natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
According to the information submitted to the Commission by the Portuguese authorities, the overall budget of the scheme for both domestic and export transactions is EUR 2 billion [5].
možnostjo, da vsa podjetja, dejavna na Portugalskem, uporabljajo shemo neodvisno od tega, ali je narava njihovih dejavnosti povezana s trgovino z blagom (sektor „gradnje“ je od sheme pridobil sredstva v višini 2155000 EUR, sektor „prometa“ 471500 EUR, sektor „drugih storitev – razen trgovine“ pa 4580000 EUR), čeprav so izvozna posojila po svoji naravi v glavnem povezana s transakcijami z blagom.
COMMISSION DECISION ON THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
Poleg tega po navedbah Portugalske model „top-up“ ne bi bil vir diskriminacije, saj nobenemu podjetju ne preprečuje, da bi se o taki politiki pogajalo z zasebnim zavarovateljem.
In its decision of 27 October 2010 initiating the formal investigation procedure, the Commission set out its preliminary assessment and expressed doubts as to the compatibility of the scheme with the internal market.
Javni organi se v celoti zanašajo na oceno tveganja zasebnih zavarovateljev.
The application of the scheme to short-term export credit insurance, in which the pricing of the guarantee was below the level normally required pursuant to the Commission Communication on short-term export credit insurance [6] (hereinafter ‘the Communication’).
Ta največji limit je oblikovan za zagotovitev, da so vključena državna sredstva sorazmerna s cilji, ki se skušajo doseči, in da je tveganje dobro razpršeno, hkrati pa večjemu številu podjetij zagotavlja dostop do sheme.
The Commission expressed doubts that the remuneration was necessary and proportionate to attain the objective, considering the potential distortions of competition that it implies.
Po navedbah portugalskih organov dejstvo, da največji limit sheme ni bil porabljen, dokazuje odsotnost diskriminiranja velikih podjetij.
The Commission expressed doubts as to the compatibility of the measure and again questioned the pricing of the guarantee provided.
Obžaluje, da Komisija ni določila meril, ki morajo biti izpolnjena v zvezi z ukrepom, da se ta obravnava kot ukrep splošne narave.
COMMENTS BY PORTUGAL
Portugalska je nižje cene sheme v primerjavi s tistimi iz zasebnega zavarovanja upravičila s trditvijo, da je mogoče zaradi tega, ker se podjetja odločajo, da bodo v okviru sheme zavarovala manj tvegane dejavnosti, pri čemer prepuščajo bolj tvegane dejavnosti kritju iz zasebnega zavarovanja, opaziti škodljivo selekcijo.
In their comments on the initiation of the formal investigation procedure, the Portuguese authorities argue that the Commission's claim that companies under the scheme benefit from an advantage that would otherwise not be available is not consistent with the objectives expressed in the Temporary Framework.
Glede na to po navedbah portugalskih organov obrazložitev Komisije ne bi bila ustrezna za sektor izvoznega posojila, v katerem se tveganje z zneskom posojila ne poveča, kot se poveča za bančna posojila.
To prove the market failure, the Portuguese authorities refer to the loss ratio, which had attained a record of 102 % in 2008, despite the fact that the number of firms covered by insurance had decreased by 29,41 % at the end of 2009 compared with the end of 2008 and by another 12,53 % by the end of September 2010.
Po navedbah portugalskih organov je nizko tveganje dokazano tudi z dejstvom, da se je obseg zahtevkov, akumuliranih v shemi, oktobra 2010 povečal zgolj za 0,26 % skupne vrednosti sklenjenega zavarovanja.
The value of the insured portfolio had decreased by 32,84 % at the end of 2009 compared to end 2008 and by another 22,36 % at September 2010.
Poleg tega oblikovanje cen, ki se uporablja za državno poroštvo, po navedbah portugalskih organov ustreza oblikovanju cen na trgu pred krizo in zato upravičencem ne daje prednosti.
Portugal also argues that other Member States have also adopted such schemes.
Shema po navedbah portugalskih organov ne povzroča izkrivljanja konkurence med državami članicami, ker:
As regards the selective nature of the advantage, Portugal argues that the scheme is not selective, but instead constitutes a measure of general character which does not entail any intra-sectoral or cross-sectoral discrimination.
PRIPOMBE DRUGIH ZAINTERESIRANIH STRANI
Portugal also deplores the absence of a definition by the Commission of what constitutes a general measure.
Komisija po objavi sklepa Komisije o začetku formalnega postopka preiskave v Uradnem listu Evropske unije dne 9. aprila 2011 ni prejela nobenih pripomb tretjih strani.
According to Portugal, the absence of discrimination is proven by: (i) the application of the scheme also to companies from other Member States which are active in Portugal;
OCENA
the acceptance of applications to the scheme from all four insurers active in Portugal, all of which are held at least in part by foreign entities;
PRIZNANJE UKREPOV KOT DRŽAVNO POMOČ
the absence of a change of the financing needs during the crisis;
Člen 107(1) PDEU določa:
the major beneficiary of the scheme, which in October 2010 was the segment of operations relating to the national market (73,2 %);
„Razen če Pogodbi ne določata 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.“
the possibility of all firms operating in Portugal to use the scheme, independently of whether the nature of their activities is linked to trade in goods (the sectors ‘construction’, ‘transport’ and ‘other services — excluding commerce’ have benefitted from the scheme for the amounts of EUR 2155000, EUR 471500 and EUR 4580000 respectively), although by their nature, export credits are mainly related to transactions in goods.
Da se lahko uporabi člen 107(1) PDEU, mora obstajati ukrep pomoči, ki bremeni državo in je dodeljen z državnimi sredstvi, vpliva na trgovino med državami članicami in izkrivlja konkurenco na notranjem trgu z dajanjem selektivne prednosti nekaterim podjetjem.
Moreover, the top-up model would not be a source of discrimination, according to Portugal, as it does not prevent any firm from negotiating such a policy with a private insurer.
Državna sredstva
The public authorities rely entirely on the risk assessment of the private insurers.
Kot je pojasnjeno v sklepu Komisije z dne 27. oktobra 2010 o začetku formalnega postopka preiskave, država neposredno zagotovi zavarovanje, kakršne koli izgube, ki izvirajo iz sheme, pa vplivajo na državni proračun.
Also, according to the Portuguese authorities, the maximum limit set per insurance does not prevent access to it by big firms, which have benefitted from the scheme (up to 47,79 % in terms of value of operations, as opposed to 33,79 % for medium-sized and 18,42 % for small-sized firms, but only up to 31,58 % in terms of number of beneficiaries, as opposed to 39,60 % for medium-sized firms and 28,82 % for small-sized firms).
Zato shema vključuje državna sredstva.
It regrets that the Commission has not set out criteria that a measure must fulfil in order to be of a general nature.
Premijske stopnje na trgu zavarovanj kratkoročnih izvoznih posojil so praviloma določene v pogodbah za obdobje najmanj enega leta.
Portugal justified the lower pricing of the scheme compared to that of private insurance, arguing that an adverse selection can be observed as firms chose to ensure the less risky operations under the scheme, leaving the riskier operations for coverage by the private insurance.
Zato je kakršno koli spreminjanje cen ponujenega kritja učinkovito samo z zakasnitvijo.
In that respect, the reasoning of the Commission would not be relevant, according to the Portuguese authorities, in the sector of export credit, where risk does not increase with the amount of the credit as it does for bank credits.
Poleg tega je tržna praksa taka, da se ponudba zavarovanja posojil prilagaja z zviševanjem ali zniževanjem zneskov ponujenih posojil, ne pa s spreminjanjem stopnje, zaračunane za kritje.
The low risk is also shown, according to the Portuguese authorities, by the fact that at October 2010 the volume of claims accumulated in the scheme increased by only 0,26 % of the total value of insurance contracted.
Ta praksa je opazna tudi od začetka finančne krize, kot dokazujejo dopisi o zavrnitvi kritja, ki jih je poslala Portugalska, in dopisi o zavrnitvi, poslani v drugih primerih v zvezi s shemami zavarovanja kratkoročnih izvoznih posojil [8].
Moreover, the pricing applied to the State guarantee corresponds, according to the Portuguese authorities, to the market pricing before the crisis and does therefore not entail an advantage for its beneficiaries.
Na splošno dopisi zavarovateljev o zavrnitvi izvoznikom kot drugo možnost ne nudijo višje cene za kritje nekaterih kupcev.
Further, according to the Portuguese authorities the scheme does not give rise to a distortion of competition between Member States, because:
Dokazi kažejo, da so zasebni zavarovatelji zaradi finančne krize bistveno zmanjšali ponujeno kritje, pogosto pa so ga v celoti umaknili.
it also covers national operations;
Drugi podatki, ki so jih predložili tržni operaterji, potrjujejo zgoraj navedeno [9].
the costs of insurance differ in the Member States, as shown by the different pricing of the insurance;
Zato konkurenca med zavarovatelji temelji v glavnem na količini in ne na cenah.
and (iii) that type of service is unavailable on the market.
Država se je z ukrepom odzvala na povpraševanje, ki ga obstoječi zasebnimi operaterji ne krijejo.
COMMENTS BY OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
Vendar bi se nov operater na konkurenčnem trgu brez državnega posredovanja na povpraševanje odzval z dodelitvijo dodatnega zavarovalnega kritja.
Following the publication of the Commission Decision to open the formal investigation procedure in the Official Journal on 9 April 2011, the Commission received no comments from third parties.
Posledično je bil namen državnega posredovanja zaščititi tržne položaje zasebnih operaterjev, ki so že dejavni na portugalskem trgu.
ASSESSMENT
Zavarovanje kratkoročnih izvoznih posojil je proizvod, pri katerem zavarovatelj v trgovinski transakciji prevzame trgovinsko in politično tveganje neplačila s strani kupca.
QUALIFICATION OF THE MEASURES AS STATE AID
Banke ponujajo tudi možnost, da z dokumentarnim akreditivom in odkupom terjatev brez regresa prevzamejo trgovinska tveganja trgovinskih transakcij.
Article 107(1) TFEU states:
Zavarovanje kratkoročnih izvoznih posojil, ki ga nudijo zavarovalnice izvoznih posojil, in dokumentiran akreditiv, ki ga nudijo banke, sta nadomestili na strani povpraševanja na trgu za zaščito pred trgovinskim tveganjem pri trgovinskih transakcijah.
‘Save as otherwise provided in this Treaty, any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Member States, be incompatible with the internal market.’
Izvozniki bi se lahko brez državnega posredovanja vsaj v določeni meri zatekli k dokumentarnemu akreditivu (akreditiv), ki ga nudijo banke [10].
In order for Article 107(1) TFEU to be applicable, there needs to be an aid measure imputable to the State which is granted by State resources, affects trade between Member States and distorts competition in the internal market by conferring a selective advantage on certain undertakings.
Ukrep zaradi možne zamenljivosti med zavarovanjem kratkoročnih izvoznih posojil, ki jih nudijo zavarovatelji, in dokumentarnim akreditivom, ki ga nudijo banke, daje prednost sektorju zavarovanja kratkoročnih izvoznih posojil, ker na trgu prispeva k ohranjanju tržnega deleža zavarovateljev izvoznih kreditov za zaščito pred trgovinskimi in političnimi tveganji trgovinskih transakcij.
State resources
Prednost je selektivna zato, ker banke niso upravičene do prijave za shemo, v okviru katere je javno zavarovanje ponujeno samo kot nadomestilo za kritje, ki ga dodelijo zasebni zavarovatelji.
As explained in the Commission decision of 27 October 2010 initiating the formal investigation procedure, the insurance is directly provided by the State and any losses stemming from the scheme affect the national budget.
Komisija glede na navedeno ugotavlja, da ukrep zavarovateljem daje selektivno prednost.
The scheme therefore involves State resources.
Selektivna prednost za izvoznike in domače trgovinske družbe
The involvement of State resources is not contested by Portugal.
Shemi pridruženi izvozniki in trgovinske družbe plačajo premijo, ki je nižja od tržne premije.
Selective advantage for insurers
To vodi do krepitve položaja podjetij, ki imajo od sheme koristi, v primerjavi s tistimi, ki bi svoje kritje morebiti prejela le od zasebnih zavarovateljev po tržni ceni.
The Commission has analysed export credit insurance markets in its decisions on short-term export credit insurance schemes [7].
Sama krepitev položaja nekaterih tržnih akterjev z ukrepi sheme se v primerjavi z njihovimi konkurenti v primerljivem položaju obravnava kot prednost [11].
Premium rates in the short-term export credit insurance market are typically fixed in contracts for periods of at least one year.
V tem primeru krepitev položaja teh upravičencev brez posredovanja države ne bi bila možna v enaki meri.
Therefore, any change in the pricing of the cover offered is effective only with a time lag.
Poleg tega, kot je potrdila Portugalska, kritje vsaj do določene mere na trgu ni na voljo za tveganja, krita v okviru sheme.
Further, the market practice is to adjust the supply of credit insurance by increasing or decreasing the amounts of credit offered and not by changing the rate charged on the cover.
Zato imajo podjetja, ki imajo koristi od sheme, dvojno prednost v obliki dostopa do zavarovalnega kritja, ki v nasprotnem primeru ne bi bilo na voljo:
This practice has also been observed since the beginning of the financial crisis, as evidenced by the letters of refusal of cover sent by Portugal and the letters of refusal sent in other cases of short-term export credit insurance schemes [8].
ne le, da imajo korist od premije, ki je nižja od tržne cene, ampak imajo korist tudi od dodatnega kritja.
In general, the letters of refusal from insurers do not offer exporters, as an alternative, a higher price for the cover of certain buyers.
Portugalska shema je dejansko selektivna.
Evidence shows that as a consequence of the financial crisis, private insurers significantly reduced the cover offered, often withdrawing it altogether.
V prvotni navedbi, da je shema selektivna, gre za to, da so podjetja, ki jim ukrep koristi, skoraj izključno podjetja, ki trgujejo z blagom, medtem ko imajo podjetja, ki zagotavljajo storitve, od sheme precej manj koristi.
Other data supplied by market operators confirm the above [9].
Portugalski organi v zvezi s formalnim postopkom preiskave navajajo, da ni pravnih ovir, ki bi podjetjem, ki niso vključena v komercialne dejavnosti, preprečevale, da bi imela koristi od sheme, ter da je sektorjem „gradnje“, „prometa“ in „drugih storitev – razen trgovine“ shema koristila.
Thus, competition between insurers is based chiefly on quantities rather than prices.
Vendar se Portugalska tudi strinja, da zavarovanje izvoznih posojil po svoji naravi v glavnem vključuje transakcije z blagom.
Through the measure, the State responded to demand not covered by the existing private operators.
Podjetja, ki nudijo prevozne in druge storitve, so oktobra 2010 pomenile le 2,4 % zavarovanj, zagotovljenih v okviru sheme.
However, in a competitive market with no state intervention, a new operator would have responded to the demand by granting additional insurance cover.
Glede na to, da je bilo od skupno 361 podjetij, ki so imela koristi od sheme, samo 8 podjetij, ki nudijo storitve, in da so pomenila 1,25-odstotni delež posojilnih limitov, je jasno, da je zadevni ukrep v glavnem pomagal podjetjem, ki trgujejo z blagom.
Consequently, the effect of the State's intervention was to protect the market positions of the private operators already active on the Portuguese market.
Obstajajo tudi drugi elementi, ki kažejo, da je shema dejansko selektivna.
Short-term export credit insurance is a product in which the insurer takes over the commercial and political risk of default by the buyer in a trade transaction.
Prvič, kljub trditvi portugalskih organov, da je shema splošnega značaja, ker so upravičenci določeni z objektivnimi merili, ki ne vključujejo diskriminacije institucij iz drugih držav članic, pogoji, določeni v okviru sheme, pri izbiranju upravičencev dopuščajo določeno mejo diskrecije.
Banks also offer to take over the commercial risks of trade transactions through documentary credit and non-recourse factoring.
Shema sledi modelu „top-up“, po katerem so do sheme upravičena samo podjetja, ki imajo posojilni limit pri zasebnem zavarovatelju, medtem ko podjetja, ki jim zasebni zavarovatelji posojil v celoti zavrnejo kritje, niso upravičena do modela „top-up“.
Short-term export credit insurance offered by export credit insurance companies and documentary credit offered by banks are demand-side substitutes in the market for protection against the commercial risk of trade transactions.
Shema presojo o upravičenosti do kritja v celoti prepušča zasebnim podjetjem.
In the absence of State intervention, exporters might have resorted at least to some extent to documentary credit (letter of credit) offered by banks [10].
Če ni enotnih in objektivnih meril za določanje tveganja, ki ga prinašajo transakcije, ki jih izvede vsak izvoznik ali trgovec, shema zasebnim operaterjem dopušča nekaj proste presoje pri ocenjevanju kreditne sposobnosti podjetij, ki so upravičena do prijave za kritje.
Owing to the possible substitutability between short-term export credit insurance offered by insurers and the documentary credit offered by banks, the measure entails an advantage in favour of the sector of short-term export credit insurance, because it contributes to maintaining the market share of export credit insurers in the market for protection against the commercial and political risks of trade transactions.
Sodišče je menilo, da je treba to obravnavati kot neselektivno, ukrep pa mora temeljiti na merilu uporabe, ki je objektivno, ne sme imeti geografskega ali sektorskega stranskega pomena in mora biti v skladu s cilji ukrepa [12].
As banks are not eligible to apply for the scheme, under which public insurance is offered only as a supplement to the cover granted by private insurers, the advantage is selective.
Ker v tem primeru ni objektivnih meril za odločitev o dodelitvi zasebnega kritja, to vodi do morebitne diskriminacije med upravičenci, ki so v primerljivem dejanskem položaju [13].
In the light of the foregoing, the Commission concludes that the measure confers a selective advantage on insurers.
Drugič, tudi če bi se merila za dostop do sheme obravnavala kot objektivna, Sodišče meni, da sam obstoj objektivnih meril ne prejudicira selektivne narave ukrepa, če ukrep daje prednost določenim podjetjem na škodo drugih.
Selective advantage for exporters and domestic trading companies
V tem primeru je shema dejansko selektivna.
Exporters and trading companies subscribing to the scheme pay a premium which is lower than the market premium.
Tretjič, da bi bil ukrep splošne narave, mora ne le temeljiti na objektivnih in horizontalnih merilih, ampak tudi ne sme biti omejen niti časovno niti na njegovem področju uporabe.
This leads to a strengthening of the position of the companies that benefit from the scheme compared to those who would potentially receive their coverage only from private insurers at a market price.
Čeprav Portugalska vztraja, da je shema splošnega značaja, je ta omejena tako časovno kot na področju uporabe, vključno s samo naravo modela „top-up“, kot je pojasnjeno v uvodni izjavi 43.
The mere strengthening, through measures of a scheme, of the position of some market players compared to their competitors in a comparable situation, has been considered to constitute an advantage [11].
Ne nazadnje, merila v okviru sheme niso skladna s ciljem in logiko ukrepa [16].
In the present case, strengthening of the position of those beneficiaries would not have been possible to the same extent without the intervention of the State.
Čeprav bi zasebni zavarovatelji shemo uporabljali na objektiven način, bi bila v okviru sheme upravičena samo podjetja, katerih kritje se je med krizo zmanjšalo.
Furthermore, as affirmed by Portugal, cover is unavailable on the market, at least to the same extent, for the risks covered under the scheme.
Podjetja, za katera so zasebni zavarovatelji v celoti preklicali posojilne limite, so izključena iz sheme.
Thus companies benefiting from the scheme receive a double advantage in the form of access to insurance cover that would otherwise be unavailable:
Zato shema kljub svojemu cilju, da se obravnava domnevna nedostopnost kritja na zasebnem trgu, ne vključuje podjetij, ki jih je zmanjšanje zasebnih zavarovalnih zmogljivosti na trgu najbolj prizadelo.
not only do they benefit from a lower premium than the market price, but they also benefit from the existence of the additional cover.
Glede na to oblika ukrepa ni ustrezna za obravnavanje ugotovljene tržne nepopolnosti.
The Portuguese scheme is de facto selective.
Na podlagi navedenih ugotovitev so prednosti izvoznikov in trgovinskih družb, ki so pridruženi shemi, selektivne narave.
An initial indication that the scheme is selective is that the companies that benefit from the measure are almost exclusively companies that trade in goods, while companies that provide services benefit much less from it.
Vpliv na trgovino in izkrivljanje konkurence
In the context of the formal investigation proceedings, the Portuguese authorities state that there are no legal obstacles preventing companies not involved in commercial activities to benefit from the scheme and that the sectors ‘construction’, ‘transport’ and ‘other services — excluding commerce’ have benefitted from the scheme.
Shema ob upoštevanju vpliva na trgovino obsega izvozne transakcije in domače transakcije s tržnim blagom.
However, Portugal also admits that by their nature, export credit insurance mainly concerns transactions in goods.
Ker shema obsega domače transakcije, bi lahko vplivala na trgovino med državami članicami do te mere, da bi znatno izkrivljala trgovinske tokove, na primer s preusmeritvijo gospodarskih dejavnosti od izvoza k domačim transakcijam.
Companies that supply transport and other services accounted for only 2,4 % of the insurance provided under the scheme at October 2010.
Glede na sodno prakso Sodišča v zvezi z izkrivljanjem konkurence preprosto dejstvo, da se z gospodarsko prednostjo, ki jo podjetje drugače ne bi prejelo za običajno opravljanje svoje dejavnosti, okrepi konkurenčni položaj podjetja v primerjavi z drugimi konkurenčnimi podjetji, kaže na možno izkrivljanje konkurence [17].
There are other elements that show that the scheme is de facto selective.
Shema prav tako vpliva na trgovino, če obsega domače transakcije.
First, despite the claim of the Portuguese authorities that the scheme has a general character because the beneficiaries are defined by objective criteria which do not entail a discrimination against entities from other Member States, the conditions set under the scheme grant a certain margin of discretion in the choice of beneficiaries.
Kadar pomoč, ki jo dodeli država članica, okrepi položaj podjetja v primerjavi z drugimi konkurenčnimi podjetji v trgovini znotraj Unije, je treba po dobro uveljavljeni sodni praksi šteti, da pomoč vpliva na ta podjetja.
The scheme follows a ‘top-up’ model, according to which only companies that have a credit limit with a private insurer are eligible for the scheme, while companies to which private credit insurers refuse cover completely are not eligible for the ‘top-up’.
V zvezi s tem bi lahko dejstvo, da je bil gospodarski sektor liberaliziran na ravni Unije, pripomoglo k odločitvi, da ima pomoč dejanski ali potencialni vpliv na konkurenco in da vpliva na trgovino med državami članicami.