natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The Commission already determined, in recital 181, that FSBG was an undertaking for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
În cele din urmă, Comisia constată că, la 17 iunie 2014, Germania a informat Comisia că acceptă, în mod excepțional, ca prezenta decizie să fie adoptată în limba engleză,
It therefore only needs to be assessed whether the lease contracts granted an advantage to FSBG, whether such an advantage was granted from State resources, and whether it distorted competition and affected trade between Member States.
ADOPTĂ PREZENTA DECIZIE:
Distinction between existing and new aid
Articolul 1
The Commission first observes that a distinction needs to be drawn between the lease contract that was concluded on 7 July 1997 and effective until 1 July 2006 (‘the 1997 contract’), and the contract that was effective as from 1 July 2006 onwards (‘the 2006 contract’).
Ajutorul de stat pus în aplicare de către Germania în favoarea aeroportului Saarbrücken este compatibil cu piața internă în sensul articolului 107 alineatul (3) litera (c) din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene.
As was stressed above, the construction and operation of an airport was not considered to constitute an economic activity until the year 2000, with the consequence that any aid scheme put into place before that date would, if considered to amount to State aid, constitute existing aid after that date (see Section 5.1.2).
Măsurile pe care Germania le-a pus în aplicare în favoarea companiilor aeriene (lista tarifelor de aeroport din 2007, acordul de marketing încheiat cu Air Berlin) nu constituie ajutor de stat în sensul articolului 107 alineatul (1) din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene.
Hence, it is not necessary to investigate further whether the 1997 contract (which foresaw fixed annual lease payments) did in fact amount to aid, given it would in any event have to be qualified as existing aid.
Articolul 2
On the other hand, the conclusion of a new lease contract by FSBG in 2006 with changed conditions for determining the annual lease to be paid (in particular, the introduction of a new price element, namely the transfer of a certain percentage of the annual profit of FSBG) cannot be considered as merely a ‘modification of a purely formal or administrative nature which cannot affect the evaluation of the compatibility of the aid measure with the common market’.
Prezenta decizie se adresează Republicii Federale Germania.
The 2006 contract can therefore not, if amounting to State aid, be considered as existing aid, but would rather constitute new aid.
Adoptată la Bruxelles, 1 octombrie 2014.
The 2006 contract was concluded between FSBesitzG and FSBG.
Pentru Comisie
FSBesitzG was (indirectly) 100 % owned by the State, which was hence in a position to exercise control over the company.
Vicepreședinte
As to the imputability, the Commission notes that according to the statute of FSBesitzG the members of the supervisory board of FSBesitzG are appointed by the government of Saarland and that the president is appointed by the Ministry responsible for aviation.
Cele două serii de articole sunt identice în ceea ce privește conținutul.
The conclusion of the 2006 contract needed the consent of the supervisory board, which represents the government of the Saarland.
În sensul prezentei decizii, trimiterile la articolele 107 și 108 din TFUE se interpretează, după caz, drept trimiteri la articolele 87 și 88 din Tratatul CE.
The Commission can therefore conclude that the measure is imputable to the State.
De asemenea, TFUE a introdus anumite modificări terminologice, cum ar fi înlocuirea termenului „Comunitate” cu „Uniune” și a sintagmei „piață comună” cu „piață internă”.
Economic Advantage
Terminologia din TFUE va fi folosită pe tot cuprinsul prezentei decizii.
It is therefore necessary to analyse whether a prudent MEO, interested in making a reasonable profit, would have concluded the 2006 contract.
A se vedea nota de subsol 2.
The Commission observes that FSBesitzG consistently incurred losses at least since the year 2000 (see Table 3).
Comunicarea Comisiei – Orientări privind ajutoarele de stat destinate aeroporturilor și companiilor aeriene (JO C 99, 4.4.2014, p. 3).
Considering that the lease contract with FSBG was virtually its only source of income (apart from the yearly loss cover received from vh Saar), it would appear that a reasonable MEO being in the place of FSBesitzG would have attempted to cover its own costs from the income generated from this lease contract.
A se vedea nota de subsol 5.
The costs incurred by FSBesitzG were higher than the income it generated by leasing the airport to FSBG.
JO C 113, 15.4.2014, p. 30.
It also does not appear that FSBesitzG was, in concluding the 2006 contract, pursuing a specific long–term profitability strategy.
A se vedea nota de subsol 7.
In light of these considerations, the conclusion of the 2006 contract cannot be considered as being in line with the MEO principle and it therefore conferred an advantage to FSBG.
http://www.flughafen-saarbruecken.de/index.php?id=372
As the 2006 contract only benefitted FSBG, it can be considered selective within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
http://www.flughafen-saarbruecken.de/index.php?id=daten_fakten
Finally, the measure was liable to distort competition and have an effect on trade for the reasons explained in Section 5.1.1.
Informații confidențiale.
The Commission therefore considers that the 2006 contract involved State aid for FSBG.
Sursă: ruta cea mai rapidă conform Google Maps.
It must be assessed as operating aid.
EBITDA, inclusiv finanțarea publică și compensațiile pentru activități care intră în sfera sectoarelor de competență publică sau care sunt considerate ca fiind servicii de interes economic general; a se vedea informațiile prezentate de Germania la 5 mai 2012, anexa II.
As described in Section 5.1.5.4, operating aid granted before the date of application of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines may be declared compatible with the full extent of uncovered operating costs provided that the following conditions are met:
Întrucât proprietarul și operatorul erau întreprinderi distincte în anii respectivi (FSBesitzG și FSBG), EBITDA indicat reprezintă suma dintre EBITDA aferent ambelor întreprinderi.
contribution to a well–defined objective of common interest,
Germania susține că, datorită sistemului contabil utilizat, costurile de capital nu pot fi alocate individual siguranței/securității sau altor costuri pentru infrastructură.
need for State intervention,
Informațiile prezentate de Germania la 17 ianuarie 2011, anexa 6, și la 16 aprilie 2012, p. 9.
existence of incentive effect,
Informațiile prezentate de Germania la 16 aprilie 2012, p. 9.
proportionality of the aid amount (aid limited to the minimum necessary),
Decizia 2005/842/CE a Comisiei din 28 noiembrie 2005 privind aplicarea articolului 86 alineatul (2) din Tratatul CE la ajutorul de stat, sub forma compensației pentru obligația de serviciu public, acordat anumitor întreprinderi cărora le-a fost încredințată prestarea unui serviciu de interes economic general (JO L 312, 29.11.2005, p. 67).
The operating aid under assessment, which concerned the leasing of airport infrastructure below market price, had the objective of maintaining the appropriate level of operation at Saarbrücken Airport.
Comunicarea Comisiei: Liniile directoare comunitare privind ajutorul de stat pentru salvarea și restructurarea întreprinderilor aflate în dificultate (JO C 244, 1.10.2004, p. 2).
According to point 113 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, operating aid to airports will be considered to contribute to the achievement of an objective of common interest if it increases the mobility of Union citizens and the connectivity of the regions, combats air traffic congestion at major Union hub airports or facilitates regional development.
Comunicarea Comisiei cu privire la aplicarea articolelor 87 și 88 din Tratatul CE privind ajutoarele de stat sub formă de garanții (JO C 155, 20.6.2008, p. 10).
As explained in recital 254, operating aid to Saarbrücken Airport contributed to the connectivity and development of the region.
Informațiile prezentate de Germania la 5 mai 2012, anexa II.
For the reasons set out in recital 284, the duplication argument applies rather to the State aid granted to Zweibrücken Airport.
Cauza C-222/04, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze/Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze SpA et al., punctul 111.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the operating aid granted to FSBG contributed to the achievement of the objective of common interest of improving the connectivity and regional development of the Saarland region through the operation of transport infrastructure to meet the transport needs of the region.
Orientările din 2005 privind sectorul aviației, punctul 34.
According to point 118 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, airports with an annual passenger traffic below 700 000 passengers per annum may not be able to cover their operating costs to a substantial extent.
Cauza C-35/96, Comisia/Italia, Rec., 1998, p.
Traffic at Saarbrücken Airport was constantly below 700 000 passengers.
I-3851, cauza C-41/90, Höfner și Elser, Rec., 1991, p.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the aid was necessary as it allowed an improvement in the connectivity of the region that the market would not deliver by itself.
I-1979, C-244/94, Fédération Française des Sociétés d’Assurances/Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche, Rec., 1995, p.
As pointed out above, Saarbrücken Airport received investment aid which enabled the airport to satisfy the connectivity and transport needs of the Saarland region (see recital 285).
I-4013, cauza C-55/96, Job Centre, Rec., 1997, p.
Despite rather stable passenger numbers, the airport is not able to cover its operating costs.
I-7119.
In this context, the Commission notes that also FSBG was loss making in the years 2006 and 2007, when the 2006 contract was applicable (the losses recorded amounted to EUR – 214 709 in 2006 and EUR – 2 737 773 in 2007).
Cauza 118/85, Comisia/Italia, Rec., 1987, p. 2599, cauza 35/96, Comisia/Italia, Rec., 1998, p.
The losses were incurred despite the fact that the lease paid by FSBG in those years was lower than the lease paid under the 1997 contract (see Table 7).
I-3851.
It can hence be assumed that the aid involved in the 2006 contract had an incentive effect and did not exceed the amount required to cover operating losses and thus was limited to the minimum necessary for the aided activity to take place.
Cauzele conexate T-443/08 și T-455/08, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG și Flughafen Leipzig Halle GmbH/Comisia, („hotărârea Leipzig/Halle”), Rep., 2011, p.
On this basis, the Commission concludes that the compatibility conditions laid down in the 2014 Aviation Guidelines are met.
II-1311, în special punctele 93 și 94, confirmate de cauza C-288/11 P, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen și Flughafen Leipzig-Halle/Comisia, Rep., 2012, care nu a fost încă raportată.
DISCOUNTS FOR AIRLINES/MARKETING AGREEMENTS
Cauzele C-159/91 și C-160/91, Poucet/AGV și Pistre/Cancave, Rec., 1993, p.
By providing air transportation services, airlines are performing an economic activity and therefore constitute undertakings within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
I-637.
It must be analysed whether the arrangements between the airlines and the airport in question granted the former an economic advantage.
Cauza C-222/04, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze/Casse di Risparmio di Firenze SpA et al, Rec., 2006, p.
Where an airport has public resources at its disposal, aid to an airline can, in principle, be excluded where the relationship between the airport and the airline satisfies the MEO test.
I-289, punctul 111.
The existence of an advantage can normally be excluded if: (a) the price charged for the services corresponds to the market price; or (b) it can be demonstrated through an ex ante analysis that the airport/airline arrangement will lead to a positive incremental profit contribution for the airport and is part of an overall strategy leading to profitability in the long term.
Cauza C-364/92, SAT Fluggesellschaft/Eurocontrol, Rec., 1994, p.
In order to assess whether an arrangement concluded by an airport with an airline satisfies the MEO test, expected non–aeronautical revenues stemming from the airline’s activity should be taken into consideration together with airport charges, net of any rebates, marketing support or incentive schemes.
I-43.
Similarly, all expected costs incrementally incurred by the airport in relation to the airline’s activity at the airport must be taken into account.
Decizia N309/02 a Comisiei din 19 martie 2003 privind „Securitatea aviației – compensație pentru costurile suportate în urma atacurilor de la 11 septembrie 2001”.
For instance, if the airport needs to expand or build a new terminal or other facilities mainly to accommodate the needs of a specific airline, such costs should be taken into consideration when calculating the incremental costs.
I-1547, Decizia N309/02 a Comisiei din 19 martie 2003, Decizia N438/02 a Comisiei din 16 octombrie 2002, „Ajutor acordat ca sprijin pentru funcțiile autorităților publice în sectorul portuar belgian”.
In contrast, costs which the airport would have to incur anyway independently from the arrangement with the airline should not be taken into account in the MEO test.
Decizia Comisiei N309/02 din 19 martie 2003.
In addition, the airport infrastructure must be open to all airlines and not dedicated to a specific airline in order to exclude that the advantage resulting from compatible aid to the airport operator is not passed on to a specific airline.
A se vedea, în special, cauza C-364/92, SAT/Eurocontrol, Rec., 1994, p.
Against this background, the Commission will asses the overall scheme of airport charges applicable at Saarbrücken Airport as well as the individual contracts between airlines and Saarbrücken Airport which deviate from or are outside the scope of the scheme of airport charges.
I-43, punctul 30 și cauza C113/07 P, Selex Sistemi Integrati/Comisia, Rep., 2009, p.
On 1 April 2007, a new schedule of charges was introduced at Saarbrücken Airport (2007 schedule of charges).
A se vedea, inter alia, cauza C-172/03, Wolfgang Heiser/Finanzamt Innsbruck, Rec., 2005, p.
This schedule envisaged discounts for airlines fulfilling certain conditions.
I-01627, punctul 36, precum și jurisprudența citată.
The 2007 schedule of charges in particular offered discounts for new airlines, new destinations and increased passenger numbers.
Măsurile în conformitate cu articolul 8 din Luftsicherheitsgesetz includ, inter alia, construirea de infrastructuri aeroportuare care să permită controale de securitate suficiente, anumite măsuri legate de bagaje și marfă, asigurarea zonelor în care accesul este restricționat, controlul personalului și al mărfurilor care au acces în zone restricționate, formarea personalului de securitate, îndepărtarea sau descărcarea avioanelor care constituie amenințări la adresa securității.
Until then, no discounts had been foreseen in the schedule of charges.
Decizia Comisiei din 20 februarie 2014 în cazul privind ajutorul de stat SA.35847 (2012/N) – Republica Cehă – Aeroportul Ostrava, nepublicată încă în JO, considerentul 16.
Saarbrücken Airport adopted a new schedule of charges which entered into force on 1 September 2013, replacing the 2007 schedule of charges.
Articolul 27 litera (d) punctul (1) din Luftverkehrsgesetz: „Flugsicherungsdienste und die dazu erforderlichen flugsicherungstechnischen Einrichtungen werden an den Flugplätzen vorgehalten, bei denen das Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung einen Bedarf aus Gründen der Sicherheit und aus verkehrspolitischen Interessen anerkennt”.
The 2013 schedule of charges is not subject to the present decision.
Cauza C-482/99, Franța/Comisia („Stardust Marine”), Rec., 2002, p.
When applying the MEO test to the measure at stake, the Commission first has to determine whether the price charged corresponds to a market price.
I-4397.
For this, the Commission has doubts that at the present time, an appropriate benchmark can be identified to establish a true market price for services provided by airports.
Hotărârea din 12 mai 2011 în cauzele conexate T-267/08 și T-279/08, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, nepublicată încă, punctul 108.
In the absence of an identifiable market benchmark, the Commission has to assess the ex ante incremental profitability of the 2007 schedule of charges.
vh Saar și FSBesitzG/FSG pot fi considerate întreprinderi afiliate, în sensul articolului 290 din HGB.
The 2007 schedule of charge was introduced to enhance the competitiveness of Saarbrücken Airport.
Contract prin care o întreprindere încredințează conducerea unei alte întreprinderi.
When drawing up the 2007 schedule of charges, the operator of Saarbrücken Airport analysed passenger numbers, airport movements as well as the financial results of the years 1997–2006.
Cauza C-39/94, Syndicat français de l’Express international (SFEI) și alții/La Poste și alții, Rec., 1996, p.
According to Germany, a market analysis undertaken at that time showed that Saarbrücken was one of the most expensive airports in Germany.
I-3547, punctul 60 și cauza C-342/96, Regatul Spaniei/Comisia Comunităților Europene, Rec., 1999, p.
The Commission observes that TUIFly left Saarbrücken as from late 2006.
I-2459, punctul 41.
In addition, Saarbrücken Airport faced new competition from Zweibrücken after 2006.
Cauza 173/73, Republica Italiană/Comisia Comunităților Europene, Rec., 1974, p. 709, punctul 13.
All these factors together led Saarbrücken Airport to reconsider its pricing policy and to introduce a revised schedule of charges offering incentives in form of discounts in order to ensure its future viability and profitability.
Cauza C-482/99, Franța/Comisia („Stardust Marine”), Rec., 2002, p.
While, according to the available information, no ex ante profitability studies have been prepared for the 2007 schedule of charges, Germany has submitted that Saarbrücken Airport expected that virtually no additional investments would be required to provide additional airport services to airlines and that no additional operating costs would arise.
I-4397, punctul 69.
Therefore, in Germany’s view no ex ante profitability study was necessary.
Cauza C-305/89, Italia/Comisia („Alfa Romeo”), Rec., 1991, p.
Hence, the incremental costs were limited to the incentives offered.
I-1603, cauza T-296/97 Alitalia/Comisia, Rec., 2000, p.
In this context, the Commission observes that the 2007 schedule of charges indeed offered discounts only for new airlines, new connections, or increased passenger numbers with the consequence that it did not impact negatively on the status quo at the airport.
II-3871.
The Commission observes that before the introduction of the 2007 schedule of charges, Saarbrücken airport’s capacity was utilised only at 50 %.
Cauza 40/85, Belgia/Comisia, Rec., 1986, p.
Indeed, passenger numbers decreased from 487 000 in 2005 to 350 000 in 2007, whereas the airports potential annual capacity would have been 700 000 passengers per annum.
I-2321.
The Commission notes that after the departure of TUIFly Saarbrücken Airport had spare capacities, with the consequence that additional traffic could be handled without the need to upgrade infrastructure or acquire additional equipment or hire new staff.
Cauza C-482/99, Franța/Comisia, Rec., 2002, p.
Germany confirmed that there was no need to hire new staff or to expand existing infrastructure or other equipment in order to serve new airlines or connections (for instance the existing baggage belts and personnel were sufficient).
I-04397.
With any new airline or connection, aeronautical as well as non–aeronautical revenues would be generated.
Cauza C-124/10P, Comisia Europeană/Électricité de France (EDF), 2012, nepublicată încă în Repertoriu (denumită în continuare hotărârea „EDF”), punctul 85.
Given that the level of costs remained stable, any new airline or connection would, according to Germany, provide a positive contribution to the airport’s profitability.
Cauza C-280/00, Altmark Trans GmbH și Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg/Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Altmark GmbH, Rec., 2003, p.
The fact that Saarbrücken indeed managed to attract a number of new airlines (such as Air Berlin, which started operating from Saarbrücken in late 2007) and to establish new connections after the introduction of the 2007 schedule of charges also indicates that the discount–based strategy to increase its business was successful.
I-7747, punctele 87-93.
The available data finally demonstrates that the 2007 schedule of charges resulted in a gradual increase of revenue for the airport (from […] in 2007 to […] in 2010).
A se vedea JO L 219, 24.8.2007, p. 9, considerentul 111 și următoarele.
The Commission further notes that when assessing airport/airline arrangements, it should also assess the extent to which the arrangements can be considered part of the implementation of an overall strategy of the airport to lead to profitability at least in the long term.
Cauza T-214/95, Het Vlaamse Gewest/Comisia, Rec., 1998, p.
In this respect, the Commission has to take into account the factual evidence that was available, and the developments that could reasonably be expected, at the time when the 2007 schedule of charges was made, in particular the prevailing market conditions, notably the market changes induced by the liberalisation in the air transport market, the market entry and development of low cost carriers and other point–to–point carriers, changes in the organisational and economic structure of the airport industry as well as the degree of diversification and complexity of the functions undertaken by airports, the enhancement of the competition between airlines and airports, the uncertain economic environment due to the changes in the prevailing market conditions or any other uncertainty in the economic environment have to be taken into account.
II-717.
The Commission notes that, as described in 335, several reasons (such as new competition from Zweibrücken after 2006 and the departure of TUIFly from the end of 2006) led Saarbrücken Airport to consider a revised schedule of charges with discounts being a necessary step in ensuring its future viability and profitability.
A se vedea Decizia Comisiei din 1 octombrie 2014 în cazul privind ajutorul de stat SA.27339 – Germania – Aeroportul Zweibrücken, nepublicată încă în JO.
Finally, the Commission notes that the airport infrastructure is open to all airlines and not dedicated to a specific airline.
Fraport AG a deținut 51 % din FSBG până la 30 iunie 2007.
In the light of these considerations, accepting that an increase in activity resulted in virtually no incremental costs but could be expected to create incremental revenue, the Commission accepts that in adopting the 2007 schedule of charges and the discounts contained therein, Saarbrücken Airport acted like a MEO.
Vorlage für den Ministerrat, Gemeinsame Kabinettssitzung der Regierung des Saarlandes und der Landesregierung von Rheinland-Pfalz am 27.
Therefore, the measure did not grant the affected airlines any economic advantage.
Mai 2003, Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau, 15 mai 2003.
Marketing agreement with Air Berlin
Einschätzung der rheinland-pfälzischen Innenministeriums, 15 mai 2003.
In the contract concluded between Air Berlin and Saarbrücken Airport on 6 April 2011, the two parties agreed that Air Berlin would increase the frequency of its flights to and from Berlin by an additional five return–flights per week, and the frequency of its flights to and from […] by an additional three return–flights per week until the end of April 2014.
Regulamentul (CE) nr. 659/1999 al Consiliului din 22 martie 1999 de stabilire a normelor de aplicare a articolului 108 din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene (JO L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1).
In return for this frequency increase and the commitment from Air Berlin that it would advertise the new frequency, Saarbrücken Airport committed to paying a total of [EUR 800 000–EUR 1 700 000] to Air Berlin in 2011 and 2012.
Cauza T 109/01, Fleuren Compost/Comisia, Rec., 2004, p.