natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The competent authority, namely the Support Fund for Radio Broadcasting (SFRB), can grant three types of aid:
Pristojni organ, in sicer sklad pomoči za radijsko oddajanje („Fonds de soutien à l'expression radiophonique“), lahko dodeli tri vrste pomoči:
an installation grant for community radio stations recently licensed by the High Audiovisual Council, which cannot exceed a ceiling specified in a scale;
pomoč za ustanovitev lokalnih radijskih postaj, katerih delovanje je na novo odobril nadzorni odbor za avdiovizualno politiko („Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel“), ki ne sme presegati zgornje meje, določene v tabeli s tarifami;
an operating grant representing an amount specified in a scale which starts progressively and then becomes degressive, established by the committee responsible for granting the subsidies. The committee can increase the amount within predefined limits by taking into account the beneficiary’s achievements relating to internal management and educational, community and cultural projects or local social communication;
pomoč za tekoče poslovanje v znesku, določenem na podlagi sprva naraščajoče, nato pa padajoče tabele s tarifami, ki jo izdela svetovalni odbor, odgovoren za dodelitev pomoči, ter ki ga bo lahko poveča v okviru določenih omejitev, pri čemer bo upošteval prizadevanja postaje na področju notranjega upravljanja in prizadevanje na področju izobraževanja, lokalne skupnosti in kulture ali družbenega komuniciranja znotraj lokalne skupnosti;
an equipment grant paying for up to 50 % of the cost of renewing the equipment of eligible radio stations. This can be awarded only once every five years and cannot exceed the ceiling specified in a scale.
pomoč za opremo, ki v višini do 50 % prispeva k financiranju obnove opreme za upravičene radijske postaje ter se lahko dodeli le vsakih pet let in ne sme presegati zgornje meje, določene v tabeli s tarifami.
The scheme has been in place since 1989 and has been subject to several changes, all notified to and approved by the Commission in 1990, 1992, 1997 and 2003, respectively.
Shema je vzpostavljena od leta 1989 in je bila večkrat spremenjena, pri čemer so bile vse spremembe priglašene Komisiji, ki jih je odobrila leta 1990, 1992, 1997 in 2003.
Beneficiaries of the aid scheme
Upravičenci sheme pomoči
The draft decree notified by the French authorities concerns the implementation of the aid scheme set out in Article 80 of Law No 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 on freedom of communication, as amended by Article 25 of Law No 89-25 of 17 January 1989 and Article 27 of Law No 90-1170 of 29 December 1990, which provides as follows:
Z osnutkom, ki so ga priglasili francoski organi, se izvaja shema pomoči, kot je določena v členu 80 zakona št. 86-1067 z dne 30. septembra 1986 o svobodi sporočanja, kakor je bil spremenjen s členom 25 zakona št. 89-25 z dne 17. januarja 1989 in členom 27 zakona št. 90-1170 z dne 29. decembra 1990, ki določa:
‘Radio broadcasting services whose commercial revenue from broadcasting brand or sponsorship advertising represents less than 20 % of their total turnover shall benefit from aid in accordance with the rules laid down by decree of the Council of State.
„Za radijske storitve, katerih komercialni prihodki od oddaj z oglasnimi ali sponzorskimi sporočili ne dosegajo 20 odstotkov celotnega prometa, se v skladu s pravili, določenimi v odloku Conseil d’État, odobri pomoč.
The aid scheme shall be financed by a charge levied on resources obtained from radio and television advertising broadcasts.
Za financiranje te pomoči se pobira dajatev na prihodke od radijskega in televizijskega oglaševanja.
The remuneration received by the radio broadcasting services for messages aimed at supporting community or general interest projects shall not be taken into account when determining the ceiling referred to in the first paragraph of this section.’
Pristojbine, namenjene radijskim storitvam v povezavi z oddajami za podporo kolektivnih ukrepov ali ukrepov v javnem interesu, se ne upoštevajo pri določitvi zgornje meje iz odstavka 1 tega člena.“
Method of financing the aid scheme
Način financiranja sheme pomoči
As regards the financing component of the aid scheme, Article 1 of the draft decree notified by the French authorities on 2 October 1997 which became Decree No 97-1263 of 29 December 1997, introducing a parafiscal charge to be paid into a support fund for radio broadcasting [9], states:
Kar zadeva financiranje sheme pomoči, osnutek, ki so ga francoski organi priglasili 2. oktobra 1997, ki je postal odlok št. 97-1263 z dne 29. decembra 1997 o uveljavitvi parafiskalne dajatve v korist skladu pomoči za radijsko oddajanje [9], v členu 1 določa:
‘With effect from 1 January 1998, a parafiscal charge on advertisements broadcast on sound radio and television (“the charge on advertising companies”) shall be introduced for a period of five years to fund an aid scheme for the benefit of those holding a licence to provide sound radio broadcasting services in respect of which the commercial revenue deriving from broadcasts of brand or sponsorship advertising is less than 20 % of the total turnover.
„Z učinkom od 1. januarja 1998 se za financiranje sklada za pomoč v korist imetnikov dovoljenja za radijske storitve, katerih komercialni prihodki od oddaj z oglasnimi ali sponzorskimi sporočili ne dosegajo 20 odstotkov celotnega prometa, za obdobje petih let uvede parafiskalna dajatev na radijsko in televizijsko oglaševanje (v nadaljnjem besedilu: dajatev na oglaševanje).
The objective of this charge is to promote radio broadcasting.’
Cilj te dajatve je spodbujanje radijskega oddajanja.“
Article 2 of the same decree states:
Člen 2 tega odloka določa:
The rate of tax shall be determined in a joint order by the Ministers responsible for Budget and Communications and shall be paid in stages on the basis of the quarterly revenue of the companies liable for the charge and the following upper limits shall apply:
Tarifa za dajatev se določi s skupno odločbo ministrov, pristojnih za proračun in za komunikacije, in sicer po stopnjah glede na prihodke zavezancev za dajatev po četrtletjih, pri tem pa veljajo te zgornje meje:
Article 4 of the same decree provides that the charge referred to in Article 2 is to be levied, collected and recovered by the Directorate-General for Taxation for the radio broadcasting support fund, in accordance with the same rules, guarantees and penalties as those referring to the VAT.
V členu 4 tega odloka je določeno, da dajatev iz člena 2 izračuna, določi in pobere davčna uprava v korist sklada pomoči za radijsko oddajanje na podlagi istih pravil, jamstev in sankcij, kot veljajo za davek na dodano vrednost.
These provisions have been amended following the change in the aid scheme notified to the Commission and approved by the decision of 28 July 2003 [10].
Te določbe so bile spremenjene ob spremembi sheme pomoči, priglašene Komisiji in odobrene z odločbo z dne 28. julija 2003 [10].
Under the new rules, the parafiscal charge applies only to companies established on French territory.
Po novih pravilih parafiskalna dajatev zadeva le oglaševalske agencije s sedežem na francoskem ozemlju.
In 1997, by Decision N 679/97, the Commission approved a change in the aid scheme consisting in a financing mechanism based on a parafiscal charge levied on radio and television advertising broadcasts.
Komisija je leta 1997 z odločbo št. N 679/97 odobrila spremembo sheme pomoči, ki zajema mehanizem financiranja s parafiskalno dajatvijo na radijsko in televizijsko oglaševanje.
That decision did not include any assessment of the method of financing.
Ta odločba pa ne vsebuje nobene analize metode financiranja.
The 1997 decision was in force until 2003, when it was replaced by a new positive decision, Decision NN 42/03 [11].
Odločba iz leta 1997 je učinkovala do leta 2003, ko jo je zamenjala nova odločba o odobritvi št. NN42/03 [11].
The judgment [12] of the Court of Justice, delivered on 22 December 2008, declared that the 1997 decision was invalid on the grounds that the Commission had omitted to assess the method of financing the measure under investigation.
Sodišče EU je s sodbo [12] z dne 22. decembra 2008 odločbo iz leta 1997 razveljavilo z razlogom, da Komisija, kljub temu da bi morala oceniti metodo financiranja proučevanega ukrepa, tega ni storila.
Under paragraph 89 of its judgment, the Court pointed out that consideration of an aid measure by the Commission must necessarily also take into account the method of financing the aid in cases where that method forms an integral part of the measure.
Dejansko je Sodišče EU v točki 89 svoje sodbe opozorilo, da mora Komisija pri proučitvi ukrepa pomoči nujno upoštevati način financiranja pomoči, če je sestavni del ukrepa.
Under paragraph 99 of its judgment, the Court stated that for a tax to be regarded as forming an integral part of an aid measure, it must be hypothecated to the aid under the relevant national rules, in the sense that the revenue from the charge is necessarily allocated for the financing of the aid and has a direct impact on the amount of the aid and, consequently, on the assessment of the compatibility of that aid with the internal market.
Sodišče EU v točki 99 svoje sodbe jasno navaja, da je dajatev sestavni del ukrepa pomoči, kadar v skladu z upoštevno nacionalno zakonodajo med zadevno dajatvijo in pomočjo obstaja neločljiva vsebinska povezava, tako da so prihodki iz dajatve nujno namenjeni financiranju pomoči in neposredno vplivajo na njeno višino, in zato na presojo združljivosti te pomoči z notranjim trgom.
After having verified that all the requirements have been met in that case, the Court concluded, under paragraph 112 of its judgment, that the charge on advertising companies forms an integral part of the radio broadcasting aid scheme which that charge is intended to finance.
Potem ko je Sodišče EU preverilo, da so bili vsi ti pogoji v tej zadevi izpolnjeni, v točki 112 svoje sodbe navaja, da je dajatev na oglaševanje sestavni del sheme pomoči za radijsko oddajanje, ki se financira s to dajatvijo.
Accordingly, the Commission should have taken that charge into account when it examined the aid scheme in question, which it omitted to do in Decision NN 42/03.
Komisija bi tako morala to dajatev nujno upoštevati pri preizkusu zadevne sheme pomoči, česar pa v svoji odločbi št. NN 42/03 ni storila.
Following the judgment declaring that the Commission Decision of 10 November 1997 was invalid, the Commission took all the necessary measures to rectify the illegality identified and has re-examined the information provided by the French authorities.
Komisija je po sodbi, s katero je bila razveljavljena odločba Komisije z dne 10. novembra 1997, sprejela vse potrebne ukrepe za odpravo ugotovljenega nezakonitega stanja ter je ponovno proučila informacije, ki jih je prejela od francoskih organov.
Consequently, on 11 February 2009 the Commission initiated the formal investigation procedure in accordance with Article 108(2) TFEU, under procedure number C4/2009 [13].
Komisija je zato 11. februarja 2009 sprožila formalni postopek preiskave v skladu s členom 108(2) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije pod številko postopka C4/2009 [13].
By letter of 23 April 2009 the French authorities submitted the following comments to the Commission:
Komisija je z dopisom z dne 23. aprila 2009 prejela naslednje pripombe francoskih organov:
An annual average of EUR 20 million was collected and paid during the period in question, and distributed to over 500 recipients.
Znesek zbranih in izplačanih sredstev za zadevno obdobje znaša letno v povprečju 20 milijonov EUR, ki se razdelijo med več kot 500 upravičencev.
It is not disputed that the parafiscal charge has also been paid by foreign operators providing radio broadcasting services in France delivered by radio stations or companies established in other Member States, but it would be impossible to identify them.
Neizpodbitno je, da so tuji operaterji, ki opravljajo storitve radijskega oddajanja v Franciji iz radijskih postaj ali oglaševalskih agencij s sedežem v drugih državah članicah, prav tako plačali parafiskalno dajatev, vendar ni mogoče ugotoviti njihove istovetnosti.
The aid cannot give rise to any recovery primarily for two reasons: first, the aid scheme was duly notified to and approved by the Commission on several occasions, which gave its recipients legitimate expectations; secondly, given the current financial situation of the recipients it would be impossible for the French authorities to recover the amounts paid.
Pomoči ni mogoče izterjati zlasti iz dveh razlogov: prvič, shema pomoči je bila ustrezno priglašena, Komisija pa jo je večkrat odobrila, kar naj bi upravičencem vzbudilo upravičena pričakovanja. Drugič, finančni položaj upravičencev glede na sedanji okvir bi onemogočil, da bi francoski organi izterjali izplačane zneske.
The assessment of the aid scheme in question is based on Article 107(3) TFEU.
Presoja zadevne sheme pomoči temelji na členu 107(3) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije.
Existence of aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU
Obstoj pomoči v smislu člena 107(1) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije
Article 107(1) TFEU provides as follows:
Člen 107(1) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije določa, da:
‘Save as otherwise provided in the Treaties, 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 internal market.’
„Razen če pogodba ne določa drugače, 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 z notranjim trgom, kolikor prizadene trgovino med državami članicami.“
Examination of this case according to the conditions laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU.
Analiza te zadeve glede na pogoje iz člena 107(1) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije.
Aid granted by the State or through State resources
Pomoč, ki jo odobri država iz državnih sredstev
The aid scheme is financed by resources obtained from a parafiscal charge provided for by legislative and regulatory provisions, collected by the tax authorities and levied on radio and television advertising broadcasts.
Shema pomoči se financira iz sredstev, zbranih s parafiskalnimi dajatvami, določenimi v veljavni zakonodaji in predpisih, ki jih pobira davčna uprava, obračunajo pa se na radijsko in televizijsko oglaševanje.
The aid is therefore granted through French State resources.
Pomoč se torej odobri iz državnih sredstev Francije.
Distortion or the threat to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods
Vpliv izkrivljanja ali morebitnega izkrivljanja konkurence z dajanjem prednosti posameznim podjetjem ali proizvodnji posameznega blaga
The aid scheme promotes only radio broadcasting services.
Shema pomoči je namenjena izključno storitvam oddajanja prek radijskih valov.
The beneficiaries of the aid scheme are providers of such services whose advertising revenue is less than 20 % of their total turnover.
Upravičenci po shemi pomoči so ponudniki takih storitev, katerih oglaševalski prihodki ne dosegajo 20 odstotkov njihovega celotnega prometa.
These broadcasting services are competing to attract listeners and advertising revenue, in particular with other radio broadcasting services in France whose commercial revenue exceeds this threshold and which do not receive public assistance under the aid scheme.
Storitve teh ponudnikov pomenijo konkurenco glede obsega poslušalcev in oglaševalskih prihodkov zlasti drugim ponudnikom storitev radijskega oddajanja na francoskem ozemlju, katerih komercialni prihodki presegajo zgornjo mejo in ki niso upravičeni do javne podpore v okviru sheme pomoči.
Therefore, the aid in question distorts or at least threatens to distort competition between the service providers receiving the aid and those not receiving it.
Zadevne pomoči torej izkrivljajo ali bi vsaj lahko izkrivljale konkurenco med ponudniki storitev, ki so upravičeni do navedene pomoči, in tistimi, ki niso.
The radio broadcasting services delivered from locations on French territory, for instance by those benefiting under the aid scheme, can also be received in other Member States, albeit only in cross-border areas.
Storitve oddajanja prek radijskih valov, ki jih z ozemlja Francije opravljajo zlasti upravičenci do sheme pomoči, lahko ujamejo tudi druge države članice, čeprav le v obmejnih območjih.
At the same time, the parafiscal charge provided for by the legislative and regulatory provisions notified also applies to the advertising revenue of the services delivered in France from other Member States.
Istočasno se zdi, da se parafiskalna dajatev, določena v priglašeni zakonodaji in predpisih, obračunava tudi na oglaševalske prihodke storitev, ki se opravljajo iz drugih držav članic proti ozemlju Francije.
It follows that trade between Member States is affected or likely to be affected by the aid scheme notified.
Iz tega izhaja, da priglašena shema pomoči vpliva ali bi lahko vplivala na trgovino med državami članicami.
Conclusion on the existence of State aid
Ugotovitve o obstoju državne pomoči
Under these circumstances, the Commission considers that the radio broadcasting aid scheme notified by the French authorities falls within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU.
V teh pogojih Komisija ocenjuje, da za shemo pomoči za radijsko oddajanje, ki so jo priglasili francoski organi, veljajo določbe člena 107(1) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije.
Given that the scheme in question constitutes State aid, the Commission has the duty to examine its compatibility with the internal market.
Če navedena shema pomeni državno pomoč, mora Komisija analizirati združljivost sheme z notranjim trgom.
In accordance with the abovementioned Régie Networks judgment, the charge levied on advertising companies and used to finance the aid in question must be taken into account when assessing the compatibility of the scheme.
V skladu z zgoraj navedeno sodbo v zadevi Régie Networks je treba pri proučitvi združljivosti te sheme upoštevati dajatev na oglaševanje, s katero se financira zadevna pomoč.
Compatibility of the aid in the light of Article 107(2) and (3) TFEU
Združljivost pomoči v skladu s členom 107(2) in (3) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije
Because of its object and scope, the aid measure notified clearly fails to meet the requirements laid down in Article 107(2) TFEU and Article 107(3)(a) and (b) TFEU.
Priglašeni ukrep pomoči glede na predmet in področje uporabe očitno ne izpolnjuje pogojev iz člena 107(2) ter člena 107(3)(a) in (b) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije.
Because its goal is to favour radio stations providing radio broadcasting services on French territory, in particular by assisting those with the lowest advertising revenue, the aid scheme aims to ensure media pluralism on French territory, which is a legitimate general objective.
Shema pomoči skuša z dajanjem prednosti postajam, ki opravljajo storitve oddajanja prek radijskih valov na francoskem ozemlju, zlasti s podpiranjem postaj, katerih oglaševalski prihodki so najnižji, zagotoviti številnost medijev na francoskem ozemlju, kar je legitimen splošen cilj.
Thus, the aid component can be examined from the point of view of the criteria laid down in Article 107(3)(c) TFEU.
Tako bi lahko bila pomoč upravičencem proučena z vidika pogojev iz člena 107(3)(c) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije.
That Article provides as follows: ‘The following may be considered to be compatible with the internal market: (…) aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest (…).’
Ta člen določa: „Kot združljivo z notranjim trgom se lahko šteje naslednje: […] pomoč za pospeševanje razvoja določenih gospodarskih dejavnosti ali določenih gospodarskih območij, kadar takšna pomoč ne spreminja trgovinskih pogojev v obsegu, ki bi bil v nasprotju s skupnimi interesi […]“.
In this case, the Commission must weigh the positive and negative effects of the measure.
V tem primeru mora Komisija uravnotežiti pozitivne in negativne učinke ukrepa.
In its previous decisions, the Commission concluded that the aid scheme in question has positive effects and is compatible with the internal market, in particular because the aid scheme contributes to a clearly specified objective of general interest.
Komisija je v prejšnjih odločbah ugotovila, da ima zadevna shema pomoči pozitivne učinke in da je združljiva z notranjim trgom, zlasti ker ta shema pomoči prispeva k natančno opredeljenemu cilju splošnega interesa.
It aims to promote the plurality of radio stations providing radio broadcasting services on French territory.
Dejansko skuša dajati prednost številnosti postaj, ki opravljajo storitve oddajanja prek radijskih valov na francoskem ozemlju.
It supports small radio stations serving local audiences by taking into account social, cultural and local interests, which is a legitimate general objective.
Podpira manjše postaje z lokalnim poslušalstvom, pri čemer upošteva družbene, kulturne in lokalne interese, kar pomeni legitimen splošen cilj.
Moreover, any distortion of competition potentially caused by the aid scheme favouring these local radio stations is slight and does not change trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
Poleg tega je izkrivljanje konkurence, ki ga shema pomoči morebiti povzroča z dajanjem prednosti lokalnim radijskim postajam, majhno in ne spreminja trgovinskih pogojev v obsegu, ki bi bil v nasprotju s skupnimi interesi.
Given the mission and size of the radio stations in question, the distortion of competition between them and providers of the same type of service in another Member State is quite small.
Glede na vlogo in velikost teh postaj je izkrivljanje konkurence med njimi in ponudniki iste vrste storitev v drugi državi članici še posebej majhno.
Consequently, this scheme's impact on trade is particularly weak.
Zato je vpliv na trgovino, ki izhaja iz te sheme, še posebej majhen.
However, the assessment of Articles 3 and 6 of Decree No 97-1263 indicates that the financing of the aid scheme by means of the parafiscal charge in question forms an integral part of the measure, as was already stated by the Court in its Régie Networks judgment (paragraphs 99 to 112).
Toda iz proučitve členov 3 in 6 odloka št. 97-1263 izhaja, da je način financiranja sheme pomoči z zadevnimi parafiskalnimi dajatvami sestavni del ukrepa, kot je že ugotovilo Sodišče v sodbi v zadevi Régie Networks (točke 99 do 112).
As the Court pointed out in paragraph 89 of the Régie Networks judgment: ‘the method by which aid is financed may render the entire aid scheme which it is intended to finance incompatible with the internal market.
Kot je že opozorilo v točki 89 sodbe v zadevi Régie Networks: „način financiranja pomoči lahko privede do nezdružljivosti s skupnim trgom celotnega programa pomoči, ki se namerava financirati.
Therefore, the aid cannot be considered separately from the effects of its method of financing.
Zato pomoči ni mogoče preverjati ločeno od učinkov njenega načina financiranja.
Quite to the contrary, consideration of an aid measure by the Commission must necessarily also take into account the aid's method of financing in cases where that method forms an integral part of the measure (see to that effect, inter alia, van Calster and Others, paragraph 49, and Case C-345/02 Pearle and Others [2004] ECR I-7139, paragraph 29).’
Prav nasprotno, Komisija mora pri pregledu ukrepa pomoči nujno upoštevati način financiranja pomoči, če je ta sestavni del ukrepa (glej v tem smislu zlasti zgoraj navedeno sodbo van Calster in drugi, točka 49, in sodbo z dne 15. julija 2004 v zadevi Pearle in drugi, C–345/02, ZOdl., str. I–7139, točka 29)“.
It follows that the Commission must take this charge into account when examining the compatibility of the aid scheme with the internal market.
Zato mora Komisija pri proučitvi združljivosti sheme pomoči z notranjim trgom upoštevati navedeno dajatev.