natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
If the value of the company after the 2009 capital injections was equal or higher than EUR 70 million, then a private investor could have been inclined to proceed with this investment.
Poleg tega je član upravnega odbora družbe SACE, ki je prav tako imel vodilni položaj na ministrstvu za zunanjo trgovino (sedaj ministrstvo za gospodarski razvoj – direktor splošnega oddelka za internacionalizacijo politike ministrstva za zunanjo trgovino), na istem sestanku upravnega odbora družbe SACE 1. aprila 2009 dejal, da „podpora za sistem [italijanskih podjetij], ki jo zagotavlja poslovanje družbe SACE, ni vedno očitno jasna na zunaj, kar sovpada tudi s pomembnostjo podpiranja družbe SACE BT, čeprav z dokapitalizacijo“ [140]. (b) Vloga matične družbe SACE in drugih podjetij skupine, vključno s SACE BT, je bila prepoznana za pomembno pri okrevanju italijanskega gospodarstva.
In that respect, the Commission recalls that in the business plans and/or projections available at the time there was no expected stream of future profits which could demonstrate that the market value would be close to EUR 70 million.
„Upravni odbor je izpostavil vlogo skupine SACE pri podpiranju italijanskega gospodarstva.
In addition, since the company was not profitable pre-crisis, one could not expect that, once the macroeconomic situation and the financial markets would normalise, the company would automatically return to adequate profitability.
Ta vloga je strateško pomembna zlasti v trenutni gospodarski in finančni situaciji, ki ni običajen upad gospodarske rasti poslovnega cikla.
The Commission therefore concludes that, based on the absence of expected cash flow stream projected for SACE BT, there was no indication that the market value thereof after the implementation of third and fourth measures could be equal or higher than EUR 70 million.
Uprava je prepričana, da lahko finančni ukrepi in strokovno znanje družbe SACE pomembno prispevajo k okrevanju italijanskega gospodarstva.“ Take izjave potrjujejo zgornji sklep, da značaj dejavnosti SACE ni osredotočen le na dobiček in da zanj ne veljajo običajni pogoji konkurence na trgu [143].
As a result, a prudent private investor would have preferred to let SACE BT go bankrupt (or sell it, if a buyer could be found) instead of proceeding with its recapitalisation.
Na ta način se SACE razlikuje od drugih družb v lasti države, ki imajo samo komercialne cilje, kot so ustvarjanje donosa iz lastniških instrumentov in razdeljevanje ustvarjenega dobička prek dividend.
Hence, also this additional analysis shows that SACE, when granting the third and fourth measures, did not behave as a market economy investor.
To dodatno potrjuje sklep, da je država družbo SACE uporabila kot instrument za izvajanje svoje glavne misije, in sicer spodbujanja gospodarskega razvoja države.
As a secondary argument, an investor may have used another indicator to value the company, such as the valuation method of multiplying a price-to-book multiple (P/B), derived from comparable companies the shares of which are traded on stock exchange, by the book value of the company.
Podobno je iz zapisnika upravnega odbora z dne 26. maja 2009, ko je uprava oznanila svoj namen, da bo z drugim, tretjim in četrtim ukrepom podprla SACE BT, razvidno, da je bil razlog za to tudi vloga družbe SACE BT pri spodbujanju razvoja italijanskih podjetij [144].
To the Commission's knowledge Euler-Hermes is the only European credit insurance company quoted in the stock exchange, and hence its P/B may be observed.
Poleg tega se zdi, da so bili ukrepi v podporo SACE BT, sprejeti med finančno krizo, morda povezani tudi z vlogo skupine pri podpiranju okrevanja italijanskega gospodarstva.
It is a company of relatively low risk [124], since it proved to overcome the past downturns relatively well, was profitable in 2008 and 1Q2009 and even distributed dividends in 2008.
Dovolj je podatkov za trditev, da misija družbe SACE BT presega cilje zasebnega gospodarskega subjekta.
Hence, the value of a higher risk company such as SACE BT would fall below the valuation resulting from applying P/B multiple of Euler-Hermes.
Taka misija je bila potrjena v zapisniku sestanka upravnega odbora družbe SACE BT („Consiglio di Amministrazione“) z dne 27. maja 2009 v zvezi z razpravami o revidiranem proračunu družbe SACE BT za leto 2009, saj je bila potrebna dokapitalizacija v višini 70 milijonov EUR za izpolnjevanje zahtev za solventnost:
P/B of Euler-Hermes at 1Q2009 was of around 0,60 [125].
„[…]“ [145] [146].
Hence, applying this multiple to SACE BT expected book value at the end of 2009 of EUR 94,2 million, the value of the company would amount to EUR 56,52 million, if the risk profiles of the companies were comparable.
V zvezi z drugim ukrepom je oddelek za obvladovanje tveganja družbe SACE v dopisu z dne 19. marca 2009 [147] (katerega cilj je bil preveriti, če je ocenjena donosnost družbe SACE zaradi pozavarovalne pogodbe v skladu s sprejetimi tveganji) podal ugodno mnenje upravi SACE o sodelovanju družbe v pozavarovalni pogodbi.
However, the Commission notes that SACE BT was not profitable pre-crisis (contrary to its own business plan) and there was no business plan showing the possibility for it to return to profitability.
Na sestanku 1. aprila 2009 je upravni odbor družbe SACE odobril sodelovanje družbe SACE pri pogodbi o škodnem presežku družbe SACE BT v znesku, ki ga pozavarovatelji na trgu niso krili, in do morebitne škode v višini 48 milijonov EUR pod enakimi pogoji, kot so bili pogoji, ki so jih sprejeli zasebni pozavarovatelji.
However, the export credit companies which received recapitalisations from their shareholders had a track record of profitability pre-crisis, such that it was more likely that a return to profitability could be achieved.
V vsakem primeru je bilo prikazano, da je pozavarovalno pogodbo sklenila le s SACE BT in pod pogoji, ki niso ustrezali tržnim pogojem.
However, SACE BT had a track record of losses.
Zato ni dvoma, da je ta poseben ukrep za SACE BT selektiven.
In front of a subsidiary which was already loss making or just break-even in the years before the crisis (whereas its business plan anticipated a steady increase in profitability), a private investor would be more reluctant to inject a large amount of capital.
Tretji ukrep je predvideval le eno družbo, in sicer SACE BT.
It would verify whether there is any hope to make that company sufficiently profitable one day.
Zato je ukrep selektiven.
The Commission observes that no financial forecasts showing the way to profitability were made in 2009.
Četrti ukrep je predvideval le eno družbo, in sicer SACE BT.
A prudent investor would not invest a large amount of additional capital into the company in such circumstances.
Izkrivljanje konkurence
SACE argues that SACE BT was still in a start-up phase and thus, it was more difficult for the company to cope with the effects of the financial crisis.
Drugi ukrep je SACE BT omogočil, da prevzame več zavarovanj, kot bi jih lahko brez pozavarovanja SACE, ali da nosi manj tveganj za svoj račun.
First, the Commission observes that the year 2008, when the crisis broke out, was already the fourth year of activity for SACE BT.
Komisija je zato sklenila, da je drugi ukrep izkrivljal konkurenco [150].
From the Commission's practice, a company is in principle considered as newly created for the first three years following the start of operations in its relevant field of activity [127].
V zvezi s tretjim in četrtim ukrepom točka 3.2 sporočila o izvoznih kreditih določa, da državno zagotavljanje kapitala, ki se odobri določenim podjetjem in vključuje državno pomoč, izkrivlja konkurenco, če država ni delovala kot zasebni vlagatelj v tržnem gospodarstvu [151].
Secondly, even if it had been true that SACE BT was still in a start-up phase, it is not clear what effect this would have had on the application of the MEIP.
Komisija zelo dvomi, da bi SACE BT lahko nadaljevala svoje dejavnosti pod običajnimi pogoji brez ukrepov, ki jih je sprejela SACE.
Indeed, a private investor would still compare the expected market value of the company post-recapitalisation (based on its expected profitability) and compared it with the option of letting the company fail or sell it.
Verjetno je, da SACE BT brez kapitala ne bi mogla izpolniti svojih regulativnih kapitalskih zahtev in bi bila nesolventna.
Italy and SACE did not demonstrate that, because SACE BT would still be in a start-up phase, SACE could expect from it a higher profitability in the future.
Vendar je svojo prisotnost na trgu bistveno povečala, kot je prikazano v Preglednici 6.
As indicated in recital 77, the only business plan available at the time just showed a return to break-even accounts in 2011.
Zato sta tudi tretji in četrti ukrep izkrivljala konkurenco.
It did not show a return to profits.
Vpliv na trgovino
The Commission therefore concludes that the third and the fourth measures constitute an advantage to SACE BT, by providing it with capital it could not have found on the market.
Trg zavarovanja izvoznih kreditov in drugih zavarovalnih storitev, na katerem posluje SACE BT, je odprt za trgovino med državami članicami in v Uniji so na njem dejavni mnogi gospodarski subjekti iz različnih držav članic.
This capital allowed the company to survive despite the lack of projections indicating that it would produce profits, not even in the long-term.
V Italiji družba SACE BT konkurira z odvisnimi družbami tujih podjetij (glej preglednico 6).
Imputability and State resources
Preglednica 6
In recitals 73-78 of the opening decision, the Commission applied the ‘Stardust Marine’ [128] indicators to prove the imputability of the measure, taking into consideration that SACE is fully owned by the State.
Položaj družbe SACE BT na italijanskem trgu zavarovanja kreditov in poslovanja z jamstvi (v %) Vir:
According to settled case-law (see, in particular, the Stardust Marine judgment), even if the State is in a position to control a public undertaking and to exercise a dominant influence over its operations, actual exercise of that control in a particular case cannot be automatically presumed.
poslovni načrt za obdobje 2010–2011, ki ga je upravni odbor družbe SACE BT odobril 4. avgusta 2009, in prilagojeni poslovni načrt za obdobje 2011–2013, ki ga je upravni odbor družbe SACE BT odobril 24. novembra 2011.
Consequently, it is necessary to determine whether the public authorities must be regarded as having been involved in any way in the adoption of the measures at stake.
drugo
Nonetheless, according to the Stardust Marine judgment:
Posledično in v skladu s točko 3.2 sporočila o izvoznih kreditih vsaka prednost, dodeljena družbi, vpliva na trgovino.
It cannot be demanded that it be demonstrated, on the basis of a precise inquiry, that in the particular case the public authorities specifically incited the public undertaking to take the aid measures in question.
Uporaba Uredbe Komisije (ES) št. 1998/2006 z dne 15. decembra 2006 o uporabi členov 87 in 88 Pogodbe pri pomoči de minimis [153] (v nadaljnjem besedilu: uredba o pomoči de minimis)
In the first place, having regard to the fact that relations between the State and public undertakings are close, there is a real risk that State aid may be granted through the intermediary of those undertakings in a non-transparent way and in breach of the rules on State aid laid down by the Treaty.
Uredba (ES) št. 1998/2006 določa prag, pod katerim se šteje, da ukrepi pomoči ne izpolnjujejo vseh pogojev iz člena 107(1) Pogodbe in zato niso zavezani postopku uradne priglasitve iz člena 108(3) Pogodbe.
Moreover, it will, as a general rule, be very difficult for a third party, precisely because of the privileged relations existing between the State and a public undertaking, to demonstrate in a particular case that aid measures taken by such an undertaking were in fact adopted on the instructions of the public authorities.
Ob upoštevanju zneska pomoči, dodeljenega družbi SACE BT, se prag iz uredbe o pomoči de minimis v višini 200000 EUR ne bi presegel le pri drugem ukrepu.
For those reasons, it must be accepted that the imputability to the State of an aid measure taken by a public undertaking may be inferred from a set of indicators arising from the circumstances of the case and the context in which that measure was taken.’
V uvodni izjavi 128 je Komisija izračunala, da pomoč pri drugem ukrepu znaša 156000 EUR.
Subsequently, the Court has indicated the following indicators allowing to infer the imputability to the State of a measure taken by a public undertaking:
Vendar se Italija ni sklicevala na Uredbo (ES) št. 1998/2006 in ni dokazala, da je SACE BT ob odobritvi drugega ukrepa izpolnjevala pogoje iz navedene uredbe.
the fact that the undertaking in question could not take the contested decision without taking account of the requirements of the public authorities;
Poleg tega se Uredba (ES) št. 1998/2006 ne uporablja za podjetja v težavah.
the nature of the undertaking's activities and whether such activities are exercised out on the market in normal conditions of competition with private operators;
Kot določajo smernice za reševanje in prestrukturiranje, so vedno večje izgube, presežna zmogljivost in upadajoča ali nična čista vrednost premoženja običajni znaki, da je podjetje v težavah.
the legal status of the undertaking (in the sense of its being subject to public law or ordinary company law);
SACE BT je zabeležila bistvene izgube v letih 2008 (v višini približno 29,5 milijona EUR) in 2009 (v višini približno 34 milijonov EUR), zato je delničar posredoval z visoko dokapitalizacijo.
the intensity of the supervision exercised by the public authorities over the management of the undertaking, or (vii) any other indicator showing, in the particular case, an involvement by the public authorities in the adoption of a measure or the unlikelihood of their not being involved, having regard also to the compass of the measure, its content or the conditions which it contains.
Poleg tega Italija navaja, da so bila sredstva že konec prvega semestra leta 2009 nezadostna za kritje rezerv, kar pomeni, da je bilo konec junija 2009 potrebnih 23 milijonov EUR in 68 milijonov EUR konec leta 2009 [155].
The Commission further concluded in recital 79 of the opening decision that it was highly unlikely that the measures under investigation had been adopted without any State involvement.
Drugič, tudi če bi bila SACE BT upravičena do pomoči de minimis, bi morala Italija pred odobritvijo take pomoči pridobiti izjavo družbe SACE BT o kateri koli drugi pomoči de minimis, ki jo je prejela v preteklih dveh davčnih letih in v trenutnem davčnem letu [156].
In reply to the opening decision, Italy and SACE maintain that none of the four measures is imputable to the State as the decisions were taken by SACE acting in complete independence from the State.
Poleg tega bi morala Italija, če je družbi SACE BT nameravala odobriti pomoč de minimis, o bodočem znesku pomoči (izraženem kot bruto ekvivalent pomoči) in o njenem značaju de minimis pisno obvestiti družbo SACE BT.
Italy provided additional factual elements and justification arguing that the measures are not imputable to the State.
Italija Komisiji ni predložila takih dokumentov.
To assess the case-law invoked by Italy, it has to be noted that in the Olympic Airways case, the Commission decision mentioned the ‘Stardust Marine’ criteria but did not really apply them.
Ob upoštevanju navedenega Komisija drugega ukrepa ne more šteti za pomoč de minimis.
The Court observed that in fact the Commission simply assumed the measure was attributable to the Greek State, without mentioning any reasons which might support its assumption [129].
Sklepna ugotovitev o obstoju državne pomoči
The Court therefore found the Commission's reasoning insufficient to establish imputability to the case, not that the measure was in itself not imputable.
Ob upoštevanju navedenega je Komisija sklenila, da so drugi, tretji in četrti ukrep državna pomoč.
As regards the SIC-RTP judgment [130], evoked by the Italian authorities, the Commission notes that in that judgment the CFI confirmed the Commission's assessment that certain contested decisions of the formerly State owned company Portugal Telecom (consisting in the acceptance of late payments of the network fee by the public broadcaster RTP) were not imputable to the State.
V.2.
However, the CFI judgment was based on the specific circumstances of that case.
OPREDELITEV KOT NOVA ALI OBSTOJEČA POMOČ
In particular, in the SIC-RTP case the CFI noted — inter alia — that the applicant did not contest the Commission's assessment that the payment facilities were mainly caused by a dispute between RTP and Portugal Telecom as to the level of the network fee [131].
Komisija meni, da se drugi, tretji in četrti ukrep ne morejo šteti za odobrene, preden je Italija sprejela sporočilo o izvoznih kreditih, zato se morajo opredeliti kot nova pomoč.
Moreover, the CFI noted that the Commission had found, without being contested by the applicant, that Portugal Telecom's behaviour did not change after its privatisation [132].
Podrobneje povedano, Italija je priporočila sporočila o izvoznih kreditih iz leta 1997 sprejela najpozneje 14. septembra 2001, ko je sprejela različico sporočila o izvoznih kreditih iz leta 2001 (glej uvodno izjavo 5 sklepa o začetku postopka).
It is therefore clear that the CFI assessment concerned a particular situation which was very different from that of the present decision.
Ker so bili drugi, tretji in četrti ukrep odobreni po tem datumu, so navedeni ukrepi nova pomoč.
The Commission found further evidence on the imputability of the measures in the additional documents submitted by Italy and SACE.
Zato se štejejo za nezakonito pomoč, saj jih Italija Komisiji ni priglasila pred njihovo izvedbo leta 2009.
Similar to the opening decision, the ‘Stardust Marine’ indicators are applied in the present decision in order to prove the imputability of the second, third and fourth measures.
V.3.
Even though SACE is not integrated in the public administration and does not exercise official authority, the Commission considers that the following general indicators demonstrate imputability of measures granted by SACE to the State [133]:
ZDRUŽLJIVOST MOREBITNE DRŽAVNE POMOČI Z NOTRANJIM TRGOM
All members of SACE's Board of Directors (‘Consiglio di Amministrazione’) are nominated on a proposal of the Italian State, according to Article 6(2) of Legislative Decree No 269/2003 [134].
Ker je bilo v oddelku zgoraj ugotovljeno, da so drugi, tretji in četrti ukrep državna pomoč v smislu člena 107(1) Pogodbe, bi bilo treba oceniti njihovo združljivost z notranjim trgom.
SACE does not exercise its activities ‘on the market in normal conditions of competition with private operators’:
Pravna podlaga za oceno združljivosti
The mission of SACE in 2004 was (and, to this day, continues to be) to maintain and promote the competitiveness of the Italian economy and it essentially covers non-marketable risks within the meaning of the Export-credit Communication (i.e. it operated in the field, which is not considered to be subject to normal conditions of market competition).
Ker sta Italija in SACE menili, da ukrepi niso pomoč, nista predložili sklepanja ali dokazov o tem, kako bi ukrepi izpolnjevali pogoje o združljivosti.
The activity of SACE has always benefited of a State guarantee, unlike allowed under the state aid rules for other public undertakings operating in competition with private market operators.
Kot je navedeno v uvodni izjavi 81, se je SACE sklicevala na sporočilo o dokapitalizaciji in sporočilo o prestrukturiranju [157] kot možni podlagi za združljivost tretjega in četrtega ukrepa.
The financial statements of SACE are subject to the control of the Court of Auditors and the Ministry of Economy and Finance has to present annual reports to the Italian Parliament as regards its activity.
Vendar ne Italija ne SACE nista utemeljili svojih trditev, da bi bili pogoji navedenih sporočil izpolnjeni.
Regarding the influence of the State on the allocation of SACE's resources, the CIPE has to deliberate every year not later than on 30 June on the financial projections as well as financial needs related to certain risks and to define global limits for the non-marketable risks to be assumed by SACE, distinctly for the guarantees of the duration inferior and superior than 24 months [135].
Komisija opominja, da se v skladu s točkama 3.2 in 4.1 sporočila o izvoznih kreditih izjeme iz člena 107(2) in (3) Pogodbe k prepovedi iz člena 107(1) ne uporabljajo za tržna tveganja („Vrste državne pomoči, […] ki jih prejemajo javno podprti zavarovatelji izvoznih kreditov za tržna tveganja, […] lahko izkrivljajo konkurenco in torej ne morejo biti upravičene do izjem po pravilih Pogodbe o državni pomoči.“).
The Statutes of SACE BT provide that besides the legal provisions regularly applying to private insurance companies, SACE BT is also subject to the provision of a law [136] stating that in case a new legal entity is created to provide cover for marketable risks, SACE should hold not less than 30 % of its capital.
Zato običajno ni mogoče najti razlogov za združljivost pomoči za podpiranje zavarovateljev kreditov, ki poslujejo na področju tržnih tveganj.
It would thus appear that even after the constitution of SACE BT the continuous support to it (second, third and fourth measures) was influenced by the Italian State to the extent that the above mentioned legislative provision excluded that such risks be run down and/or sold in their entirety to a market operator [137].
Kljub temu bo Komisija pokazala, da trije ukrepi pomoči v nobenem primeru ne bi izpolnjevali nobenega od pogojev, da bi se jih lahko štelo za združljive v skladu s členom 107(3) Pogodbe.
In addition to the general indicators provided in recital 177, other indicators specific to the conditions of granting the second, third and fourth measures can be identified:
Združljivost v skladu s Smernicami Skupnosti o državni pomoči za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah (smernice za reševanje in prestrukturiranje) [158]
Two of the four members (‘Consiglieri’) of the Board of Directors of SACE (‘Consiglio di Amministrazione’) had management positions in the Italian administration [138], i.e. the former Ministry of Foreign Trade (the current Ministry for Economic Development) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the time when the second, third and fourth measures were granted.
Smernice za reševanje in prestrukturiranje pomoč za reševanje opredelijo kot kratkoročno pomoč, ki je načeloma odobrena za največ šest mesecev, da se upravičencu omogoči manevrski prostor za oblikovanje podrobnega načrta za prestrukturiranje ali likvidacijo.
Moreover, the member of SACE's Board of Directors, also having a management position in the Ministry of Foreign Trade (the current Ministry for Economic Development — Director of the General Division for the internationalisation policy of the Ministry for Foreign Trade), stated in the same meeting of SACE's Board of Directors of 1 April 2009 that ‘the support provided to the system [of Italian enterprises] by the businesses carried out by SACE is not always clearly perceived externally, which coincides, also, with the importance of supporting SACE BT, also through its recapitalisation’ [140].
Pomoč za reševanje običajno sestavljajo jamstva za posojila ali posojila za podjetje v težavah, medtem ko se ocenjuje njegova prihodnost.
The role of the parent company, SACE, and the other companies of the group, thus includingSACE BT, was recognised as an important one in the recovery of the Italian economy.
V zvezi z možnostjo, da se drugi ukrep ugotovi za združljivega kot pomoč za reševanje, Komisija opaža, da drugi ukrep nima značilnosti likvidnostne pomoči in da njegov glavni cilj ni zagotoviti preživetja družbe SACE BT.
In its meeting of 1 April 2009, SACE's Board of Directors recognised the importance of supporting SACE BT, whereby SACE Group fulfils its institutional function of sustaining the Italian companies [141].
Zato se drugi ukrep ne more opredeliti kot pomoč za reševanje.