natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
As regards Carsid’s competitiveness, the Belgian authorities take the view that Carsid offers many advantages, including a reduction in costs [11], flexibility in the transfer of production between the casting plant and the electric plant making it easier to adjust to demand, and the creation of a captive regional market for the rolling mills of Duferco and Arcelor.
Glede konkurenčnosti družbe Carsid belgijski organi menijo, da Carsid predstavlja številne prednosti, med njimi znižanje stroškov [11], fleksibilnost prenosa proizvodnje med obratoma žičarn iz litine in električne žičarne, kar omogoča hitro prilagajanje povpraševanju, ustvarjanje zaprtega regionalnega trga, ki omogoča oskrbovanje valjarn združenj Duferco in Arcelor.
Notwithstanding the advantages of sites situated by the sea as outlined by Corus, Carsid, which is situated near its industrial partners, produces slabs at a price of EUR […] per tonne, which is well below the figure of USD 219 cited by Corus.
Kljub prednostim obmorske lokacije, kot jo ima Corus, družba Carsid, ki se nahaja v bližini svojih industrijskih partnerjev, proizvaja brame po ceni […] eurov po toni, kar je veliko manj od številke 219 USD, kot trdi Corus.
The increase in output and the improvement in productivity explained the reduction in the cost of producing slabs, which is at present some EUR […] per tonne, i.e. well below the market price of slab, which in Europe is around EUR 225 per tonne (transport included).
Povečanje proizvodnje, kakor tudi izboljšanje produktivnosti sta razlaga za zmanjšanje stroškov proizvodnje bram, ki danes znaša okoli […] eurov po toni, kar je veliko manjši strošek od tržne cene brame, ki v Evropi v glavnem znaša 225 eurov po toni (transport vključen).
Thanks to the supply of slab, Duferco Clabecq and Duferco La Louvière produce coils and sheet at more competitive prices, equivalent to the European average.
Zahvaljujoč oskrbi z bramami, Duferco Clabecq in Duferco La Louvière proizvajajo kolute in pločevino po konkurenčnejših cenah, ki se uvrščajo v evropsko povprečje.
The use of slab produced by Carsid would result in an improvement in the gross margin of some EUR […] million a year for Duferco la Louvière and some EUR […] million a year for Duferco Clabecq.
Uporaba bram, ki jih proizvede družba Carsid, bi pomenila izboljšanje bruto dobička za okoli […] milijonov eurov na leto za Duferco la Louvière in okoli […] milijonov eurov na leto za Duferco Clabecq.
According to the Belgian authorities, there is no reason to fear that the Carsid installations will not be fully used, since both Arcelor and Duferco have signed long-term supply contracts running until […].
Po drugi strani pa se po mnenju belgijskih organov ni bati, da oprema družbe Carsid ne bo polno izkoriščena, ker sta tako Arcelor kot Duferco podpisala dolgoročni pogodbi o dobavah do leta […].
The contracts provide that any party not using its rights must bear the fixed costs associated with the plant serving them.
Ti pogodbi predvidevata, da mora stranka, ki ne izkoristi svojih pravic, nositi fiksne stroške, ki zadevajo opremo, ki jim je dodeljena.
As regards the return on the investment, in their letter of 7 May 2002, the Belgian authorities estimated the return on the equity invested in Carsid for the period […] at an average of […] a year after tax ([…] a year before tax).
Kar zadeva donosnost investicije, so belgijski organi v pismu z dne 7. maja 2002 ocenili donosnost lastnih sredstev, vloženih v družbo Carsid za dobo […] na povprečje […] ne leto po plačilu davkov ([…] na leto pred plačilom davkov).
In response to the calculation carried out by Corus (see recital 35 of this Decision) of the net discounted value of the returns expected from Carsid, the Belgian authorities used the same methodology as Corus, but with a number of corrections as regards in particular the residual value of Carsid’s installations and the hypothesis of continued operations.
Kot odgovor na izračun, ki ga je naredila družba Corus (glej uvodno izjavo (35) te odločbe) o neto aktualizirani vrednosti pričakovanih prihodkov družbe Carsid, so belgijski organi uporabili enako metodologijo kot Corus, vendar z nekaterimi popravki, zlasti kar zadeva preostalo vrednost opreme družbe Carsid in hipotezo nadaljevanja operacij.
Carsid’s internal rate of return would be […] [12], which, according to the Belgian authorities would be acceptable for a similar investment (applying a long-term interest rate of 5 %, which must be increased by 3 % to take account of the risk inherent in the steel industry).
TRI družbe bo […] [12], kar bo po mnenju belgijskih organov sprejemljivo za investicijo take vrste (z upoštevanjem dolgoročne obrestne mere 5 %, ki jo je potrebno povečati za 3 % za tveganja, značilna za jeklarsko industrijo).
According to other calculations presented subsequently, Carsid’s internal rate of return was put at […] applying the normal hypothesis of the continuity of the plant beyond […] [13], or […] if one assumes liquidation of the company [14].
Po ostalih izračunih, ki so bili predloženi kasneje, bo TRI družbe Carsid […], z upoštevanjem normalne hipoteze o kontinuiteti tovarne preko […] [13], ali […], z upoštevanjem hipoteze o likvidnosti podjetja [14].
At all events, the Belgian authorities consider that profitability may be presumed to have been demonstrated where the public intervention is accompanied by concomitant and significant private backing and that the Commission cannot substitute itself for the judgment of the investor, but must establish with reasonable certainty that the programme financed by the State will be acceptable to a market economy investor.
Belgijski organi v vsakem primeru menijo, da je prikaz donosnosti precenjen, ker državne intervencije potekajo istočasno s pomembnimi privatnimi intervencijami, ter, da se Komisija ne bo znala opredeliti glede presoje investitorja, ampak mora z razumno gotovostjo določiti, da bo program, ki ga financira država, sprejemljiv za investitorja v tržnem gospodarstvu.
As far as the situation in the steel industry is concerned, the Belgian authorities take the view that, though the industry went through a fairly serious cyclical crisis in 2001, this was part of the cycle peculiar to the steel industry, but that, following the measures adopted by the United States, there had been a considerable increase in prices in Europe and in Asia that seemed to be durable despite the economic situation and rather weak demand.
Glede situacije v jeklarskem sektorju belgijski organi menijo, da je v primeru, da je v letu 2001 ta sektor prebrodil zelo težko konjukturno krizo, slednja del cikla, ki je značilen za jeklarstvo, toda po ukrepih, ki so jih sprejele Združene države, so se začele cene v Evropi in Aziji močno dvigovati, kar se zdi, da je trajno, navkljub gospodarski konjukturi in šibkejšemu povpraševanju.
Furthermore, the slab market was not a market suffering from structural over-capacity in Europe.
Sicer pa trg bram v Evropi ni trg, ki bi imel strukturalno višek kapacitet.
On the contrary, Europe was a net importer of slab, and this situation was not expected to differ in the years ahead.
Nasprotno, Evropa je neto uvoznica bram, in ta situacija se v prihodnjih letih ne bi smela drugače razvijati.
As regards the past performance of Duferco Clabecq and Duferco La Louvière, the Belgian authorities maintain that it was causes external to the Duferco group (raw materials market, exchange rates and product market) and the effects of the reduction in output and of the need for restructuring that affected their results to a significant extent and did not allow the companies to achieve the forecasts set out in the initial business plants.
V zvezi s preteklimi rezultati združenj Duferco Clabecq in Duferco La Louvière, belgijski organi trdijo, da so zunanji vzroki za združenje Duferco (trg surovin, menjalni tečaj in trg proizvodov), učinki zmanjšanja proizvodnje ter potreba po prestrukturiranju tisti, ki so pomembno vplivali na njihove rezultate in tem družbam niso omogočali doseganja začetnih predvidenih poslovnih načrtov.
As regards, finally, the pre-retirement programme, the Belgian authorities maintain that these arrangements do not involve any transfer of public resources to the employer and, in addition, that the Belgian authorities do not have any discretion as regards the inclusion of workers from a firm in the benefits of these arrangements, since, if the criteria stipulated by the law are met, the applicant company is recognised as being in difficulty or as undergoing restructuring and the workers are accordingly eligible for the scheme.
Končno, v zvezi s programom predčasnega upokojevanja belgijski organi trdijo, da ta režim ne vsebuje nobenega prenosa državnih sredstev v korist delodajalca, poleg tega pa belgijski organi nimajo pooblastila za presojo priznavanja ugodnosti tega režima delavcem nekega podjetja, ker se v primeru izpolnjevanja meril, ki jih predpisuje zakonodaja, podjetje, ki vlaga zahtevek, šteje za podjetje v težavah ali v prestrukturiranju, zaradi česar so delavci upravičeni do ugodnosti tega režima.
ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURE
PRESOJA UKREPA
Although the procedure was initiated under the ECSC Treaty, since it was not possible in practice to adopt a final decision before 23 July 2002 (Belgium’s reaction to the comments from interested parties arrived only on 17 June 2002, and additional information was provided subsequently, see recital 4 of this Decision), the Commission made it clear, in its notice on certain aspects of the treatment of competition cases resulting from the expiry of the ECSC Treaty [15], that it would in such cases adopt a final decision under Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty (point 43 of the notice).
Čeprav je bil postopek odprt v smislu Pogodbe ESPJ, in glede na to, da v praksi ni mogoče sprejeti končne odločbe pred 23. julijem 2002 (pripombe Belgije na stališča tretjih so prispele šele 17. junija 2002, dodatne informacije pa so bile posredovane po tem glej uvodno izjavo (4) te odločbe), je Komisija v svojem sporočilu o določenih vidikih obravnave konkurenčnosti, ki izhaja iz prenehanja veljavnosti pogodbe ESPJ [15], navedla, da bi v podobnem primeru zavrnila končno odločbo v smislu člena 88(2) Pogodbe ES (točka 43 Sporočila).
At all events, the doubts expressed by the Commission when it initiated the procedure related to the description of the measure planned by Belgium as State aid.
V vsakem primeru pa dvomi, ki jih je izrazila Komisija ob začetku postopka, zadevajo obravnavanje ukrepa, ki ga je predvidela Belgija, kot državno pomoč.
As has been made clear in Community case law, the clarifications made by the Community judicature to the concept of State aid referred to in Article 87 of the EC Treaty are relevant when applying the corresponding provisions of the ECSC Treaty, to the extent that they are not incompatible with that Treaty [16].
Kot jo tolmači sodna praksa, so podrobnosti, ki jih je sodnik Skupnosti navedel o pojmu državne pomoči, navedene v členu 87 Pogodbe ES, umestne za uporabo odgovarjajočih določil Pogodbe ESPJ, v kolikor niso v neskladju z njo [16].
Under Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty, any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, insofar as it affects trade between Member States, be incompatible with the common market.
V smislu člena 87(1) Pogodbe ES so pomoči, ki jih odobrijo države ali ki se financirajo s pomočjo državnih virov v kateri koli obliki, ki škodijo ali grozijo, da bodo škodovale konkurenci s favoriziranjem določenih podjetij ali določenih proizvodenj, neskladne s skupnim trgom, v kolikor vplivajo na menjavo med državami članicami.
Existence of State aid
Obstoj državne pomoči
It is not disputed that the funds provided by Sogepa constitute State resources nor that, by virtue of its mission, Sogepa's actions are attributable to the Walloon Region.
Ni sporno, da sredstva, ki jih je vložila družba Sogepa predstavljajo državne vire, niti, da so delnice družbe Sogepa zaradi njene vloge v breme valonski regiji.
As far as the existence of aid elements is concerned, it must be determined whether the public resources made available to Carsid may be considered to be a genuine contribution of risk capital in accordance with the normal practice of a market economy investor.
Ker gre potemtakem za obstoj elementov pomoči, je potrebno opredeliti, ali državni viri, ki jih je dala na razpolago družba Carsid, lahko štejejo za resničen vložek kapitala s tveganjem, kot je to običajno za investitorja v tržnem gospodarstvu.
In its decision to initiate the procedure, in view of the fact that the investment carried out by the two private shareholders of Carsid is made in kind, either directly or through the direct use of their stake in the purchase of capital goods from group companies, the Commission expressed doubts that any hypothetical private shareholder in Carsid would be prepared to agree to be the only one to make all his contribution in cash in order to provide for the new requirements of the company.
V svojem sklepu o začetku postopka in ob upoštevanju dejstva, da sta investicijo realizirala dva zasebna delničarja družbe Carsid v naravi, bodisi neposredno bodisi z neposredno dodelitvijo svojega prispevka v nakup opreme s poreklom iz podjetij združenja, je Komisija izrazila dvome, da bi bil hipotetični zasebni delničar družbe Carsid pripravljen sprejeti, da za potrebe novega podjetja sam priskrbi celoten vložek v gotovini.
The Commission notes firstly that, in accounting terms and within the meaning of the Belgian legislation, a capital contribution in the form of physical assets has a value equivalent to a capital contribution in the form of cash.
Komisija poudarja, da je v računovodskih terminih in v smislu belgijske zakonodaje, vrednost vložka v kapital v obliki opreme ekvivalentna vložku v kapital v gotovini.
However, this does not affect the analysis which it carried out in initiating the procedure, according to which Duferco Investment and Usinor were not incurring any new risks.
Vendar pa to ne vpliva na analizo, ki jo je naredila ob začetku postopka, po katerem Duferco Investment in Usinor ne bi bila izpostavljena novim tveganjem.
With regard firstly to the contribution of EUR 25 million by Duferco Investment, the Commission notes that the amount was immediately transferred to Duferco Clabecq for the purchase of the continuous casting plant (Carsid will still have to spend EUR […] million for its transfer from Clabecq) and its associated installations.
V zvezi z vložkom 25 milijonov eurov družbe Duferco Investment Komisija poudarja, da so bili takoj preneseni v družbo Duferco Clabecq za nakup postrojenja za kontinuirano vlivanje (Carsid bo moral porabiti še […] milijonov eurov za svoj prevoz iz lokacije Clabecq) in pomožnih naprav.
Even if, from the formal point of view, these are two separate companies with two different sets of shareholders, the Commission takes the view that, from the economic point of view, they form part of the Duferco group and that, accordingly, the group is not taking on any new risk.
Čeprav gre v formalnem smislu za dve ločeni družbi z različnimi delničarji, Komisija meni, da, z gospodarskega stališča družbi tvorita del združenja Duferco, ki zaradi tega ne prevzema novega tveganja.
This is all the more so as, from 8 August 2002, Duferco Investment has held 94,09 % of Duferco Clabecq’s capital (see recital 6).
To je še toliko bolj res, ker ima od 8. avgusta 2002 Duferco Investment v lasti 94,09 % kapitala družbe Duferco Clabecq (glej uvodno izjavo (6)).
As regards Usinor’s contribution, the Commission notes that, in view notably of its declared decision to close down the installations contributed to Carsid, Usinor is not taking on any new risk.
V zvezi z vložkom združenja Usinor, Komisija ugotavlja, da zlasti na podlagi svoje objavljene odločitve o ustavitvi strojev, vloženih v družbo Carsid, Usinor ne prevzema novih tveganj.
On the contrary, Usinor will receive EUR […] million from Duferco Investment as the price for the sale of part of its holding (see recital 19).
Nasprotno, Usinor bo od družbe Duferco Investment prejel […] milijonov eurov kot ceno za odstop dela svoje udeležbe (glej uvodno izjavo (19)).
The terms of the agreement on the setting up of Carsid (see, in particular, recital 26) reduce the possibility of Usinor incurring losses, even if it decided not to use the electric plant.
Pogoji ustanovnega sporazuma družbe Carsid (glej zlasti uvodno izjavo (26)) za Usinor zmanjšajo možnost odpravljanja izgub, tudi če bi se to podjetje odločilo, da ne bo več uporabljalo žičarne.
However, in view of the reduction in the contribution of Sogepa and the increase in the contribution of Duferco Investment to maintain the EUR 20 million in cash initially planned (see recital 15), the Commission notes that one of the private partners is taking on a new risk.
Vendar v zvezi z zmanjšanjem vložka družbe Sogepa in povečanjem vložka družbe Duferco Investment za ohranitev 20 milijonov eurov v gotovini, predvidenih na začetku (glej uvodno izjavo (15)), Komisija ugotavlja, da eden od partnerjev prevzema novo tveganje.
As regards the expected return on the capital invested by Sogepa, in its decision to initiate the procedure, the Commission expressed doubts on whether that contribution was in line with the principle of a market economy investor, notably because of the situation on the steel market and the situation of the companies in the Duferco group and even Cockerill Sambre.
V zvezi s pričakovanim povračilom od kapitala, ki ga je investirala družba Sogepa, je Komisija v svojem sklepu o začetku postopka izrazila dvome o skladnosti tega vložka z načelom zasebnega investitorja v tržnem gospodarstvu, zlasti zaradi stanja na jeklarskem trgu kot tudi zaradi situacije podjetij združenja Duferco in Cockerill Sambre.
The Belgian authorities’ argument that a return on the investment may be presumed to be demonstrated where the public intervention is accompanied by concomitant and significant private backing cannot be accepted.
Argument belgijskih organov, v katerem je prikaz donosnosti precenjen, ko državno intervencijo spremljajo istočasne večje zasebne intervencije, ne more biti upoštevan.
For the reasons set out in recital 64 of this Decision, it is clear that Usinor’s decision to take a stake in Carsid is not directly linked to the profitability of Carsid (it could be concluded, on the contrary, that the installations contributed were not sufficiently profitable for Usinor).
Pravzaprav je zaradi razlogov, navedenih v točki (64) te odločbe, očitno, da odločitev združenja Usinor, da vlaga v družbo Carsid, ni neposredno vezana na donosnost družbe Carsid (lahko bi celo sklenili, da vloženi stroji niso bili dovolj donosni za Usinor).
Through this operation, Usinor is also avoiding a costly social security plan.
S to operacijo se Usinor med drugim izogne rezu na socialnem področju.
On the other hand, the fact that the Duferco group is ready to take on a risk amounting to EUR 11 million is not a decisive factor either in assessing whether Sogepa is acting in the same way as a normal market economy investor, for the reasons set out below.
Po drugi strani pa dejstvo, da je združenje Duferco pripravljeno prevzeti tveganje do višine 11 milijonov eurov, ni več odločujoče za oceno, ali je družba Sogepa iz spodaj navedenih razlogov delovala kot navaden investitor v tržnem gospodarstvu.
In the first place, Duferco will gain a direct benefit from Carsid which Sogepa will not gain, namely the fee on the purchases of raw materials used in the integrated plant.
Prvič, Duferco bo od družbe Carsid imel neposredni dobiček, ki ga družba Sogepa ne bo imela, zlasti provizijo za nakupe surovin, ki se uporabljajo v celotni žičarni.
From this point of view, the direct profitability of the investment for Duferco is greater than for Sogepa.
S tega vidika je neposredna donosnost vlaganja za Duferco višja od donosnosti družbe Sogepa.
Secondly, because of the agency and management fees which Duferco receives from Duferco Clabecq and Duferco La Louvière ([…] of turnover), the indirect return on the investment continues to be higher for Duferco than for Sogepa.
Drugič, zaradi zastopniških provizij in provizij za upravljanje, ki jih Duferco dobiva od družb Duferco Clabecq in Duferco La Louvière ([…] od prometa), je posredna donosnost investicije še naprej višja za Duferco kot za družbo Sogepa.
Even if the fees were in line with market practices, as the Belgian authorities claim [17], Duferco obtains a profit from those companies which Sogepa does not obtain.
Tudi če bi te provizije bile v skladu s tržno prakso, kot so trdili belgijski organi [17], ima Duferco od teh podjetij dobiček, ki pa ga Sogepa ne prejme.
As regards the return on the capital invested in Carsid, the Commission considers that it is not equivalent to that which an investor operating under normal market economy conditions would expect.
V zvezi s povračilom kapitala, vloženega v družbo Carsid, Komisija meni, da ne odgovarja povračilu, ki bi ga investitor, ki deluje v normalnih pogojih trga, lahko pričakoval.
According to the Commission’s estimates on the basis of Carsid’s forecast cash flow, under the most optimistic hypothesis and the most favourable one for Carsid (100 % capacity utilisation, constant costs as from […], continuous operation after […]), the internal rate of return on the investment is […], which is well below the minimum rate required in view of the risk and, at all events, below the rate indicated by the Belgian authorities for an investment in the steel industry […].
Po ocenah Komisije na osnovi predvidenega denarnega toka družbe Carsid, z najbolj optimistično in najugodnejšo predpostavko za Carsid (uporaba do 100 % kapacitete, stalni stroški od […], kontinuiteta obratovanja po […]), TRI investicije je […], kar je veliko manj od minimalne zahtevane stopnje, upoštevajoč tveganje in, v vsakem primeru, od stopnje, ki jo belgijski organi navajajo za investicije v jeklarskem sektorju […].
Furthermore, in view of the sensitivity of Carsid’s performance to the quantities produced, which in their turn depend on the market situation, this rate will be lower.
Še več, ta stopnja bo še nižja, če se upošteva odvisnost rezultatov družbe Carsid od proizvedenih količin, ki pa so odvisne od tržnih razmer.
In point of fact the rate of […] referred to in recital 71 is higher than that resulting from the calculation which had been carried out by the Belgian authorities in their letter of 7 May 2002 (see recital 50) using a different methodology.
Pravzaprav je stopnja […], omenjena v točki 71, višja od stopnje, ki izhaja iz izračuna, ki so ga naredili belgijski organi v svojem pismu z dne 7. maja 2002 (glej uvodno izjavo (50)) z uporabo druge metodologije.
The Commission cannot accept the calculations subsequently carried out by the Belgian authorities (see recital 51) since they significantly over-estimate the terminal value of the investment.
Komisija ne more sprejeti izračunov, ki so jih naknadno naredili belgijski organi (glej uvodno izjavo (51)), v kolikor ti izračuni znatno precenjujejo končno vrednost investicije.
The terminal values used by the Belgian authorities resulting respectively in internal rates of return of […] are obtained by applying double counting for the items depreciations, provisions, investment and residual asset values including stocks; these are already taken into account in the forecast cash flows.
Pravzaprav so končne vrednosti, ki so jih uporabili belgijski organi, da so prišli do TRI […], dobljene z dvojnim knjiženjem pri postavkah amortizacij, zalog, investicije, kot tudi preostalih vrednosti aktive, vključno z zalogami; kajti, te postavke so že knjižene v predvidenem denarnem toku.
Furthermore, the Belgian authorities’ calculation does not take account of the fact that, assuming liquidation of the company, the plant could not be realised to the tune of […] of the initial accounting value, as the Belgian authorities estimate.
Izračun belgijskih organov prav tako ne upošteva tega, da s predpostavko likvidacije podjetja oprema ne bi mogla biti realizirana v višini […] začetne knjigovodske vrednosti, kot to ocenjujejo belgijski organi.