natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The Commission also takes into account the necessity of the aid by reference to the risks associated with the project in the country concerned as well as to the deficiencies of the company, such as those faced by SMEs.
Komisija upošteva tudi potrebo po pomoči glede na tveganja, povezana s projektom v zadevni državi, in glede na pomanjkljivosti podjetja, kot so tiste, s katerimi se srečujejo mala in srednja podjetja.
One other criterion relates to a possible positive regional impact.
Dodatno merilo pa je povezano z možnim pozitivnim regionalnim učinkom.
Lastly, the Commission excludes any aid to export-related activities.
Poleg tega Komisija izključuje vsako pomoč za dejavnosti, povezane z izvozom.
In this connection the Commission noted that, as the investment was taking place in a Member State of the European Union, the impact of the aid on the Community market was likely to be greater than in the case of aid for a project in a third country.
V zvezi s tem je Komisija navedla, da bo verjetno učinek pomoči, ker gre za naložbo v državi članici Evropske unije, na trg Skupnosti večji, kot če bi bila pomoč dodeljena za projekt v tretji državi.
The Commission also questioned what the impact would be on employment and other factors for the regions concerned or indeed for the relevant industries in both Member States, as well as whether the same project would receive aid from Poland.
Komisijo je tudi zanimalo, kakšen bo učinek na zaposlovanje in druge dejavnike v zadevnih regijah ali dejansko v zadevnih gospodarskih panogah v obeh državah članicah ter ali bo isti projekt prejel pomoč od Poljske.
It was also doubtful whether the aid was necessary and/or provided any incentive for the applicant to carry out the investment since the project had been completed even before ORFAMA applied for State aid.
Obstajali so tudi dvomi o tem, ali je pomoč potrebna in/ali prosilcu sploh daje kakšno spodbudo, da izvede naložbo, saj je bil projekt zaključen, preden je ORFAMA zaprosila za državno pomoč.
Lastly, the Commission questioned whether the project could qualify as ‘initial investment’ within the meaning of the Commission national regional aid guidelines [5].
Nazadnje je Komisijo zanimalo, ali bi projekt lahko pomenil „začetno naložbo“ v smislu smernic Komisije o državni regionalni pomoči.
It requested Portugal to submit comments and provide any information that might help with the assessment of the case.
Zaprosila je Portugalsko, naj predloži pripombe in posreduje vse informacije, ki bi lahko pomagale pri oceni primera.
COMMENTS SUBMITTED BY THE PORTUGUESE AUTHORITIES
PRIPOMBE, KI SO JIH PREDLOŽILE PORTUGALSKE OBLASTI
The Portuguese authorities noted that, although the investment took place within the European Union, it contributed to strengthening economic links with Eastern European markets.
Portugalske oblasti so navedle, da naložba, čeprav je bila izvedena v Evropski uniji, prispeva h krepitvi gospodarskih vezi z vzhodnoevropskimi trgi.
They stated that ORFAMA, Archimode and Wartatex were located in assisted regions with high unemployment rates.
Navedle so tudi, da so podjetja ORFAMA, Archimode in Wartatex v regijah prejemnicah pomoči z visoko stopnjo brezposelnosti.
The textile industry accounts for 331000 jobs in Poland and 95446 jobs in Portugal.
Na Poljskem je v tekstilni industriji 331000 delovnih mest, na Portugalskem pa 95446.
Employment rates in the industry declined by 15 percentage points between 2000 and 2003 in Portugal.
V obdobju od leta 2000 do 2003 se je na Portugalskem stopnja zaposlenosti v tej panogi znižala za 15 odstotnih točk.
The Portuguese authorities considered that, in this context, ORFAMA’s investment contributed to maintaining employment in both the source and the host country and would have a positive impact on the regions concerned.
Portugalske oblasti so v povezavi s tem menile, da naložba ORFAME prispeva k ohranitvi delovnih mest v izvorni državi in državi gostiteljici ter bo zato pozitivno vplivala na zadevni regiji.
The aid would compensate ORFAMA for part of this effort.
S to pomočjo bi ORFAMA pokrila del teh finančnih sredstev.
The project also aims to modernize production and information technologies in the Polish companies with a view to increasing productivity and improving product quality and energy efficiency.
Projekt je namenjen tudi posodobitvi proizvodne in informacijske tehnologije v poljskih podjetjih, da bi se povečala produktivnost ter izboljšali kakovost izdelkov in energetska učinkovitost.
ORFAMA intended to replace industrial equipment.
ORFAMA je nameravala zamenjati industrijsko opremo.
In the opinion of the Portuguese authorities, the project thus contributes to facilitating the development of an economic activity within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty.
Po mnenju portugalskih oblasti projekt tako pripomore k spodbujanju razvoja gospodarske dejavnosti v smislu člena 87(3)(c) Pogodbe ES.
Lastly, the Portuguese authorities argued that the aid would not have a negative impact on intra-Community trade.
Na koncu so portugalske oblasti zatrdile, da pomoč ne bo negativno vplivala na trgovanje med državami članicami Skupnosti.
The investment in question concerned simply consolidates a pre-existing commercial relationship, from a subcontracting situation to one of ownership.
Zadevna naložba preprosto krepi že prej vzpostavljen poslovni odnos, in sicer s prehodom s podizvajalskega v lastniški odnos.
In support of this argument, the Portuguese authorities provided statistics showing that between 1999 (when the investment took place) and 2003 ORFAMA’s sales in Poland remained stable.
V podporo tej utemeljitvi so portugalske oblasti predložile statistične podatke, ki kažejo, da je v obdobju od leta 1999 (ko je bila naložba izvedena) do 2003 prodaja ORFAME na Poljskem ostala stabilna.
In the same period ORFAMA’s overall sales in the EU actually declined.
V enakem obdobju pa se je celotna prodaja ORFAME v EU dejansko zmanjšala.
Similarly, Poland’s own exports to the EU of the products concerned also declined during this period.
Podobno se je v tem obdobju zmanjšal tudi izvoz zadevnih proizvodov iz Poljske v EU.
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, in so far as it affects trade between Member States, be incompatible with the common market’.
Na podlagi člena 87(1) Pogodbe ES je „vsaka pomoč, ki jo dodeli država članica, ali kakršna koli vrsta pomoči iz državnih sredstev, ki izkrivlja ali bi lahko izkrivljala konkurenco z dajanjem prednosti posameznim podjetjem ali proizvodnji posameznega blaga, nezdružljiva s skupnim trgom, kolikor prizadene trgovino med državami članicami“.
The Commission, in its decision of 6 December 2004, concluded that the aid fell within the scope of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty for the following reasons: by helping ORFAMA to carry out an investment in Poland, the notified measure favours a certain undertaking or the production of certain goods; the industry concerned (textiles) is the subject of substantial trade within the European Union and the aid may thus distort competition there; and the aid is financed through state resources.
Komisija je v svoji odločitvi z dne 6. decembra 2004 sklenila, da pomoč spada v področje člena 87(1) Pogodbe ES iz naslednjih razlogov: ker pomaga ORFAMI izvesti naložbo na Poljskem, prijavljeni ukrep koristi posameznemu podjetju ali proizvodnji posameznega blaga; v zadevni gospodarski panogi (tekstil) poteka precejšen promet v Evropski uniji in zaradi pomoči se lahko tu izkrivlja konkurenca; pomoč se financira iz državnih virov.
These conclusions have not been contested by the Portuguese authorities and are hereby confirmed.
Teh sklepov portugalske oblasti niso izpodbijale, zato so potrjeni.
The Commission indicated that it would assess the compatibility of the aid with the EC Treaty in the light of the derogation under Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, which authorises aid ‘to facilitate the development of certain economic activities’ where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
Komisija je navedla, da bo ocenila združljivost pomoči s Pogodbo ES glede odstopanja v okviru člena 87(3)(c) Pogodbe, ki dovoljuje pomoč „za spodbujanje razvoja nekaterih gospodarskih dejavnosti“, če taka pomoč nima negativnega učinka na pogoje trgovanja v takem obsegu, da bi bil v nasprotju s skupnim interesom.
It must, therefore, assess whether the aid will contribute to the development of fashion knitwear and clothing production and/or other economic activities in the European Union without adversely affecting trading conditions between Member States.
Zato mora oceniti, ali bo pomoč prispevala k razvoju proizvodnje modnih pletenin in oblačil in/ali drugih gospodarskih dejavnosti v Evropski uniji, ne da bi to imelo negativen učinek na pogoje trgovanja med državami članicami.
In the decision to initiate the procedure, the Commission also noted that it would take into account certain criteria which it had applied in previous cases of aid to large companies for outward foreign direct investment projects (see paragraph 16) with a view to striking a balance between the benefits of the measure in terms of contributing to the international competitiveness of the EU industry concerned (e.g. whether the aid is necessary by reference to the risks associated with the project in the country of investment) and its possible negative effects on the EU market.
Komisija je v odločitvi za sprožitev postopka navedla tudi, da bo upoštevala nekatera merila, ki jih je uporabila v prejšnjih primerih pomoči večjim podjetjem za projekte domačih neposrednih naložb v tujini (glej odstavek 16), da bi našla ravnotežje med koristmi ukrepa v smislu prispevanja k mednarodni konkurenčnosti zadevne gospodarske panoge v EU (to pomeni, ali je pomoč potrebna glede na tveganja, povezana s projektom v državi naložbe) in njenimi možnimi negativnimi učinki na trg EU.
The necessity of the aid
Potreba po pomoči
As a general principle of State aid legislation, in order for aid to be compatible with the common market, it must be demonstrated that the aid leads to an additional activity by the beneficiary which would not be carried out without the aid.
Splošno načelo zakonodaje o državni pomoči je, da mora biti dokazano, da upravičenec s prejemom pomoči uvede dodatno dejavnost, ki brez pomoči ne bi bila uvedena, da se lahko pomoč šteje kot združljiva s skupnim trgom.
Otherwise, the aid would simply distort without having any positive counter-effect.
Sicer bi pomoč preprosto povzročila izkrivljanje in ne bi imela kakršnega koli pozitivnega nasprotnega učinka.
The Commission doubted already in the decision to initiate the procedure that the aid was necessary for ORFAMA to carry out this investment.
Komisija je že v odločitvi o sprožitvi postopka podvomila o tem, da ORFAMA pomoč potrebuje za izvedbo te naložbe.
According to the information available, ORFAMA is a well-established producer in the EU market, producing for well-known brands as well as under its own brand.
Sodeč po razpoložljivih informacijah je ORFAMA uveljavljeno proizvodno podjetje na trgu EU, ki proizvaja za znane blagovne znamke in tudi pod svojo blagovno znamko.
The Portuguese authorities argued here that this was the first foreign direct investment project of ORFAMA and that the project involved risks relating to structural and cyclical aspects of the Polish market (namely the fact that Poland was in the process of negotiating accession to the European Union) and to conditions inherent in the structural factors of the promoter and of the country of origin.
Portugalske oblasti so v tem primeru trdile, da je to prvi projekt neposredne tuje naložbe, ki ga je izvedla ORFAMA, ter da projekt vključuje tveganja, povezana s strukturnimi in cikličnimi vidiki poljskega trga (namreč dejstvo, da je bila Poljska v postopku pogajanj za pristop k Evropski uniji) ter s pogoji, ki so povezani s strukturnimi dejavniki promotorja in države izvora.
However, they did not specify the exact form that such risks took.
Niso pa natančno opredelile oblike, ki jo imajo taka tveganja.
The Portuguese authorities considered that the necessity of the aid was justified by the fact that this was the first foreign direct investment project of ORFAMA.
Portugalske oblasti so menile, da je potreba po pomoči upravičena z dejstvom, da je to prvi projekt neposredne tuje naložbe, ki ga je izvedla ORFAMA.
The Commission, however, notes here that ORFAMA’s business relations with Archimode and Wartatex started in the 1990s, when ORFAMA began producing garments under a subcontracting arrangements with these companies.
Komisija pa navaja, da je začela ORFAMA sklepati poslovne odnose s podjetjema Archimode in Wartatex v devetdesetih letih, ko je začela izdelovati oblačila v okviru podizvajalskih dogovorov s tema podjetjema.
In 1995 these two Polish companies already accounted for some 30 % of ORFAMA’s turnover.
Leta 1995 sta obe poljski podjetji že ustvarili približno 30 % prometa v ORFAMI.
ORFAMA was therefore familiar with the functioning of these companies before carrying out the project and thus has experience of both the Polish and international markets.
ORFAMA je bila seznanjena z delovanjem teh podjetij pred izvedbo projekta ter ima zato izkušnje s poljskim in mednarodnim trgom.
Indeed, the beneficiary’s objective of expanding production and gaining access to the Polish and neighbouring markets was already partly met even prior to acquiring these companies or applying for aid.
Dejansko je bil cilj upravičenca, da razširi proizvodnjo ter pridobi dostop do poljskega in sosednjih trgov, delno izpolnjen že pred prevzemom teh podjetij ali predložitvijo vloge za pomoč.
Portugal itself seemed to confirm this assessment when it stated in the notification that ORFAMA’s decision to invest in Poland was determined partly by the knowledge that the beneficiary already had of the Polish market and of the companies it acquired, thereby limiting the risks associated with the investment.
Zdi se, da je Portugalska sama potrdila to oceno, ko je v prijavi navedla, da je bila odločitev ORFAME o naložbi na Poljskem delno sprejeta tudi zato, ker je upravičenec že poznal poljski trg in podjetji, ki ju je prevzel, s čimer je omejil tveganja, povezana z naložbo.
The Commission, therefore, considers that the investment in question was essentially a financial operation for acquiring the Polish companies concerned in the context of an existing commercial relationship, rather than a first substantive foreign investment [6].
Komisija zato meni, da je bila zadevna naložba dejansko finančna operacija za prevzem zadevnih poljskih podjetij v smislu obstoječega poslovnega odnosa in ne prva večja tuja naložba [6].
The Commission also emphasises that ORFAMA applied for the aid only after the project had been completed and so did not comply with the ‘incentive effect’ criterion normally required by the Community rules on national regional aid [7].
Komisija tudi poudarja, da je ORFAMA zaprosila za pomoč šele po dokončanem projektu in tako ni izpolnila merila „spodbujevalnega učinka“, ki ga navadno zahtevajo pravila Skupnosti o državni regionalni pomoči.
It also notes that ORFAMA was apparently able to finance the investment out of own resources and by resorting to commercial loans obtained even before it applied for the aid.
Prav tako navaja, da je bila ORFAMA očitno sposobna financirati naložbo z lastnimi sredstvi in uporabo komercialnih posojil, pridobljenih, preden je zaprosila za pomoč.
Accordingly, the Commission concludes that Portugal has failed to demonstrate that the proposed aid is necessary to compensate for any specific risks associated with the project.
Zato Komisija sklepa, da Portugalska ni dokazala, da je predlagana pomoč potrebna kot nadomestilo za vsa posebna tveganja, povezana s projektom.
The impact of the aid on the Community market
Učinek pomoči na trg Skupnosti
The Commission has maintained in previous cases that aid for foreign direct investment is likely to strengthen the beneficiary’s overall financial and strategic position and thus affect its relative position with regard to competitors on the EU market [8].
Komisija je v prejšnjih primerih vztrajala, da lahko pomoč za neposredne tuje naložbe okrepi celotni finančni in strateški položaj upravičenca ter tako vpliva na njegov relativni položaj glede na konkurente na trgu EU. [8]
Portugal has argued in this respect that the objective of the investment is to allow ORFAMA to expand production, which has reached its capacity limits in Portugal, and to increase productivity by taking advantage of lower costs and a generally skilled and younger workforce in Poland.
Portugalska je v zvezi s tem zatrjevala, da je cilj naložbe omogočiti ORFAMI širitev proizvodnje, ki je na Portugalskem že dosegla svoje meje zmogljivosti, ter povečanje produktivnosti z izkoriščanjem nižjih stroškov in uporabo na splošno usposobljene in mlajše delovne sile na Poljskem.
However, according to the Portuguese authorities, this project will also contribute to strengthening the European industry concerned by increasing the supply of products of EU origin and by promoting EU brands in the face of increasing competition from imports.
Vendar pa bo po mnenju portugalskih oblasti ta projekt tudi krepil zadevno evropsko gospodarsko panogo s povečanjem ponudbe izdelkov z izvorom v EU in s pospeševanjem trženja blagovnih znamk EU kljub vse večji konkurenci iz uvoza.
For Portugal, granting aid to companies such as ORFAMA (and, indirectly, Archimode and Wartatex) is essential to ensuring that the EU textile industry remains competitive on EU and international markets.
Za Portugalsko je odobritev pomoči podjetjem, kot je ORFAMA (in posredno Archimode in Wartatex), pomembna za zagotovitev ohranitve konkurenčnosti tekstilne industrije EU na trgu EU in na mednarodnih trgih.
The Commission notes, however, that the present investment is located in a country (Poland) that is now a member of the EU.
Komisija pa ugotavlja, da je zadevna naložba uporabljena v državi (Poljska), ki je zdaj članica Evropske unije.
The aid would affect a sector (textiles) which is presently under considerable pressure from the liberalisation of imports in January 2005.
Pomoč bi lahko vplivala na sektor (tekstil), ki je od januarja 2005 pod precejšnjim pritiskom zaradi liberalizacije uvoza.
Other EU companies may be interested in reorganising themselves along similar lines to ORFAMA and the aid would thus give ORFAMA an advantage in comparison with companies that do not benefit from such aid.
Druga podjetja iz EU morda zanima preoblikovanje po podobnih smernicah, kot je to storila ORFAMA, in pomoč bi tako ORFAMI zagotovila prednost v primerjavi s podjetji, ki nimajo koristi od take pomoči.
Portugal also stressed that the aid would benefit employment in both the Portuguese and the Polish regions concerned (Braga and Lodz respectively), which are assisted regions with high unemployment rates (see paragraph 20), but did not specify the way in which the aid could have an impact on employment in those regions.
Portugalska je tudi poudarila, da bi pomoč koristila zaposlovanju v zadevni portugalski in poljski regiji (Braga oziroma Lodz), ki sta regiji prejemnici pomoči z visoko stopnjo brezposelnosti (glej odstavek 20), vendar ni opredelila načina, kako bi lahko pomoč vplivala na zaposlovanje v teh regijah.
Lastly, the Commission notes that, even if the investment by ORFAMA could have a positive impact on the regions concerned (which was not demonstrated), this cannot, in principle, be attributable to the aid since, as explained above, the aid has no incentive effect in this case as the project was concluded prior to ORFAMA’s requesting the aid and was not necessary to carry out the investment.
Nazadnje Komisija ugotavlja, da tudi če bi lahko imela naložba ORFAME pozitiven učinek na zadevne regije (kar ni bilo dokazano), se to načeloma ne more pripisati pomoči, ker pomoč, kot je zgoraj opisano, nima spodbujevalnega učinka v tem primeru, saj je bil projekt zaključen, preden je ORFAMA zahtevala pomoč, in ta ni bila nujna za izvedbo naložbe.
When assessing the compatibility of aid, the Commission takes a close look at the balance between its positive and negative effects and determines whether its beneficial effects for the Community outweigh its negative effects on competition and trade on the Community market.
Pri ocenjevanju združljivosti pomoči Komisija natančno prouči ravnotežje med njenimi pozitivnimi in negativnimi učinki ter odloči, ali njeni koristni učinki za Skupnost prevladajo nad njenimi negativnimi učinki na konkurenco in trgovino na trgu Skupnosti.
On the basis of the above, it is not convinced that granting aid to ORFAMA in respect of its investment in Poland would help to improve the competitiveness of the European industry or would have a positive impact on the EU regions concerned.
Na podlagi zgoraj navedenega Komisija ni prepričana, da bi odobritev pomoči ORFAMI v zvezi z njeno naložbo na Poljskem pomagala izboljšati konkurenčnost evropske industrijske panoge ali imela pozitiven učinek na zadevne regije EU.
On the contrary, the aid would be likely to strengthen the position of the beneficiary to the detriment of its competitors not receiving State aid in a market that is characterised by intensive competition and trade.
Nasprotno pa bi lahko pomoč okrepila položaj upravičenca v škodo njegovih konkurentov, ki ne prejemajo državne pomoči na trgu, za katerega sta značilna intenzivna konkurenca in trgovina.
Therefore, the Commission considers that the aid does not have any positive effects for the Community that would outweigh its negative impact on competition and trade on the Community market.
Zato Komisija meni, da pomoč nima pozitivnih učinkov za Skupnost, ki bi prevladali nad njenimi negativnimi učinki na konkurenco in trgovino na trgu Skupnosti.
On the basis of the above, the Commission concludes that the Portuguese authorities have failed to demonstrate that the aid is necessary for ORFAMA to carry out the investment concerned.
Na podlagi zgoraj navedenega Komisija ugotavlja, da portugalske oblasti niso dokazale, da ORFAMA potrebuje pomoč pri izvedbi zadevne naložbe.
The aid would thus simply have a distorting effect on competition in the common market without contributing to any additional activity on the part of the beneficiary.
Učinek pomoči bi tako bil preprosto ta, da bi izkrivljala konkurenco na skupnem trgu, ne da bi prispevala k temu, da bi upravičenec uvedel dodatno dejavnost.
On this basis, the aid cannot be considered to facilitate the development of an economic activity within the meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty without adversely affecting trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest and is therefore incompatible with the common market,
Na tej podlagi se pomoč ne more obravnavati kot spodbuda za razvoj gospodarske dejavnosti v smislu člena 87(3)(c) Pogodbe ES, ne da bi imela negativen učinek na pogoje trgovanja v takem obsegu, ki bi bil v nasprotju s skupnim interesom, in je zato nezdružljiva s skupnim trgom –
The tax incentive of EUR 921752 proposed by Portugal for ORFAMA (Organização Fabril de Malhas S.A.) for its investment in Poland is incompatible with the common market since it does not meet the criteria under Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty and must not therefore be implemented.
Davčna spodbuda v višini 921752 EUR, ki jo je predlagala Portugalska za podjetje ORFAMA (Organização Fabril de Malhas S.A.) za naložbo na Poljskem, je nezdružljiva s skupnim trgom, ker ne izpolnjuje meril iz člena 87(3)(c) Pogodbe ES, in se zato ne sme izvesti.
Done at Brussels, 7 March 2007.
v Bruslju, dne 7. marca 2007
OJ C 14, 20.1.2005, p. 2.
UL C 14, 20.1.2005, str. 2.
All figures as provided in the notification.
Vse številke so v skladu z navedbami v prijavi.
See point 4.4 of the Guidelines on national regional aid (OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p. 9).
Glej točko 4.4 „Smernic o državni regionalni pomoči“ ( UL C 74, 10.3.1998, str. 9).