDF's balance sheet with view to the opening-up of the energy markets to competition.
Kao što je tvrdio Opći sud, mjera koju je država provela kada je reklasificirala prava davatelja koncesije u dokapitalizaciju, predstavlja dokapitalizaciju EDF-a u svrhu ispravljanja neravnoteže bilance EDF-a radi otvaranja tržišta energije konkurentima.
The letter from the Minister for Economic Affairs dated 22 December 1997 did not contain a tax decision that departed from the 1997 Act but served to point out the tax implications.
Dopis ministra gospodarstva od 22. prosinca 1997. ne sadržava poreznu odluku koja se razlikuje od Zakona iz 1997., nego služi za utvrđivanje poreznih posljedica.
It was that this single and indivisible recapitalisation measure that should be examined, not the alleged tax implications, which were artificially dissociated in the decision to extend the formal investigation procedure.
Potrebno je ispitati tu jednu i neodvojivu mjeru dokapitalizacije, a ne navodne porezne posljedice koje su od nje umjetno odvojene u odluci o proširenju formalnog istražnog postupka.
According to EDF, a business plan specific to the investment was not required by the case-law, which did not establish any formalism on that question but requires objective and verifiable evidence pre-dating or contemporaneous with the measure under examination.
Prema mišljenju EDF-a, sudska praksa kojom nije utvrđen nikakav formalizam u tom pogledu ne zahtijeva poseban poslovni plan ulaganja, ali se njome zahtijevaju objektivni i provjerljivi dokazi koji su prethodili ispitivanoj mjeri ili koji su se pojavili kad je mjera donesena.
According to EDF, such a long-term time horizon was particularly relevant in the case of EDF because of the capital intensiveness of its activity and the decades-long useful life of its installations, ranging from 30 to 75 years in some cases.
Prema mišljenju EDF-a, takvi dugoročni izgledi bili bi osobito relevantni u slučaju EDF-a zbog kapitalnog intenziteta njegove djelatnosti i životnog vijeka postrojenja od više desetljeća koja se u određenim slučajevima kreće od 30 do 75 godina.
EDF took the view that it was as a shareholder and not as a public authority that the state, as attested by many contemporary documents, had carried out an investment on the basis of precise forward-looking analyses and assessments.
Prema mišljenju EDF-a, država je na temelju analiza i precizne anticipativne procjene ulaganje izvršila u svojstvu dioničara, a ne javne vlasti, što je potvrđeno i brojnim tadašnjim dokumentima.
Thus, as early as 1995 discussions had begun between EDF and its line ministries in order to draw the conclusions from the opinion of the Court of Auditors referred to in recital 26.
Stoga su od 1995. započeti poslovi koji povezuju EDF i nadležna ministarstva kako bi se iz mišljenja Revizorskog suda, navedenog u uvodnoj izjavi 26., izveli zaključci.
These discussions focused on the reorganisation of the balance sheet of the undertaking and the return on capital.
Ti su se poslovi osobito odnosili na reorganizaciju bilance poduzetnika i isplativost kapitala.
They resulted in the signature, on 8 April 1997, of the contract for services between the state and EDF for the period 1997-2000 and the concomitant tabling, on 2 April 1997, of a draft law on various economic and financial measures, Article 45 of which was identical to Article 4 of Act No 97-1026.
Doveli su 8. travnja 1997. do potpisivanja Ugovora o uslugama između države i EDF-a za razdoblje od 1997. do 2000. te do istodobnog podnošenja 2. travnja 1997. prijedloga zakona o raznim gospodarskim i financijskim odredbama, u čijem je članku 45. preuzet nepromijenjeni članak 4. Zakona br. 97-1026.
According to EDF, the preparatory work in the National Assembly and the Senate, and even the Act itself, demonstrated that the nature of the intervention by the state was that of a shareholder:
Pripremni poslovi Nacionalne skupštine (Assemblée nationale) i Senata (Sénat), odnosno sam zakon pokazat će, prema mišljenju EDF-a, da je intervencija države po svojoj naravi intervencija dioničara:
a capital contribution recapitalising EDF.
ulog kapitala u svrhu dokapitalizacije EDF-a.
As attested by some 40 contemporaneous documents that EDF attached to its accounts, the state had been guided in its analyses and reflections by four main concerns:
Kao što će potvrditi četrdesetak dokumenata koje je EDF priložio svojim podnescima, država se u svojim analizama i razmišljanjima vodila četirima glavnim pitanjima:
taking into consideration the new competitive context of the gradual opening-up of the markets following Directive 96/92/EC,
uvažavanjem novog konkurentnog konteksta u kojem se tržište postupno otvara nakon donošenja Direktive 96/92/EZ,
normalising its financial relations with EDF on the basis of ordinary law by putting an end to the ambiguities which had existed in the past,
reguliranjem financijskih odnosa između države i EDF-a na temelju općeg prava čime se okončavaju dvosmislenosti do kojih je moglo doći u prošlosti,
rectifying the significant imbalance which was affecting the structure of EDF's balance sheet by strengthening its own funds,
ublažavanjem znatne neravnoteže koja je utjecala na strukturu bilance EDF-a ojačavanjem njezina vlasničkog kapitala,
facilitating international comparisons to increase the credibility of the enterprise within the financial community.
pojednostavnjenjem međunarodnih usporedbi u svrhu pospješivanja vjerodostojnosti poduzetnika u financijskoj zajednici.
Lastly, for EDF, the criterion of the prudent private investor in a market economy was not only applicable because of the considerations referred to above but was also satisfied in this case since the state had acted as a private investor would have done.
Naposljetku, EDF smatra da kriterij razumnog privatnog ulagača u tržišnom gospodarstvu nije samo primjenjiv zbog navedenih razmatranja, nego je u ovom slučaju i ispunjen jer je država djelovala kao što bi to učinio privatni ulagač.
In the view of EDF, according to the Court of Justice (paragraphs 78 and 89 of the judgment), the question was one of determining whether EDF, in circumstances which corresponded to normal market conditions, could have obtained the same advantage as that which had been made available to it through state resources and whether the advantage, because of its effects, distorted or threatened to distort competition.
Prema mišljenju EDF-a, Sud smatra (točke 78. i 89. presude) da je riječ o utvrđivanju je li EDF mogao u uobičajenim tržišnim okolnostima ostvariti istu prednost poput one koja mu je dodijeljena državnim sredstvima i je li narav te prednosti, zbog njezinih učinaka, takva da naruši ili prijeti da će narušiti tržišno natjecanje.
Here again, many contemporaneous documents demonstrate that the state had indeed examined and quantified the profitability of its investment, as would have done an investor who was the sole shareholder in the undertaking operating to a long-term time horizon.
Brojni tadašnji dokumenti pokazat će i da je država uredno ispitala i kvantificirala isplativost svojeg ulaganja, kao što bi to učinio ulagač kao jedini dioničar poduzetnika u sagledavanju dugoročnih izgleda.
It was on that basis that the remuneration of the state had been set in the contract for services between the state and EDF for the period 1997-2000. At the time, the remuneration was consistent with the remuneration of shareholders in comparable companies.
Na tom je temelju utvrđen prinos državi u Ugovoru o uslugama EDF-a za razdoblje od 1997. do 2000., koja je tada bila u skladu s prinosima dioničarima sličnih društava.
The estimates of the amounts that EDF would have to pay to the state from 1997 to 2000 had therefore been examined by the latter before the contract was concluded.
Država je tako prije sklapanja ugovora ispitala procjene iznosa koje bi EDF trebao platiti državi od 1997. do 2000.
Moreover, in its comments of July 2013, EDF had anticipated a study commissioned from Oxera, which had not yet been finalised when EDF made its submission.
Nadalje, EDF je u svojim primjedbama iz srpnja 2013. očekivao studiju naručenu od društva Oxera koja još nije bila dovršena kada je EDF dostavio svoje primjedbe.
EDF had claimed that the Oxera study would compare the internal rate of return expected on the investment by the state in 1997 with that required by the capital markets for a similar investment and would show that a private investor would have made the investment under the conditions set in the contract for services for 1997-2000.
EDF je navodio da će u studiji društva Oxera biti uspoređena očekivana interna stopa povrata koje je država izvršila 1997. sa stopom koja se zahtijeva na tržištu kapitala za slično ulaganje te da će se njome pokazati da bi privatni ulagač izvršio ulaganje u uvjetima koji su utvrđeni u Ugovoru o uslugama za razdoblje od 1997. do 2000.
On 18 October 2013, EDF had sent to the Commission the study by Oxera, which was dated 15 October 2013 [12], without further comment.
EDF je 18. listopada 2013. dostavio Komisiji tu studiju društva Oxera od 15. listopada 2013. [12], bez drugih opaski.
As EDF had anticipated in its comments in July 2013, the study by Oxera concluded that a prudent private investor in a market economy would have invested in the increase in the amount of capital in EDF.
Kao što je očekivao EDF u svojim primjedbama iz srpnja 2013., u studiji društva Oxera zaključeno je da bi razuman privatni ulagač u tržišnom gospodarstvu uložio u povećanje iznosa dokapitalizacije EDF-a.