natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURE
Kot je navedeno v členu 107(1) Pogodbe, 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, razen če Pogodba določa drugače.
Beneficiary of the measure
ukrep mora dodeliti država ali pa mora biti zagotovljen iz državnih sredstev, (ii) upravičencu do pomoči mora dajati selektivno prednost, (iii) izkrivljati mora konkurenco oziroma bi lahko izkrivljal konkurenco ter (iv) prizadeti mora trgovino med državami članicami.
However, a careful analysis of the chronology and the characteristics of the measure revealed that ARCO was the only real beneficiary from the measure as will be described in this section.
Državna sredstva
Therefore, the Commission concludes that the only real beneficiary with economic activities from the cooperative guarantee scheme is ARCO.
Zato se sredstva posebnega zaščitnega sklada štejejo za državna sredstva, tudi če so bila prvotno pridobljena iz zasebnih virov.
Announcement and implementation of the measure form one single intervention
Poleg tega, če obstaja potreba po ukrepanju Depozitnega in konsignacijskega urada, bo vladni organ nakazal sredstva, potrebna za izplačila, ki bi jih moral izplačati posebni zaščitni sklad.
The Commission observes that the measure was decided and announced by the government on 10 October 2008 [56].
Ta vidik zadružne jamstvene sheme v vsakem primeru ustvarja dovolj konkretno ekonomsko tveganje obremenitve proračuna države članice v zvezi z državnimi sredstvi, ki morajo biti na voljo za namene člena 107(1) Pogodbe [63].
It is clear that the Belgian government had made the decision to offer ARCO the benefit of a cooperative guarantee scheme at the same time as the measure in favour of Dexia was designed in 2008 [57].
Glede odgovornosti Belgije za ukrep je jasno, da zadružne jamstvene sheme ni mogoče obravnavati kot prenos direktive o sistemih zajamčenih vlog.
Another press release of 21 January 2009 further detailed the measure and after that the legal transposition of the government's commitment began.
Direktiva o sistemih zajamčenih vlog določa le, da morajo države članice uvesti sistem zajamčenih vlog za vloge v kreditnih institucijah, in člen 2 navedene direktive izrecno določa, da so vsi instrumenti, ki spadajo pod opredelitev lastnih sredstev kreditnih institucij, izključeni iz vračila prek sistemov zajamčenih vlog.
The Commission takes note of the binding and unambiguous language in the press releases of 10 October 2008 and 21 January 2009, which used terms such as ‘décidé’ and ‘l'engagement’, thus creating a legitimate expectation as to their fulfilment.
Če se država članica odloči vzpostaviti druge jamstvene sisteme vračil za druge finančne produkte, ta odločitev ne izhaja iz zakonodaje Unije, ampak pomeni pobudo same države članice [64].
The press releases were also sent out via the official channels:
Komisija ugotavlja tudi, da se Belgija sklicuje na odškodninsko shemo za vlagatelje, vendar ta primerjava ni pomembna, saj odškodninske sheme za vlagatelje niso namenjene kritju naložbenih tveganj.
the press release of 10 October 2008 was sent out by the services of the Minister of Finance, while the press release of 10 January 2009 was sent on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance.
Kot je bilo pojasnjeno že v uvodni izjavi 21, so odškodninske sheme za vlagatelje namenjene zgolj za primere, ko investicijsko podjetje ni sposobno vrniti sredstev, ki pripadajo vlagatelju, na primer zaradi goljufije ali težav s sistemi podjetja.
The repeated nature of the press communication strengthened the underlying message.
Selektivna prednost
The Commission notes that it was clear already at the time of the press release of 10 October 2008 that the cooperative guarantee scheme would be designed as an extension of the deposit guarantee scheme.
Komisija ugotavlja, da je zadružna jamstvena shema družbi ARCO prinesla koristi.
Moreover, in its own decisions, the Commission has considered an announcement and an implementation to be one measure and considered an advantage to have been created as of the date of the announcement [59].
Zato udeleženci na finančnih trgih, ki nudijo konzervativne obvezniške sklade, sklade denarnega trga ali jamstvene vzajemne sklade, svojim strankam niso mogli ponuditi podobnega jamstva.
Indeed, the current Belgian Minister of Finance qualified the measure in question as a commitment made in 2008 [60].
Belgija trdi, da so posamezne delnice finančnih zadrug v bistvu podobne vlogam [70].
Based on the information in recitals 85 to 89, the Commission concludes that the announcement and the implementation of the cooperative guarantee scheme have to be dealt with as a single measure.
Vendar se veliko elementov, na katere se je sklicevala Belgija, ne nanaša na finančne zadruge, ampak na zadruge na splošno.
Existence of aid
Poleg tega opis delnic finančnih zadrug, ki ga je podala Belgija, ne vsebuje pomembnih informacij, kot so tveganja, povezana z vlaganjem v te instrumente [71], ki niso značilna za vloge.
As stated in Article 107(1) of the 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 Members States, be incompatible with the internal market, save as otherwise provided in the Treaty.
Selektivnost ukrepa je jasna tudi, če obravnavo finančnih zadrug primerjamo z obravnavo drugih priznanih nefinančnih zadrug.
Both the Belgian State and ARCO argue that the Commission should analyse whether ARCO received State aid by basing itself on another decision of the Commission, namely that on Ethias [61].
Belgija se je pri zagovarjanju posebne obravnave posameznih delničarjev finančnih zadrug oprla na zadevo Paint Graphos.
However, State aid is an objective concept which is defined in the Treaty.
Predhodna odločba v zadevi Paint Graphos se nanaša na predložitveni sklep italijanskega sodišča, ki je želelo izvedeti, ali se lahko davčne ugodnosti, ki jih uživajo proizvodne in delovne zadruge, štejejo za državno pomoč v smislu člena 107(1) Pogodbe.
In order to be classified as State aid, a measure has to meet the following four (cumulative) State aid criteria:
Sodišče je v svoji sodbi odločilo, da je treba davčno ugodnost presoditi na podlagi štirih kumulativnih meril državne pomoči, in podalo podrobnejša navodila predvsem o tem, kako presoditi, ali taka davčna ugodnost pomeni selektivno prednost [72].
the measure (i) should be granted by the State or through State resources;
Sodišče je menilo, da je treba ugotoviti, (i) ali bi lahko značilnosti davčnega sistema upravičile tako davčno ugodnost [73], (ii) ali se uporabljajo ustrezni postopki nadzora in spremljanja [74] ter (iii) ali je bila davčna ugodnost sorazmerna in ni presegla najnižje potrebne stopnje [75].
should provide a selective advantage to the aid beneficiary;
Komisija meni, da argumenta Belgije ni mogoče upoštevati, saj se narava prednosti, ki jo zagotavlja obravnavani ukrep, bistveno razlikuje od tiste, ki jo je Sodišče proučilo v zadevi Paint Graphos.
should (potentially) distort competition;
Ukrep, ki ga je uvedla Belgija, vključuje zagotovitev pozitivne ugodnosti in ne oprostitve plačila davčne obremenitve ali obveznosti plačila dajatve.
and (iv) should affect trade between Member States.
Zato za ukrep ni mogoče uporabiti standardne tridelne analize, ki so jo sodišča Unije odobrila za proučitev, ali je davčna ugodnost ali oprostitev plačila dajatve selektivna.
The Commission is obliged to evaluate those four criteria and will do so in recitals 94 to 110.
Tudi če bi se za obravnavani ukrep uporabila analiza iz zadeve Paint Graphos, so posebnosti ukrepa take, da bi v vsakem primeru ostal selektiven.
State resources
Komisija najprej opozarja, da se zadeva Paint Graphos nanaša na vse proizvodne in delovne zadruge in ne na relativno majhen podsektor, kot so finančne zadruge.
The Commission has to assess whether the cooperative guarantee scheme is financed through State resources and is imputable to the State.
Če bi morale biti „prave“ zadruge res deležne posebne obravnave, kot trdi Belgija, bi se morala ta posebna obravnava uporabljati za vse priznane zadruge.
According to settled case law [62], all financial means by which the public sector may actually support undertakings, irrespective of whether or not those means are permanent assets of the public sector, fall under Article 107(1) of the Treaty, provided that they constantly remain under public control, and remain therefore available to the competent national State.
Omejena osredotočenost ukrepa na finančne zadruge torej sama po sebi zadostuje za ugotovitev, da je ukrep selektiven.
In particular, State aid is involved when funds come from contributions imposed by State legislation and when those funds are managed and apportioned in accordance with provisions of that legislation, even if they are administered by institutions separate from the State.
Komisija v tem sklepu ne odloča, ali je navedena davčna ugodnost sorazmerna, meni pa, da 10. oktobra 2008 ni bilo nobenega razloga za nenadno uvedbo dodatnega nadomestila ali zaščite za družbe s statusom finančne zadruge.
The status of the body or undertaking granting the aid in question is not regarded as a determining factor for the application of State aid rules.
Nazadnje, tudi če bi Komisija v skladu s predlogom Belgije opravila analizo iz zadeve Paint Graphos, meni, da zagotovitve 100-odstotnega jamstva posameznim delničarjem skupine ARCO (tj. del (i) analize iz zadeve Paint Graphos), katere članice so bile družbe z omejeno odgovornostjo, ni mogoče upravičiti.
As regards the organisation of the cooperative guarantee scheme, the Commission observes that Belgian legislation determines the contributions that participants have to pay and that Belgian legislation also determines how those funds will be used.
Zaradi narave takih družb, kot jo določajo splošna pravila belgijskega prava gospodarskih družb, bi se morali posamezni delničarji skupine ARCO zavedati, da bi lahko v primeru likvidacije izgubili ves svoj kapital [77].
Therefore, the funds of the Special Protection Fund are considered to be State resources even if they originally stemmed from private sources.
Poleg tega 100-odstotna zaščita vsega kapitala, ki so ga vpisali posamezni delničarji finančnih zadrug, ni sorazmeren ukrep (del (iii) analize iz zadeve Paint Graphos), saj bi bili ti delničarji zaščiteni pred vsakim tveganjem, kar bi podjetjem, katerih delnice imajo v lasti, prineslo neupravičeno prednost [78].
Moreover, if it is necessary for the Deposit and Consignment Office to do so that governmental body will advance the funds required to finance pay-outs that the Special Protection Fund is supposed to make.
Izkrivljanje konkurence in vpliv na trgovino med državami članicami
That aspect of the cooperative guarantee scheme creates in any event a sufficiently concrete economic risk of burdens on the budget of the Member State for State resources to be present for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty [63].
Zadružna jamstvena shema finančnim zadrugam daje prednost, ki je drugi ponudniki naložbenih produktov za male vlagatelje in druge priznane nefinančne zadruge nimajo.
As regards the imputability of the measure to the Belgian State, it is clear that the cooperative guarantee scheme cannot be seen as a transposition of the DGS Directive.
Zaradi ukrepa je lahko družba ARCO dlje časa ohranila svoj tržni delež.
The DGS Directive only obliges Member States to introduce a deposit guarantee scheme for deposits of credit institutions and Article 2 of that Directive explicitly provides that all instruments that fall within the definition of own funds of credit institutions are excluded from repayment by deposit guarantee schemes.
Ni utrpela odliva kapitala ali pa je do odliva prišlo pozneje in je bil manjši, kot bi bil v odsotnosti ukrepa.
If a Member State decides to establish other repayment schemes guaranteeing other financial products, such a decision does not stem from Union law but is an initiative from the Member State itself [64].
Zato kapital, ki bi bil sicer na voljo za naložbe, ni bil na voljo ostalim ponudnikom, ki so morali tekmovati na podlagi kakovosti svojih storitev in niso mogli računati na zadružno jamstveno shemo.
The Commission also observes that the Belgian State refers to the Investor Compensation Scheme but that comparison is irrelevant since investor compensation schemes are not designed to cover investment risk.
Zato zadružna jamstvena shema izkrivlja konkurenco [79].
As explained already in recital 21, investor compensation schemes are merely designed for cases where an investor firm is unable to return assets belonging to an investor for instance because of fraud or because of problems with the firm's systems.
Če država članica podjetju dodeli pomoč, se lahko zato notranja dejavnost ohrani ali poveča, s tem pa se zmanjšajo možnosti podjetij s sedežem v drugih državah članicah za (nadaljnje) uveljavljanje na trgu [80].
Selective advantage
Na belgijskem trgu posluje veliko mednarodnih ponudnikov naložbenih produktov, zato ukrep nedvomno vpliva na trgovino v Uniji.
The Commission concludes that the cooperative guarantee scheme has created a benefit for ARCO.
Sklepne ugotovitve
The Court of Justice has accepted that undertakings can obtain an advantage in the form of improved access to capital in circumstances in which a measure taken by a Member State in favour of investors increases the latter's willingness to place their money in a particular set of investment targets [65].
Na podlagi analize iz uvodnih izjav od 91 do 109 Komisija ugotavlja, da zadružna jamstvena shema vključuje državna sredstva, pomeni selektivno prednost za družbo ARCO, izkrivlja konkurenco in vpliva na trgovino znotraj Unije, zato izpolnjuje vsa merila državne pomoči.
In the case of the measure, it has helped the entities in the ARCO Group to maintain their existing capital, convincing existing cooperative shareholders not to withdraw from those financial cooperatives [66], which was a particularly important advantage in the nervous market situation which characterised the period immediately following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.
Združljivost pomoči
On 21 January 2009, ARCO put a press release from the Belgian government on its website to reassure its shareholders, which clearly shows that being able to reassure investors was a major advantage for ARCO.
Po ugotovitvi, da je zadružna jamstvena shema državna pomoč v smislu člena 107(1) Pogodbe, mora Komisija ugotoviti, ali je mogoče pomoč opredeliti kot združljivo z notranjim trgom.
In that regard, the Commission observes that the ARCOPAR prospectus issued in summer 2008 [67] had referred to the risk of individual shareholders leaving the financial cooperative [68] [69].
Člen 107(1) Pogodbe določa, da je državna pomoč, ki je nezdružljiva z notranjim trgom, prepovedana, razen če Pogodba določa drugače.
The measure is also clearly selective.
V odstavkih (2) in (3) člena 107 Pogodbe sta nato opredeljeni dve kategoriji združljive pomoči.
In the first place, it only applies to holders of financial cooperative shares and not to persons holding investment products issued by competing undertakings.
V členu 107(2) Pogodbe so naštete kategorije državne pomoči, ki so samodejno izvzete iz prepovedi, vendar zadružna jamstvena shema ne spada v nobeno izmed teh kategorij.
Thus financial players which offered conservative bond or money market funds or capital-guaranteed mutual funds could not offer their clients a similar guarantee.
Člen 107(3) Pogodbe zajema več kategorij pomoči, ki se lahko štejejo za združljive z notranjim trgom.
The Belgian State argues that individual shares of financial cooperatives are in essence similar to deposits [70].
Teoretično bi se lahko uporabil pododstavek (b) ali (c) člena 107(3) Pogodbe.
However, a number of the elements which the Belgian State invoked refer to cooperatives in general not to financial cooperatives.
V zvezi s členom 107(3)(c) Pogodbe je Komisija v smernicah pojasnila, kako bo za nekatere vrste pomoči uporabljala izjemo, določeno v navedeni določbi.
In addition, the description of financial cooperative shares offered by the Belgian State does not contain references to relevant information, such as the risks of investing in those instruments [71], which are not characteristic of deposits.
Vendar Komisija ugotavlja, da ukrep ne ustreza nobeni vrsti pomoči, zajeti v navedenih smernicah.
The selective nature of the measure can also be seen when the treatment of financial cooperatives is compared to other recognised cooperatives that are non-financial.
Poleg tega Belgija in ARCO nista navedle nobenih informacij o cilju v skupnem interesu v smislu navedene določbe.
Paint Graphos was a preliminary ruling on an order for reference from an Italian court which wished to know whether tax benefits enjoyed by producers' and workers' cooperatives could be classified as State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
Vendar člen 107(3)(b) Pogodbe zahteva ožjo razlago pojma resna motnja v gospodarstvu države članice.
In its judgment, the Court concluded that the tax advantage had to be evaluated against the four cumulative State aid criteria and gave more detailed guidance in particular on how to evaluate whether such a tax benefit represents a selective advantage [72].
Zadevna motnja mora prizadeti celotno gospodarstvo države članice in ne le gospodarstva ene od njenih regij ali delov ozemlja [81].
The Court held that it should be determined (i) whether such a tax benefit could be justified by the inherent characteristics of the tax system [73], (ii) whether there were appropriate control and monitoring procedures in place [74] and (iii) whether the tax benefit was proportional and did not go beyond the minimum necessary [75].
Ko je finančna kriza jeseni 2008 dosegla svoj prvi vrhunec, je Komisija v svojem sporočilu o bančništvu iz leta 2008 sklenila, da bo člen 107(3)(b) Pogodbe na voljo za presojo ukrepov državne pomoči, namenjenih reševanju težav finančnih institucij [82].
The Commission considers that the argument of the Belgian State cannot succeed because the nature of the advantage conferred by the measure is qualitatively different from that which was examined by the Court in Paint Graphos.
Komisija je na podlagi člena 107(3)(b) Pogodbe razvila tudi začasni okvir Unije za uporabo zunaj finančnega sektorja za ukrepe državnih pomoči v podporo dostopu do financiranja ob trenutni finančni in gospodarski krizi (v nadaljnjem besedilu: začasni okvir) [83].
The measure put in place by Belgium involves the creation of a positive benefit and not relief from a fiscal burden or from an obligation to pay a charge.
Vendar se ta okvir ne uporablja za obravnavani ukrep.
As such, the standard three-part analysis which the Union courts have endorsed when examining whether a fiscal advantage or exemption from a levy is selective cannot be applied to the measure.
Namesto tega se osredotoča na realno gospodarstvo, in sicer državam članicam omogoča, da sprejmejo ustrezne ukrepe za izboljšanje dostopa do financiranja za podjetja, ki so pripravljena vlagati v času finančne krize, ko je bančno financiranje bolj omejeno.
In any event, even if the Paint Graphos analysis could be applied to the measure, the latter's specific features are such that its selective nature would remain.
Težave družbe ARCO niso povezane s pomanjkanjem bančnega financiranja, ampak s sredstvi (tj. delnicami Dexie), katerih vrednost je bilo treba popraviti navzdol.
First the Commission observes that Paint Graphos refers to all producers' and workers' cooperatives, not to a relatively small subsector such as financial cooperatives.
Poleg tega zadružna jamstvena shema, ki zagotavlja 100-odstotno jamstvo za instrumente v obliki obveznosti, ni zajeta v nobeni od vrst pomoči, obravnavanih v navedenem okviru pod naslovom 4.3.
If, as Belgium claims, there should be special treatment for ‘genuine’ cooperatives, that special treatment should apply to all recognised cooperatives.
Finančne zadruge niso finančne institucije v smislu sporočila o bančništvu iz leta 2008 [84], zato bo treba pomoč oceniti neposredno na podlagi Pogodbe.
The limited focus of the measure on financial cooperatives only is therefore sufficient in itself to establish the selective nature of the measure.
Da bi ukrep izpolnjeval splošna merila za združljivost iz člena 107(3) Pogodbe, mora izpolnjevati naslednje pogoje [85]:
Second, the Commission observes that in the view of the Belgian State, financial cooperatives seemed to deserve additional privileges as of 10 October 2008.
Primernost
The Commission observes that prior to that date recognised cooperatives got a form of favourable treatment as a result of their special status in the form of a withholding tax exemption [76].
Potrebnost
The Commission does not take a view in the present Decision on whether that tax advantage is proportionate but it believes that there was no reason to introduce suddenly on 10 October 2008 additional compensation for, or protection of, companies which have the status of financial cooperatives.
znesek in oblika ukrepa pomoči morata biti potrebna za doseganje cilja.
Finally, even if the Commission were to enter into a Paint Graphos analysis as proposed by Belgium, it believes that there is no justification for providing a 100 % guarantee to individual shareholders of ARCO (i.e. part (i) of the Paint Graphos analysis), whose entities were limited liability companies.
Torej mora biti pomoč omejena na najmanjši znesek, potreben za doseganje cilja, njena oblika pa mora biti najprimernejša za odpravo motnje;
Moreover, protecting 100 % of all capital subscribed by the individual shareholders of financial cooperatives is not a proportionate measure (part (iii) of the Paint Graphos analysis) as those shareholders would be shielded from any risk, which would create an undue advantage for the undertakings of which they are shareholders [78].
pozitivni učinki ukrepa morajo biti ustrezno uravnoteženi z izkrivljanjem konkurence, da se izkrivljanje čim bolj omeji in se s tem doseže cilj ukrepa.
Distortions of competition and effect on trade between Member States
Kar zadeva primernost ukrepa, Komisija ugotavlja, da se vpliv finančnih zadrug na širše gospodarstvo bistveno razlikuje od vpliva tradicionalnih bank, ki so izpostavljene tveganju množičnega dvigovanja bančnih vlog.
The cooperative guarantee scheme provides financial cooperatives with an advantage that other players offering retail investment products and other non-financial recognised cooperatives do not have.
Če bi se vsi imetniki bančnih vlog hkrati odločili za dvig svojega denarja, bi morala banka v kratkem času odprodati vsa svoja nelikvidna sredstva (s čimer bi sprožila hitro razprodajo premoženja), kar bi negativno vplivalo na zagotavljanje posojil realnemu gospodarstvu in morda povzročilo tudi padec cen sredstev.
Thanks to the measure ARCO has been able to preserve market share for a longer period of time.
Finančne zadruge pa ne zagotavljajo posojil realnemu gospodarstvu.
ARCO did not suffer from capital outflows, or they only occurred later and at a lower level than would have been the case in the absence of the measure.
Imajo tudi zakonsko pravico, da omejijo izstope [86], zato se lahko načeloma izognejo kakršni koli neobvladljivi odprodaji premoženja.
As a result, capital that would otherwise have been available for investment did not become available to those other players, which had to compete on their merits and could not rely on the cooperative guarantee scheme.
Zadnji element poudarja pomembno razliko med sistemskimi učinki vlog in delnic zadrug.
Therefore, the cooperative guarantee scheme distorts competition [79].
Jasno je tudi, da so delničarji finančne zadruge s pravnega vidika delničarji družbe z omejeno odgovornostjo.