natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Therefore, the payments by the State as a guarantor, even though occurring post-accession, represent existing aid and are not, as such, unlawful, without prejudice to the qualification under State aid rules of a possible future failure of the State subsequently exercising its recourse right against CE Hunedoara.
În termen de două luni de la notificarea prezentei decizii, România transmite Comisiei următoarele informații:
However, the BCR loan, the BRD loan and the loan granted to repay the incompatible aid, constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU and, since they have been disbursed in violation of Article 108(3) TFEU, they constitute unlawful State aid.
suma totală (principalul și dobânzile de recuperare) care urmează a fi recuperată de la beneficiar;
The rescue aid loan on which the Commission raised no objections by its rescue aid decision of 21 April 2015 was not put into effect before the Commission decision and was therefore not unlawful State aid.
o descriere detaliată a măsurilor deja adoptate și a celor planificate în vederea respectării prezentei decizii;
However, its excessive prolongation and non-repayment well beyond the six-month period for which it was granted render the prolongation unlawful.
o descriere detaliată a măsurilor deja adoptate și a celor planificate în vederea menținerii exploatării continue a activelor de producere a energiei electrice;
Compatibility of the aid and the legal basis for the assessment
documentele care atestă că beneficiarul a fost somat să ramburseze ajutoarele.
The Commission must assess if the aid measures identified above can be found compatible with the internal market.
România informează Comisia despre progresele înregistrate în ceea ce privește măsurile naționale adoptate pentru a pune în aplicare prezenta decizie până la recuperarea ajutoarelor menționate la articolul 2.
According to the case law of the Court, it is up to the Member State to invoke possible grounds of compatibility, and to demonstrate that the conditions for such compatibility are met.
Aceasta prezintă imediat, la simpla solicitare a Comisiei, informații privind măsurile deja luate și măsurile planificate în vederea conformării cu prezenta decizie.
Except initially for the rescue aid loan and its prolongation after six months from the Commission decision of 21 April 2015 and the IBRD loan which was not notifiable since it was granted before the accession of Romania to the Union, Romania has not notified the loan granted to repay the incompatible aid, the BCR loan and the BRD loan nor invoked possible grounds of compatibility with the internal market.
De asemenea, România furnizează informații detaliate privind cuantumurile ajutoarelor și ale dobânzilor deja recuperate de la beneficiar.
On the basis of the information available and, as noted in the opening decision, the Commission considers that the sole possible compatibility basis for the measures under assessment would be the R&R aid Guidelines.
Articolul 6
These Guidelines provide rules and conditions for the purposes of the compatibility assessment of rescue and restructuring aid to undertakings in difficulty pursuant to Article 107(3)(c) TFEU.
Prezenta decizie se adresează României.
Applicability of the R&R aid Guidelines
Adoptată la Bruxelles, 8 noiembrie 2018.
According to points 137 and 138 of the R&R aid Guidelines, ‘[t]he Commission will examine the compatibility with the internal market of any rescue or restructuring aid granted without its authorisation and therefore in breach of Article 108(3) [TFEU] on the basis of these guidelines if some or all of the aid is granted after their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union’ and ‘[i]n all other cases it will conduct the examination on the basis of the guidelines which applied at the time the aid was granted’.
Pentru Comisie
The rescue aid loan and the loan granted to repay the incompatible aid were granted after the entry into force of the R&R aid Guidelines on 1 August 2014.
Membru al Comisiei
Therefore, the R&R aid Guidelines are applicable to these two loans.
JO C 158, 4.5.2018, p. 47.
In addition, the BCR and the BRD loans were not notified to the Commission, in breach of Article 108(3) TFEU.
A se vedea nota de subsol 1.
It follows that even if these two loans had been granted before 1 August 2014, insofar as they must be assessed jointly as part of a single operation providing aid to a company in difficulty, the R&R aid Guidelines also apply to the BCR and BRD loans.
JO C 23, 25.1.2013, p. 3.
Application of the R&R aid Guidelines
Decizia 2010/787/UE a Consiliului din 10 decembrie 2010 privind ajutorul de stat pentru facilitarea închiderii minelor de cărbune necompetitive (JO L 336, 21.12.2010, p. 24).
Only undertakings in difficulty as defined in point 20 of the R&R aid Guidelines and not active in the coal, steel and financial sectors as defined in point 16 thereof can benefit from rescue or restructuring aid.
Decizia (UE) 2015/1877 a Comisiei din 20 aprilie 2015 privind tarifele practicate de S.C.
As noted in the rescue aid decision, CE Hunedoara fulfilled already in April 2015 the criteria for being placed in collective insolvency proceedings set out in point 20(c) of the R&R aid Guidelines and, indeed, in January 2016, the company entered into such proceedings (see recital 22 above).
Hidroelectrica S.A. din Romania față de S.C.
Therefore, CE Hunedoara can be considered a firm in difficulty in the sense of the R&R aid Guidelines.
Termoelectrica S.A. și S.C.
The Commission first notes that Romania has not provided any evidence on possible compliance with the conditions for compatibility for rescue or restructuring aid set out in the R&R aid Guidelines.
Electrocentrale Deva S.A. – SA.33475 (12/C) (JO L 275, 20.10.2015, p. 46), considerentele 117-124.
As regards, the BCR loan, the BRD loan, and the loan granted to repay the incompatible aid the Commission will in the following assess them jointly because they were granted to a company in difficulty as investment or operating aid allowing CE Hunedoara to meet its costs in the absence of access to financial markets (see recital 99).
Cursul de schimb utilizat în scop informativ în prezenta decizie este de 0,215 RON/EUR (la data de 31 ianuarie 2018).
On this basis, the Commission considers that the compatibility conditions for restructuring aid laid down in the R&R aid Guidelines are not met, because (i) the restructuring plan (submitted in October 2015 and amended in January 2016) was not valid at the outset insofar as it could not ensure the long term viability of CE Hunedoara without further continuous aid and has not been pursued, (ii) there is no discernible own contribution of CE Hunedoara in line with points 62 to 64 of the R&R aid Guidelines, and (iii) no measures limiting distortions of competition in line with points 74 to 86 of the R&R aid Guidelines could be identified.
Decizia Comisiei din 21 aprilie 2015 în cazul SA.41318 (2015/N) – România – Notificare a ajutorului de salvare în favoarea Complexului Energetic Hunedoara (JO C 203, 19.6.2015, p. 5).
Regarding points 99 to 103 of the R&R aid Guidelines, even though they provide for specific conditions for aid to SGEI providers in difficulty, the Commission comes to the view that the loans under assessment cannot be assessed or taken into account as a compensation for the provision of such services as referred to in point 100 of the R&R aid Guidelines.
JO C 249, 31.7.2014, p. 1.
First, it is not claimed nor established that CE Hunedoara has been operating on the basis of valid entrustment acts singling out any justifiable difference with the production of electricity by other electricity generators active in Romania; according to established case law of the European Court of Justice, the presence of a valid entrustment act is an essential condition for state aid to be considered as valid compensation of a Service of General economic Interest.
Planul a fost discutat, de asemenea, în cadrul unei reuniuni cu autoritățile române la 23 octombrie 2015.
Second, the loans at issue were ad hoc loans for specific purposes and have not been granted with regard to identifiable and justified extra costs of service provision.
Autorizație pentru ajutoarele de stat acordate în conformitate cu dispozițiile articolelor 107 și 108 din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene – Cazuri în care Comisia nu ridică obiecții (JO C 127, 21.4.2017, p. 1).
Third, the loan amounts have not been set, individually or cumulatively, on the basis of objective parameters set out in advance and calibrated specifically for the determined costs of the SGEI taking into account all revenues and costs of Hunedoara.
Dată în folosință în două etape, prima între anii 1969 și 1971, iar cea de-a doua între anii 1977 și 1980 – a se vedea Raportul Casei de Insolvență GMC din martie 2016, p. 37, disponibil la adresa: cigmc.ro/files/Raport%20art.%2097.pdf
Therefore, the Commission cannot, under points 100 and 101 of the R&R aid Guidelines, consider that the loans in question should be regarded as valid compensations under the SGEI Decision or the SGEI Framework.
Dată în folosință în două etape, prima între anii 1956 și 1959, iar cea de-a doua între anii 1962 și 1964 - a se vedea informațiile disponibile în surse publice la adresa https://uzinaparoseni.wordpress.com/
Romania has also failed to meet its commitment to legally separate the coal mines from the power generation within CE Hunedoara, which was a commitment it made at the time the rescue aid was approved and which, according to its submissions, could take between six and nine months.
Decizia privind ajutorul incompatibil adoptată la 20 aprilie 2015, considerentele 84, 88-90, 98 și 117-124.
Two coal mines are receiving operating aid for closure pursuant to the Decision regarding the second aid to coal mines (recital 12 above).
Decizia privind ajutorul pentru salvare din 21 aprilie 2015, considerentele 13 și 63.
Romania has argued in its comments to the opening decision that separate accounts are held for the mining and electricity generation activities; however, separate accounts themselves do not prevent cross-financing of the mining activity.
Decizia privind primul ajutor acordat minelor de cărbune, adoptată la 22 februarie 2012, considerentele 4-10.
Romania did not demonstrate that cross-financing does not occur by e.g. presenting evidence that the use of the State aid only benefits the electricity generation activity.
Rapoartele anuale ale ANRE pentru 2013, 2014 și 2015, disponibile la adresa: http://www.anre.ro/ro/despre-anre/rapoarte-anuale.
Absent this necessary evidence, it cannot be excluded that some of the loans covered by the present decision have benefitted directly or indirectly the coal mines of CE Hunedoara, in violation of point 16 of the R&R aid Guidelines which exclude the coal sector from R&R aid.
A se vedea, de asemenea, datele Transelectrica privind capacitatea totală de producție instalată și disponibilă pentru fiecare unitate dispecerizabilă, diferențiată pe surse primare de energie, disponibilă la adresa: http://transelectrica.ro/web/tel/productie.
Finally, it is worth noting that the proceeds from loan granted to repay the incompatible aid remain available to CE Hunedoara.
CE Hunedoara, rapoarte emise de Consiliul de administrație pentru 2013, 2014 și 2015, disponibile la adresa: http://www.cenhd.ro/index.php/situatii-financiare/.
In light of the Deggendorf principle, the accumulation of a non-repaid loan granted to repay earlier incompatible aid with the other three loans, does not allow considering that the possible restructuring aid to CE Hunedoara is compatible with the internal market on the basis of point 94 of the R&R aid Guidelines.
Rapoartele anuale ale OPCOM pentru 2013, 2014 și 2015, disponibile la adresa: https://www.opcom.ro/compania/compania.php?lang=ro&id=6.
Yet, whilst benefitting from State aid in the form of the loans at issue to the extent that they have not been repaid, CE Hunedoara continues to operate at the detriment of competitors.
A se vedea, de exemplu, factorii de sarcină raportați în Decizia SA.38760 (2016/C) (JO C 46, 5.2.2016, p. 19).
In conclusion, based on the above, the Commission considers that the BCR and BRD loans contracted for the benefit of CE Hunedoara, jointly assessed with the excessive prolongation of the rescue aid loan transforming it into a restructuring loan and the loan granted to repay the incompatible aid, are incompatible with the internal market.
http://www.cenhd.ro/images/File/Situatii%20financiare/2013/Raportul%20administratorilor%20-%202013.pdf, p. 3.http://www.cenhd.ro/images/File/Situatii%20financiare/2014/Raportul%20administratorilor%20-%202014.pdf, p. 3.http://www.cenhd.ro/images/File/Situatii%20financiare/2015/Raportul%20administratorilor%20-%202015.pdf, p. 11.
As regards the rescue aid loan, in line with point 55(d) of the R&R aid Guidelines, Romania committed to submitting, within maximum six months from the date of the rescue aid decision or the disbursement of the first instalment (recital 54 of the rescue aid decision), either proof that the loan was reimbursed, or a valid restructuring plan, or a substantiated liquidation plan setting out the steps leading to the liquidation of CE Hunedoara within a reasonable time frame, without further aid.
Decizia privind ajutorul pentru salvare din 21 aprilie 2015, considerentele 14, 16 și 17.
Romania did not meet this commitment, since (i) the rescue loan has not been fully reimbursed and (ii) Romania was informed that the restructuring plan (submitted by Romania in October 2015 and amended in January 2016) did not ensure that CE Hunedoara could reach long term viability without further continuous aid.
33812 (2012/NN) – România – Ajutor de stat ilegal pentru proiectele de mediu obligatorii.
In addition to the above, the Commission notes that the timeline for the liquidation of CE Hunedoara with a minimum duration of three years, as submitted by Romania in May 2017 (that is 1,5 years after the deadline of October 2015, i.e. six months after granting the rescue aid approved by the rescue aid decision), appears to be rather long.
Ordonanța de urgență a Guvernului nr. 26/2018 și Hotărârea Guvernului nr. 760/2017.
From the above the Commission concludes that the prolongation of the rescue aid loan is incompatible with the internal market.
Decizia de punere în aplicare (UE) 2017/1442 a Comisiei din 31 iulie 2017 de stabilire a concluziilor privind cele mai bune tehnici disponibile (BAT) pentru instalațiile de ardere de dimensiuni mari, în temeiul Directivei 2010/75/UE a Parlamentului European și a Consiliului (JO L 212, 17.8.2017, p. 1).
RECOVERY
A se vedea cauza C-482/99, Franța/Comisia (Stardust Marine), ECLI:EU:C:2002:294.
According to the TFEU and the Court's established case-law, the Commission is competent to decide that the Member State concerned must abolish or alter aid when it has found that it is incompatible with the internal market.
Cauza C-248/84, Germania/Comisia, ECLI:EU:C:1987:437, punctul 17.
The Court has also consistently held that the obligation on a Member State to abolish aid regarded by the Commission as being incompatible with the internal market is designed to re-establish the previously existing situation.
Hotărârea Curții de Justiție din 19 martie 2013, Bouygues și Bouygues Télécom/Comisia și alții, cauzele conexate C-399/10 P și C-401/10 P, ECLI:EU:C:2013:175, punctele 137, 138 și 139.
In this context, the Court has established that this objective is attained once the recipient has repaid the amounts granted by way of unlawful aid, thus forfeiting the advantage which it had enjoyed over its competitors on the market, and the situation prior to the payment of the aid is restored.
Cauza C-300/16 P, Comisia/Frucona Košice, ECLI:EU:C:2017:706, punctul 28.
In this regard, Article 16(1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 states that ‘where negative decisions are taken in cases of unlawful aid, the Commission shall decide that the Member State concerned shall take all necessary measures to recover the aid from the beneficiary […]’.
Decizia privind ajutorul pentru salvare din 21 aprilie 2015, considerentele 30 și 31.
Thus, (i) the BCR loan (ii) the BRD loan, (iii) the loan to repay the incompatible aid and (iv) the rescue aid loan — which became unlawful as from the moment when the rescue aid was not repaid within six months after its granting and/or disbursement- were implemented in violation of Article 108(3) TFEU, and are to be considered as unlawful and incompatible aid, they must be recovered in order to re-establish the situation that existed on the market prior to their granting.
Cauza T-423/14, Larko Geniki Metalleftiki kai Metallurgiki AE/Comisia, ECLI:EU:T:2018:57, punctul 193 și jurisprudența citată.
Recovery should cover the time from when the advantage accrued to the beneficiary, that is to say when the aid in the form of principal amount of loans was unlawfully put at the disposal of the beneficiary, until effective recovery, and the sums to be recovered should bear interest until effective recovery.
A se vedea, în special, cauza C-730/79, Philip Morris/Comisia, ECLI:EU:C:1980:209, punctul 11; cauza C-53/00, Ferring, ECLI:EU:C:2001:627, punctul 21; cauza C-372/97, Italia/Comisia, ECLI:EU:C:2004:234, punctul 44.
The recovery interest is distinct from the contractual interest, the interest for late payments or other related sums related to the loans at issue owed by Hunedoara to the State.
Cauza T-214/95, Het Vlaamse Gewest/Comisia, ECLI:EU:T:1998:77.
In accordance with established case-law, the insolvency of the beneficiary and its inability to repay the aid do not constitute a valid reason for exempting it from its obligation to reimburse the aid.
Directiva 2009/72/CE a Parlamentului European și a Consiliului din 13 iulie 2009 privind normele comune pentru piața internă a energiei electrice și de abrogare a Directivei 2003/54/CE (JO L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 55.).
In this case, restoring the situation prior to the payment of the aid and removing the distortion of competition can in principle be achieved by registering the liability relating to the repayment of the aid in the schedule of liabilities as part of the court-supervised liquidation procedure.
A se vedea cauza C-364/90, Italia/Comisia, ECLI:EU:C:1993:157, punctul 20.
Where the Member State is unable to recover the full amount of aid, registration of the liability can meet the recovery obligation provided that the insolvency proceedings result in the winding up of the undertaking which received the unlawful aid, that is to say, in the definitive cessation of its activities.
Cauza C-280/00, Altmark Trans și Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg/Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Altmark, ECLI:EU:C:2003:415.
The liquidation of CE Hunedoara in case of non-recovery of the rescue aid within six-months from its approval or disbursement is also contemplated in the R&R aid Guidelines, in the rescue aid decision (recitals 20, 21 and 52, point (d).
Decizia 2012/21/UE a Comisiei din 20 decembrie 2011 privind aplicarea articolului 106 alineatul (2) din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene în cazul ajutoarelor de stat sub formă de compensații pentru obligația de serviciu public acordate anumitor întreprinderi cărora le-a fost încredințată prestarea unui serviciu de interes economic general (JO L 7, 11.1.2012, p. 3).
The Commission takes note of the recent discussions with Romania in which it was established that the winding up of CE Hunedoara may lead to its assets being liquidated and sold in order to meet liabilities, including those arising from the implementation of recovery imposed on Romania as a result of this Decision.
Comunicarea Comisiei, Cadrul Uniunii Europene pentru ajutoarele de stat sub forma compensațiilor pentru obligația de serviciu public (2011) (JO C 8, 11.1.2012, p. 15).
In any case, the Romanian authorities confirmed the existence of legal provisions in the national legislation that would ensure the continuity of operation and mentioned in this respect Law No 123 of 10 July 2012 of electric energy and natural gas, notably the provisions concerning energy security and safety.
Cauzele T-244/93 și T-486/93, TWD Deggendorf/Comisia, ECLI:EU:T:1995:160, punctul 56.
In the context of a liquidation and considering its legal obligation to ensure continuity of supply, Romania may plan to adopt measures aiming to avoid abrupt disruptions of the supply of electricity and heat for the region in which CE Hunedoara operates and supplies services.
A se vedea cauza C-70/72, Comisia/Germania, ECLI:EU:C:1973:87, punctul 13.
However, such measures have to be proportionate, reasonable, and limited in time and scope to what is indispensable to maintain the value of the power generation assets.
A se vedea cauzele conexate C-278/92, C-279/92 și C-280/92, Spania/Comisia, ECLI:EU:C:1994:325, punctul 75.
In enforcement of the present Decision, the Commission must be informed in advance and be in a position to verify that these conditions are met.
A se vedea cauza C-75/97, Belgia/Comisia, ECLI:EU:C:1999:311, punctele 64 și 65.
Consequently, this decision is generally without prejudice to such appropriate measures and to the process concerning the transfer of power generation assets.
Regulamentul (UE) 2015/1589 al Consiliului din 13 iulie 2015 de stabilire a normelor de aplicare a articolului 108 din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene (JO L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 9).
Furthermore, as evoked during the videoconference held on 31 July 2018 (see recital 3 above), Romania expressed its intention to take an appropriate measure to proceed with the process regarding the transfer of power generation assets from CE Hunedoara to a New Company (NewCo) still to be incorporated.
Hotărârea Curții de Justiție din 29 aprilie 2004, Germania/Comisia, C-277/00, ECLI:EU:C:2004:238, punctul 85; Hotărârea Curții de Justiție din 15 ianuarie 1986, Comisia/Belgia, C-52/84, ECLI:EU:C:1986:3, punctul 14; Hotărârea Curții de Justiție din 21 martie 1990, Belgia/Comisia, C-142/87, ECLI:EU:C:1990:125, punctele 60-62.
This is planned to take the form of a Government Emergency Ordinance by way of which a three-stage transfer in lieu of payment (in Romanian ‘dare în plată’) would occur with regard to the power generation assets only, i.e. without the mines.
Hotărârea Curții de Justiție din 11 decembrie 2012, Comisia/Spania, C-610/10, ECLI:EU:C:2012:781, punctul 104.
As per the minutes agreed with Romania, this process should involve:
Regulamentul (CE) nr. 794/2004 al Comisiei din 21 aprilie 2004 de punere în aplicare a Regulamentului (UE) 2015/1589 al Consiliului de stabilire a normelor de aplicare a articolului 108 din Tratatul privind funcționarea Uniunii Europene (JO L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1).
First, the preparation of a mandatory evaluation report to determine the value of the power generation assets (currently pledged by the Ministry of Finance) and the amount of the debt owed by CE Hunedoara;
La 8 ianuarie 2016, România a prezentat o notificare prealabilă a intenției sale de a acorda un ajutor de restructurare în favoarea CE Hunedoara pe baza unui nou plan de restructurare (denumit în continuare „planul de restructurare modificat”) care cuprindea modificări în comparație cu primul plan de restructurare, („planul de restructurare modificat”) și a prezentat informații justificative suplimentare, completate la 11 ianuarie 2016.
Second, these pledged assets would be transferred to the Ministry of Finance and then further on to the Ministry of Energy;
La 12 ianuarie 2016, a fost organizată o reuniune cu autoritățile române cu privire la informațiile transmise.
Third, these pledged assets would be transferred to a new company, and the latter would then be entrusted with the provision of a Service of General Economic Interest.
Pe baza acestor considerații și noi planuri privind un posibil viitor succesor/posibili viitori succesori ai CE Hunedoara care să opereze o parte din activele acesteia, la solicitarea Comisiei, autoritățile române au transmis informații la 12 mai 2016, cu ocazia unei videoconferințe la 18 mai 2016, la 9, 25 și 29 august 2016, cu ocazia unei reuniuni desfășurate la 12 octombrie 2016, precum și la 9 noiembrie 2016, la 17 mai 2017 și la 1 septembrie 2017.