natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
since the de minimis rule was not applicable in the agricultural sector at the time when the aid measures was granted and that the Decisions constituting the legal basis of the aid measures in question were intended to assist firms experiencing liquidity problems, the Commission considered that the aid should be analysed in the light of the different rules applicable to the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty from the entry into force of the first of the aforementioned Decisions; however, the information available did not make it possible to ascertain to what extent these rules had been followed;
glede na to, da v času, ko so bile dodeljene pomoči, pravilo de minimis ni veljalo za kmetijski sektor, in da so se sklepi, ki so predstavljali pravno podlago za zadevne pomoči, nanašali na pomoč podjetjem, ki so se soočala z likvidnostnimi težavami, je Komisija menila, da bi bilo treba pomoči analizirati v luči različnih pravil za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah od začetka veljavnosti prvega od teh sklepov; vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki niso omogočali, da se ugotovi, v kolikšni meri so bila ta pravila izpolnjena;
again with regard to the agricultural sector, the information available did not make it possible to determine whether the State guarantee had been granted in accordance with the various rules applicable to State aid in the form of guarantees from the entry into force of the first of the aforementioned Decisions;
v kmetijskem sektorju razpoložljivi podatki niso vedno omogočali ugotovitev, ali je bilo državno jamstvo dodeljeno po pravilih, ki so veljala za državno pomoč v obliki jamstev, od začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih ministrskih sklepov;
in the industrial and craft sectors, the de minimis rule did, of course, apply, but as the Greek authorities did not know the number of beneficiaries of the measures introduced by these Ministerial Decisions and as the de minimis aid ceilings are calculated for a three-year period, not for a one-off measure, it was impossible to tell whether the aid provided for by the Decisions in question could in fact fall under the de minimis rule; in this context, the aid measures also had to be analysed on the basis of the rules on the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty which had been applicable since the entry into force of the first of the Decisions referred to; however, the information available did not make it possible to ascertain to what extent these rules had been followed;
za industrijski in obrtni sektor je zagotovo veljalo pravilo de minimis, a ker grške oblasti niso poznale števila upravičencev do ukrepov, predvidenih v zgoraj navedenih sklepih, in ker so meje pomoči de minimis, izračunane za obdobje treh let in ne za posamezen ukrep, ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali bi pomoči, ki so jih predvidevali zgoraj omenjeni sklepi, sodile v pravilo de minimis; v tem kontekstu bi bilo treba analizirati tudi ukrepe pomoči v skladu s pravili za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah, ki so veljala od začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih sklepov; vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki ne omogočajo ugotovitve, koliko so se ta pravila upoštevala;
with regard to these sectors, the information available did not make it possible to determine whether the State guarantee had been granted in accordance with the different rules applicable to State aid in the form of guarantees applicable from the entry into force of the first of the aforementioned Decisions.
pri teh istih sektorjih na osnovi razpoložljivih podatkov ni mogoče ugotoviti, ali je bilo državno jamstvo dodeljeno v skladu s pravili o državni pomoči v obliki jamstev, ki so se uporabljala od datuma začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih sklepov.
Justification of the opening of the second procedure
Utemeljitev za začetek drugega postopka
The second procedure was opened for the following reasons:
Začetek drugega postopka je bil posledica naslednjih razlogov:
when asked to provide explanations in relation to the aid in question, the Greek authorities stated that, although they did not know the exact number of beneficiaries, the amounts of aid in question probably fell under the de minimis rule; however, quite apart from the fact that the de minimis rule did not apply to the agricultural sector until 1 January 2005, the Commission did not have any data which would have allowed it to ascertain the extent to which the amounts received by agricultural firms in application of Ministerial Decision No 66336/B.1398 could have fallen under the scope of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 of 6 October 2004 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector [17], which introduced a de minimis rule in the agricultural sector;
na vprašanje grškim organom oblasti, da pojasnijo zadevne pomoči, so ti poročali, da čeprav niso poznali točnega števila upravičencev, bi za zneske omenjenih pomoči po vsej verjetnosti veljalo pravilo de minimis; razen tega, da do 1. januarja 2005de minimis pravilo ni veljalo za kmetijski sektor, Komisija ni imela nobenega podatka, ki bi ji omogočal, da določi obseg, v katerem bi zneski, dodeljeni kmetijskim podjetjem na podlagi ministrskega sklepa št. 66336/B.1398 in njegovih sprememb, sodili v področje uporabe Uredbe Komisije (ES) št. 1860/2004 z dne 6. oktobra 2004 o uporabi členov 87 in 88 Pogodbe ES za de minimis pomoči v kmetijskem sektorju [17], ki je uvedla pravilo de minimis v kmetijskem sektorju;
given that these Decisions were intended to assist firms in difficulty, the aid had to be analysed in the light of the various rules applicable to the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty since the entry into force of the first of the above Decisions, that is to say, since 21 September 1993; however, the information available did not make it possible to determine to what extent these rules had been followed;
glede na to, da so bili zgoraj navedeni sklepi namenjeni podjetjem v težavah, bi bilo treba pomoči analizirati v luči različnih pravil, ki so veljala za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah od začetka veljavnosti prvega od teh sklepov, in sicer od 21. septembra 1993; vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki niso omogočili, da se ugotovi, v kolikšni meri so bila upoštevana ta pravila;
again with regard to the agricultural sector, the information available did not make it possible to determine whether the State guarantee had been granted in accordance with the various rules applicable to State aid in the form of guarantees from 21 September 1993;
v kmetijskem sektorju razpoložljivi podatki niso vedno omogočali ugotovitve, ali je bilo državno jamstvo dodeljeno po pravilih, ki so veljala za državno pomoč v obliki jamstev od 21. septembra 1993;
in the industrial and craft sectors, the de minimis rule did, of course, apply, but as the Greek authorities did not know the number of beneficiaries of the measures introduced by these Decisions and as the aid ceilings are calculated for a three-year period, not for a one-off measure, it was impossible to tell whether the aid provided for by the Decisions in question could in fact fall under the de minimis rule; in this context, the aid measures also had to be analysed on the basis of the rules on the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty which had been applicable since 21 September 1993; however, the information available did not make it possible to ascertain to what extent these rules had been followed;
za industrijski in obrtni sektor je zagotovo veljalo pravilo de minimis, a ker grški organi oblasti niso poznali števila upravičencev do ukrepov, predvidenih v zgoraj navedenih sklepih in ker so meje pomoči izračunane za obdobje treh let in ne za posamezen ukrep, ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali bi pomoči, ki so jih predvidevali zgoraj omenjeni sklepi, lahko sodile v pravilo de minimis; v tem kontekstu bi bilo treba analizirati tudi pomoči v skladu s pravili za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah, ki so veljala od 21. septembra 1993; vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki ne omogočajo ugotovitve, koliko so se ta pravila upoštevala;
in these sectors, the information available did not make it possible to determine whether the State guarantee had been granted in accordance with the various rules applicable to State aid in the form of guarantees from 21 September 1993.
pri teh istih sektorjih razpoložljivi podatki niso omogočali ugotovitve, ali je bilo državno jamstvo dodeljeno v skladu s pravili o državni pomoči v obliki jamstev od 21. septembra 1993.
Justification of the opening of the third procedure
Utemeljitev za začetek tretjega postopka
The third procedure was opened for the following reasons:
Začetek tretjega postopka je bil posledica naslednjih razlogov:
as had been the case for the opening of the first and second procedures, the Greek authorities indicated in the information they provided that the amounts in question likely fell under the de minimis rule; however, quite apart from the fact that the de minimis rule did not apply to the agricultural sector until 1 January 2005, the Commission did not have any data which would have allowed it to ascertain the extent to which the amounts received by agricultural firms in application of the Decisions constituting the legal basis of the aid scheme in question could have fallen under the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004;
med informacijami, ki so jih predložili grški organi oblasti, kot je bilo tudi v primeru prvih dveh postopkov, so omenili, da bi za zneske teh pomoči po vsej verjetnosti veljalo pravilo de minimis; poleg dejstva, da do 1. januarja 2005de minimis pravilo ni veljalo za kmetijski sektor, Komisija prav tako ni imela podatkov, ki bi ji omogočali določiti obseg, v katerem bi dodeljeni zneski kmetijskim podjetjem v skladu s sklepi, ki so bili pravna podlaga za shemo pomoči, lahko sodili v področje uporabe Uredbe (ES) št. 1860/2004;
given that these Ministerial Decisions were intended to assist firms in difficulty, the aid had to be analysed in the light of the various rules which had applied to the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty since the entry into force of the first of the above Decisions; however, the information available did not make it possible to determine to what extent these rules had been followed;
glede na to, da so bili zgoraj navedeni sklepi namenjeni podjetjem v težavah, bi bilo treba pomoči analizirati v luči pravil, ki so veljala za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah od začetka veljavnosti prvega od teh sklepov, vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki niso omogočili ugotovitve, koliko so ta pravila bila upoštevana;
in the industrial, hotel and craft sectors, the de minimis rule did, of course, apply, but as the Greek authorities did not indicate the number of beneficiaries of the aid and as the de minimis aid ceilings are calculated for a three-year period, not for a one-off measure, it was impossible to tell whether the aid provided for by the Decisions in question could in fact fall under the de minimis rule; in this context, the aid measures also had to be analysed on the basis of the rules on the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty which had been applicable since the entry into force of the first of the Decisions referred to; however, the information available did not make it possible to ascertain to what extent these rules had been followed;
za industrijski, hotelski in obrtni sektor je zagotovo veljalo pravilo de minimis, a ker grške oblasti niso predložile podatkov v zvezi s številom upravičencev do pomoči in ker so meje pomoči izračunane za obdobje treh let in ne za posamezen ukrep, ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali bi pomoči, ki so jih predvidevali zgoraj omenjeni sklepi, sodile v pravilo de minimis. V tem kontekstu bi bilo treba analizirati tudi ukrepe pomoči v skladu s pravili za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah, ki so veljala od začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih sklepov; vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki ne omogočajo, da bi se ugotovilo, koliko so se ta pravila upoštevala;
in the coal and shipping sectors, the de minimis rule had only applied since the entry into force of Commission Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis [18] aid; however, for the reasons given under point (c), the aid measures also had to be analysed on the basis of the various rules applicable to the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty from the entry into force of the first of the above Decisions; however, the information available did not make it possible to ascertain to what extent these rules had been followed;
na področju premogovništva in ladijskega prometa se je lahko pravilo de minimis uporabljalo šele po začetku veljavnosti Uredbe Komisije (ES) št. 69/2001 z dne 12. januarja 2001 o uporabi členov 87 in 88 Pogodbe ES pri de minimis pomoči [18]; vendar pa bi bilo iz razlogov, navedenih v točki (c), treba ukrepe pomoči analizirati tudi v skladu s pravili za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah, ki so veljala od začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih sklepov, vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki ne omogočajo, da bi se ugotovilo, koliko so se ta pravila upoštevala;
in the maritime transport sector, no de minimis rule applied; the aid measures therefore had to be analysed on the basis of the rules that had applied since the entry into force of the first of the above Decisions to the rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty; however, the information available did not make it possible to ascertain to what extent these rules have been followed;
na področju pomorskega prometa pravilo de minimis ni veljalo; analiza ukrepov pomoči bi morala biti opravljena tudi na podlagi pravil za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah, ki so veljala od začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih sklepov; vendar pa razpoložljivi podatki ne omogočajo ugotovitve, koliko so se ta pravila upoštevala;
in none of the above sectors did the information available make it possible to determine whether the State guarantee was given in accordance with the various rules that had applied since the first of the above Decisions entered into force to State aid in the form of guarantees;
za nobenega od omenjenih področij razpoložljivi podatki niso dovoljevali, da bi se ugotovilo, ali so bila jamstva države dodeljena v skladu s pravili o državni pomoči v obliki jamstev, ki so veljala od datuma začetka veljavnosti prvega od zgoraj navedenih sklepov;
Decision No 2041901/16.5.1989 and those referred to under recitals 51 and 52 above provided for aid in Prefectures other than Rodopi, Evros and Xanthi and it was not possible to ascertain whether the system of aid they introduced was an extension of that applied in the above three Prefectures or was a separate system; whatever the case, it was not possible to ascertain, on the basis of the information available, whether the rules on State aid (rules on regional aid or the de minimis rule) had been followed;
sklep št. 2041901/16.5.1989 in sklepi, ki so navedeni v uvodnih izjavah 51 in 52, predvidevajo pomoč za druge regije, in ne za regije Rodopi, Evros in Xanthi. Ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, koliko je bil sistem, ki je bil predviden, le razširitev sheme, ki se uporablja v treh omenjenih regijah, ali neodvisna shema; ne glede na napoved iz razpoložljivih podatkov ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali so se pravila o državnih pomočeh (pravila o regionalni pomoči ali pravila de minimis) upoštevala;
if the Ministerial Decisions referred to under point (g) had constituted an extension of the system of aid applied in the Rodopi, Xanthi and Evros Prefectures, it was not possible to determine whether the planned aid measures could fall under the de minimis rule or be considered compatible with the provisions governing the granting of aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty;
tudi če bi sklepi ministrskega sveta pod točko (g) bili le razširitev sistema, ki se je uporabljal v pokrajinah Rodopi, Evros in Xanthi, ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali bi lahko načrtovane pomoči spadale pod pravilo de minimis in ali so združljive z določbami, ki urejajo dodeljevanje pomoči za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah;
if the Ministerial Decisions referred to under point (g) had constituted an independent aid system, it was necessary, in the absence of details in this regard in their provisions, to examine the compatibility of its application to healthy firms and firms in difficulty; the analysis resulted in the following conclusions:
če bi bili sklepi Ministrskega sveta pod točko (g) samostojni sistem pomoči, bi bilo potrebno, če to ni bilo pojasnjeno v sklepih, preveriti njegovo skladnost z uporabo v zdravih in podjetjih in podjetjih v težavah; na podlagi analize je bilo ugotovljeno naslednje:
for firms in difficulty, it was not possible to determine whether the planned aid measures could fall under the de minimis rule or be considered compatible with the provisions governing the granting of aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty,
za podjetja v težavah ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali bi bile lahko načrtovane pomoči v skladu s pravilom de minimis ali se štele za združljive z določbami, ki urejajo dodeljevanje pomoči za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah,
for healthy firms, it was not possible to determine whether the working capital constituted by means of a loan together with the interest reduction granted had served to finance eligible investments within the meaning of Union rules on regional aid.
za zdrava podjetja ni bilo mogoče ugotoviti, ali so bila obratna sredstva, ki so bila odobrena na osnovi posojil z zmanjšanimi obrestmi, uporabljena za financiranje upravičenih naložb v smislu pravil EU o regionalni pomoči.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE GREEK AUTHORITIES ON THE FORMAL OPENING OF THE PROCEDURE
PRIPOMBE GRŠKIH ORGANOV OBLASTI NA FORMALNI ZAČETEK POSTOPKA
Observations of the Greek authorities on the opening of the first procedure
Pripombe grških organov oblasti na začetek prvega postopka
In their letter of 9 August 2004, the Greek authorities made the following statements:
V dopisu z dne 9. avgusta 2004 so grški organi oblasti omenili naslednje:
the consolidation of the loans is an administrative instrument not resulting in high costs for the public authorities;
konsolidacija posojil je upravno sredstvo, ki ne vključuje visokih javnih stroškov;
the calculation of interest per six-month period has already been upheld in the case-law of the national Supreme Court, which declared quarterly compounding to be illegal and abusive, and responsible for imposing an excessive burden on debtors;
izračun obresti vsakih šest mesecev je podkrepljen s sodno prakso vrhovnega sodišča države, ki je odločilo, da so obrestne obresti na tri mesece nezakonite in neprimerne ter odgovorne za preveliko breme dolžnikov;
the granting of the State guarantee cannot be considered as aid since its use is contingent on particularly stringent measures for the principal debtor;
dajanje jamstva grške države ni mogoče šteti za pomoč, saj to jamstvo spremljajo ukrepi, ki so za glavnega dolžnika še posebej strogi;
during the reference period, interest rates in Greece were much higher than the average rates in the rest of the Union and remained thus despite the reductions; there was therefore no distortion of competition, not least since the beneficiary firms had to be viable; moreover, the reductions were financed by a special account, separate from the State budget;
v referenčnem obdobju so bile obrestne mere, ki so se oblikovale v Grčiji, veliko višje kot v povprečju obrestne mere v Evropski uniji in so kljub pomoči ostale precej višje, zato tega ni mogoče šteti kot izkrivljanje konkurence, poleg tega pa so morala upravičena podjetja dokazati, da so sposobni preživeti; poleg tega je so se zmanjšanja obresti financirala s posebnega računa zunaj državnega proračuna;
the granting of periods of grace cannot be considered as an aid measure, given that the debt and interest remain: this merely constitutes restructuring of repayment over time, justified on the grounds of the economic situation;
odobritev obdobij odloga ni mogoče obravnavati kot ukrep pomoči, glede na to, da so dolgovi z obrestmi ostali enaki: gre samo za prestrukturiranje poplačila, ki ga upravičujejo gospodarske razmere;
Ministerial Decision No 72742/B1723 (cf. recital 42 above) did not give rise to any additional costs in relation to those introduced by the original Decision which constitutes the basis of the scheme in question;
sklep Ministrskega sveta št. 72742/B1723 (glej uvodno izjavo 42 zgoraj) ni povzročil dodatnih stroškov poleg tistih, ki so bili uvedeni z izdajo prvotnega sklepa, ki je bil podlaga za shemo pomoči;
the release of securities by means of Ministerial Decision No 2071670/11297 cannot be considered an aid measure in respect of firms, since they are adapted to the level of the restructured loans; moreover, the guarantee from the Greek State does not cover all types of charges imposed on lenders by the banks;
sprostitev garancij s sklepom Ministrskega sveta 2071670/11297 ni mogoče razumeti kot ukrepov pomoči v korist podjetja, saj so garancije prilagojene ustrezni višini prestrukturiranih posojil; poleg tega jamstvo grške države ne krije vseh stroškov, ki jih zaračunavajo banke posojilojemalcem;
Ministerial Decision No 69836/B1451 and its amendments concerned processing firms in general and did not refer specifically to processing firms in the agriculture sector, which were covered by Council Regulations (EEC) No 866/90 of 29 March 1990 on improving the processing and marketing conditions for agricultural products [19], (EC) No 951/97 of 20 May 1997 on improving the processing and marketing conditions for agricultural products [20] and (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) [21]; these Regulations were applied by means of the implementation of operational programmes under the second and third Community Support Frameworks; firms which had made investments and received aid from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food to this end were not eligible for debt restructuring, since this had not been provided for; the de minimis rule was not applied either since, in order to obtain a subsidy, operators had to have carried out work and borne the cost;
sklep Ministrskega sveta št. 69836/B1451 in njegove spremembe so zadevale podjetja za predelavo na splošno in ne specifično podjetja za predelavo v kmetijskem sektorju, ki so jih pokrivale Uredba Sveta (EGS) št. 866/90 z dne 29. marca 1990 o izboljšanju predelave in trženja kmetijskih proizvodov [19], Uredba Sveta (ES) št. 951/97 z dne 20. maja 1997 o izboljšanju pogojev predelave in trženja kmetijskih proizvodov [20] in Uredba Sveta (ES) št. 1257/1999 z dne 17. maja 1999 o podpori za razvoj podeželja iz Evropskega kmetijskega usmerjevalnega in jamstvenega sklada (EKUJS) [21], uporaba teh predpisov pa je bila izvedena z realizacijo operativnih programov iz drugega in tretjega okvira Skupnosti za podporo; podjetja, ki so investirala in so prejela podporo Ministrstva za kmetijstvo in prehrano, niso spadala v paket za prestrukturiranje dolgov, saj to ni bilo predvideno; niti ni bila predvidena uporabe pravila de minimis, saj so nosilci za donacije morali realizirati projekt in povrniti s tem povezane stroške;
the reference to the de minimis rule served exclusively to illustrate the fact that most of the aid measures granted were below the de minimis ceiling, without specific reference to the agricultural sector;
do sklicevanja na pravilo de minimis je prišlo izključno zato, da bi poudarili, da je bila pomoč v večini primerov nižja od zgornje meje de minimis, ne da bi se posebej omenjalo področje kmetijstva;