natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The Court also observed that the principle of an investor in a market economy was satisfied, because at the time the aid was granted, irrespective of the losses incurred in 2004 and 2005, there were reasonable prospects of profitability in the long term.
V zvezi s pravnimi spori na italijanskih sodiščih proti deželi, ki je zavrnila plačilo sorazmernega prispevka, ki je čakalo na odobritev Komisije na podlagi pravil o državni pomoči, je Komisija menila, da bi morala Italija glede na prednost prava EU pred nacionalnim pravom in ker priglasitev ni bila uradno preklicana, ravnati v skladu s klavzulo o mirovanju iz člena 108(3) PDEU.
The Region challenged the ruling of the Court on the ground that the measure constituted State aid and consequently should not be implemented until the Commission had adopted an authorising decision.
Komisija je zato zavzela stališče, da bi bilo treba glede na prednost obveznosti mirovanja iz člena 108(3) PDEU stališče nacionalnih sodišč zanemariti in da italijanski organi priglašenega ukrepa ne bi smeli začeti izvajati, dokler postopek glede državne pomoči ni bil končan.
In December 2009 the Italian authorities informed the Commission that this action had been rejected and that no further procedural steps could be taken to oppose granting of the public contribution to SO.G.A.S.
PRIPOMBE ZAINTERESIRANIH STRANI
GROUNDS FOR INITIATING THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION
Edina zainteresirana stran, ki je Komisiji poslala pripombe, je bil prejemnik, tj. SO.G.A.S., ki je podprl utemeljitve italijanskih organov med formalno preiskavo in jih dopolnil.
In the opening decision, the Commission took the preliminary view that the pro rata injections carried out by the Region and the other public shareholders to cover losses incurred in 2004 and 2005, and the capital injection decided by SO.G.A.S.'s shareholders in December 2007, amounted to State aid, on the following grounds:
Obstoj pomoči
they consisted in a transfer of funds to SO.G.A.S. from a number of regional and local authorities, namely the Region of Calabria, the Province of Reggio Calabria, the Municipality of Messina and the Municipality of Reggio Calabria, or local autonomous bodies set up under public law, namely the Reggio Calabria Chamber of Commerce and the Messina Chamber of Commerce;
Natančneje, SO.G.A.S. je trdil, da ukrep:(i) ni vplival na trgovino med državami članicami oziroma (ii) SO.G.A.S.-u ni dodelil selektivne gospodarske prednosti in (iii) ni izkrivljal konkurence oz. je ne bi mogel izkrivljati.
they therefore involved State resources and were imputable to the State;
SO.G.A.S. je trdil, da so bili sporni ukrepi dodeljeni pod običajnimi tržnimi pogoji in zato skladni z načelom vlagatelja v tržnem gospodarstvu.
they did not comply with the principle of an investor in a market economy, and thus conferred a selective advantage on SO.G.A.S.;
Bili so v skladu s členoma 2446 in 2447 italijanskega civilnega zakonika, ki določa, da morajo delničarji delniške družbe, ki je izgubila več kot tretjino svojega kapitala, nadomestiti izgube, da preprečijo prenehanje družbe.
they were liable to distort competition and affect trade between Member States.
Če delničarji ne bi krili izgub SO.G.A.S.-a, družbe za upravljanje letališča, bi to pomenilo preklic (v skladu s členom 13 odredbe ministra (DM) št. 521 z dne 12. novembra 1997) delnega upravljanja letališča Stretto, za katero je bil SO.G.A.S. pooblaščen v skladu s členom 17 uredbe z zakonsko močjo št. 67 iz leta 1997, pri čemer v prihodnosti ne bi bilo mogoče ohraniti koncesije za upravljanje letališča v celoti, za katero je bila vložena vloga na ministrstvu za promet.
The Commission took the preliminary view that the disputed measures were incompatible with the internal market.
Zato je bilo smiselno domnevati, da bi zasebni vlagatelj pred podobno izbiro ukrepal enako, da bi povečal vrednost svojega deleža.
the Commission concluded, on a preliminary basis, that the compatibility of the measures could not be assessed under the criteria laid down by the guidelines on financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines departing from regional airports (‘the 2005 aviation guidelines’) [4].
Razpis za zbiranje ponudb za delno privatizacijo SO.G.A.S.-a je bil objavljen julija 2007.
Third, notwithstanding their claim that SO.G.A.S. was a firm in difficulty within the meaning of the guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (‘the R&R guidelines’) [5], the Italian authorities had also indicated that the measures were not part of a restructuring plan and that no such plan existed.
Ponudbo za pridobitev 35 % kapitala SO.G.A.S.-a je predložil italijansko-argentinski konzorcij (associazione temporanea di imprese ali ATI).
Last, the Commission took the view that the measures were not compatible with the guidelines on national regional aid for 2007–2013 (hereinafter ‘the regional guidelines’) [6], which provided the framework for the assessment of aid granted on the basis of Article 107(3)(a) and (c) TFEU.
Delničarji SO.G.A.S.-a so menili, da ponudba ni gospodarna.
As regards the legal actions brought in the Italian courts against the Region's refusal to pay its pro rata contribution pending authorisation by the Commission under the State aid rules, the Commission considered that, given the primacy of EU law over national law, and as long as the notification had not been formally withdrawn, Italy was bound to comply with the standstill clause laid down by Article 108(3) TFEU.
Marca 2010 je bil objavljen nov razpis za zbiranje ponudb za 35 % delnic SO.G.A.S.-a.
The Commission therefore took the view that by virtue of the primacy of the standstill obligation in Article 108(3) TFEU the position taken by the national courts should have been disregarded, and that the Italian authorities should not have put the notified measure into effect as long as the State aid procedure was pending.
SO.G.A.S. je menil, da sta dve prijavi interesa, ki ju je prejel, skupaj s prvo ponudbo konzorcija pokazali, da je bilo načelo vlagatelja v tržnem gospodarstvu izpolnjeno.
COMMENTS FROM INTERESTED PARTIES
SO.G.A.S. je trdil tudi, da je Komisija napačno sklepala, da bi lahko potniki, ki uporabljajo letališče Stretto, glede na njihovo stalno prebivališče uporabljali tudi letališča v kraju Catania, Lamezia Terme ali Crotone ter da bi lahko sporni ukrepi zato izkrivljali konkurenco med upravljavci letališč.
SO.G.A.S. submitted that the measures under assessment did not constitute State aid because the criteria laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU were not all met.
Zaradi posebnih zemljepisnih in infrastrukturnih značilnosti Kalabrije je bilo izključeno morebitno prekrivanje ciljnih območij letališča Stretto in sosednjih italijanskih letališč.
More specifically, SO.G.A.S. claimed that the measure:
Letališče v kraju Lamezia Terme je bilo oddaljeno več kot 130 km, tj. približno eno uro vožnje od letališča Stretto.
did not affect trade between Member States, or in the alternative (ii) did not confer a selective economic advantage on SO.G.A.S. and (iii) did not distort or threaten to distort competition.
Med letališčema Stretto in Crotone, ki je bilo oddaljeno več kot tri ure, ni bilo hitre neposredne povezave.
SO.G.A.S. argued that the disputed measures were granted under normal market conditions and therefore complied with the market economy investor principle.
Letališče v kraju Catania je v drugi zemljepisni regiji in je bilo oddaljeno več kot 130 km, kar pomeni med 1 uro in 30 minut ter 1 uro in 40 minut vožnje z avtom.
They were in line with Articles 2446 and 2447 of the Italian Civil Code, which required the shareholders of a limited company that had lost over one third of its capital to compensate its losses in order to avoid the winding-up of the company.
SO.G.A.S. je predložil preglednico z indeksom korelacije med prihodom potnikov na letališče Stretto ter potnikov na letališča v krajih Lamezia Terme, Crotone in Catania.
Failure on the part of the shareholders to cover the losses of SO.G.A.S., an airport management company, would have entailed the withdrawal (within the meaning of Article 13 of Ministerial Order (DM) No 521 of 12 November 1997) of the partial management of Stretto airport, which had been entrusted to SO.G.A.S. under Article 17 of Decree-law No 67 of 1997, and would have made it impossible in future to secure the full concession for the management of the airport, for which an application had been made to the Ministry of Transport.
V preglednici je bilo navedeno, da so potniki, ki potujejo prek letališča Stretto, predstavljali nov del regionalnega prometa.
It was reasonable to suppose, therefore, that a private investor facing a similar choice would have acted in the same manner in order to increase the value of their shareholding.
SO.G.A.S. je zavrnil predhodno ugotovitev Komisije, da bi lahko ukrepi izkrivljali konkurenco med letalskimi družbami.
The recipient pointed out that the Ordinary Court of Reggio Calabria had commissioned an independent valuation of the company in June 2008, which estimated that the value of the company fell in a range between EUR 12 million and EUR 17 million.
Javno financiranje se na nobenega letalskega prevoznika ni preneslo z odobritvijo nižjih pristajalnih pristojbin ali drugih ugodnih pogojev.
To evidence the company's prospects of profitability, the recipient submitted to the Commission a business plan drawn up for SO.G.A.S. in October 2008 by an external consultant, which forecast that the company would return to viability in 2013.
Pristajalne pristojbine in druge pogoje poslovanja na letališču je določil pristojni organ in niso bili prepuščeni v presojo upravljavcu letališča.
A call for tenders for the partial privatisation of SO.G.A.S. had been published in July 2007.
Nazadnje se SO.G.A.S. ni strinjal, da je letališče Stretto uporabljala zlasti družba Alitalia (ki je opravila šest od osmih letov na dan) in da ni bilo znakov, da so bili čarterski ali nizkocenovni letalski prevozniki zainteresirani za zagon novih poti z odhodom z letališča Stretto.
A bid for the acquisition of 35 % of SO.G.A.S.'s capital had been submitted by an Italo-Argentine consortium (associazione temporanea di imprese or ‘ATI’).
SO.G.A.S. je sklenil, da bi morala Komisija pri oceni učinka ukrepa na konkurenco in trgovino med državami članicami bolj upoštevati posebne razmere ter ugotoviti, da ukrep ni pomenil državne pomoči.
The bid was considered economically disadvantageous by SO.G.A.S.'s shareholders.
Združljivost pomoči
In March 2010 a new call for tenders for 35 % of SO.G.A.S.'s shares was published.
V zvezi z vprašanjem, ali bi se lahko ukrepi šteli za združljive v skladu s členom 107(3)(c) PDEU, je SO.G.A.S. trdil, da je bilo javno financiranje, ki se ocenjuje, namenjeno ohranitvi neprekinjenega poslovanja upravljavca letališča in razvoju nekaterih gospodarskih dejavnosti.
According to SO.G.A.S. the two expressions of interest received in response, together with the initial bid from the consortium, showed that the market economy investor principle was satisfied.
Ta cilj je bil utemeljen z dejstvom, da majhna letališča navadno niso ustvarila zadostnih prihodkov za kritje stroškov, potrebnih za izpolnjevanje varstvenih in varnostnih zahtev.
SO.G.A.S. also argued that the Commission was wrong to conclude that passengers using Stretto airport could also use in Catania, Lamezia Terme or Crotone airports, depending on their place of residence, and that the disputed measures consequently had the potential to distort competition between airport managers.
Poleg tega bi letališče Stretto glede na značilnosti letališke infrastrukture in z njo povezanih omejitev, ki jih je uvedla nacionalna uprava za civilno letalstvo ENAC [7], zelo težko gostilo čarterske in nizkocenovne letalske prevoznike.
First, Stretto airport and Catania, Lamezia Terme and Crotone airports were regional point-to-point airports whose catchment areas did not overlap.
Letališče Stretto je bilo v skladu z merili ENAC razvrščeno kot letališče razreda II.
Nor did Stretto airport compete with any other airport in Italy or the Union.
Ta razvrstitev je temeljila na vidikih infrastrukture in ne na številu potnikov.
The particular geographical and infrastructural features of Calabria excluded any potential overlap between the catchment area of Stretto airport and those of neighbouring Italian airports.
V skladu z njo so morala letališča z malo potniki nameniti enake stroške za izpolnitev varnostnih standardov na letališčih kot letališča z več kot milijonom potnikov.
Lamezia Terme airport was more than 130 km away, at approximately one hour's driving time from Stretto.
Brez javnega financiranja, v zvezi s katerim poteka preiskava, bi bilo letališče prisiljeno zapustiti trg, kar bi imelo negativne posledice za mobilnost prebivalcev na regionalni ravni.
There was no rapid direct link between Stretto and Crotone airport, which was over three hours away.
To bi preprečilo tudi delničarjem, da bi se jim naložba kakor koli povrnila.
Catania airport was located in a different geographic region, at a distance of over 130 km, with a travelling time by car of 1hr30–1hr40.
SO.G.A.S. je na koncu oz. drugače trdil, da je v tem primeru veljala Odločba Komisije 2005/842/ES [8] o storitvah splošnega gospodarskega pomena ter da bi se lahko ukrepi v vsakem primeru šteli za združljive z notranjim trgom in bili izvzeti iz obveznosti priglasitve na navedeni podlagi.
A closure of the airport would therefore result in the loss of part of the demand for air transport services, rather than in a redistribution to other airports.
SO.G.A.S. je bil od nekdaj v lasti lokalnih organov v Kalabriji in Messini, kar je bil dokaz za domnevo, da se upravljanje letališča šteje za storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena.
SO.G.A.S. also submitted a table to show that the measures under scrutiny had indeed created new demand for air transport services in the area, resulting in positive benefits both for air carriers interested in starting up new routes between Stretto and other domestic and EU airports, and for other airports, which found themselves handling increased demand.
Da bi SO.G.A.S. dokazal, da je bilo upravljanje letališča dejansko storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena, je predložil sklepa občine Reggio Calabria z dne 27. julija 2010 in 19. junija 2010, v katerih je bil naveden pomen letaliških storitev na regionalni ravni.
SO.G.A.S. rejected the Commission's preliminary finding that the measures had the potential to distort competition between airlines.
Nadomestilo za javne storitve je bilo omejeno na izgube, ki so nastale pri upravljavcu letališča z opravljanjem storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena, zaradi česar sta se upoštevali načeli nujnosti in sorazmernosti iz člena 5(1) Odločbe Komisije 2005/842/ES.
The public financing had not been transferred to any air carrier through the granting of lower landing fees or other favourable terms.
Ker ni bilo akta, ki bi upravljavca letališča dejansko pooblaščal za opravljanje storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena, je SO.G.A.S. predlagal, da se pripravi sporazum, ki bi izključil vsak dvom, da so bili v primeru letališča Stretto izpolnjeni štirje pogoji, opredeljeni v sodbi o zadevi Altmark [9].
Landing charges and other operating conditions at the airport were set by the competent authority and did not leave any discretion to the airport manager.
PRIPOMBE ITALIJANSKIH ORGANOV
Finally, SO.G.A.S. contended that Stretto was served mainly by Alitalia (which provided six of the eight daily flights), and that there was no indication that charter or low-cost carriers were interested in starting up new routes departing from Stretto airport.
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka navedla, da je Italija potrdila, da SO.G.A.S. ni bil uradno pooblaščen za opravljanje storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena, zato združljivosti spornih ukrepov ni bilo mogoče oceniti na podlagi pravil o storitvah splošnega gospodarskega pomena.
SO.G.A.S. concluded that in assessing the impact of the measure on competition and trade between Member States, the Commission should have taken greater account of the specific circumstances, and should have found that the measure did not constitute State aid.
Ali so dejavnosti letališča storitve splošnega gospodarskega pomena?
The compatibility of the aid
Italija je med preiskavo trdila, da so bili ukrepi, ki se ocenjujejo, nadomestilo za storitve splošnega gospodarskega pomena, ki jih je opravljal SO.G.A.S.
On the question whether the measures could be held compatible under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, SO.G.A.S. argued that the public financing under assessment was aimed at maintaining the operational continuity of the airport manager and the development of certain economic activities.
Ker ni bilo nasprotnih dokazov, so italijanski organi trdili, da bi lahko naknadna ocena pokazala, da so bile v primeru SO.G.A.S.-a izpolnjene zahteve EU glede storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena.
This objective was justified by the fact that small airports did not generally generate sufficient revenues to cover the costs required to comply with safety and security requirements.
Italija je menila, da je Komisija neupravičeno dala prednost formalnim zahtevam glede storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena pred vsebinskimi zahtevami.
In addition, Stretto airport, given the characteristics of the airport infrastructure and the consequent restrictions imposed by the national civil aviation authority ENAC [7], would have great difficulty in hosting charter and low cost airlines.
Da bi Italija podprla to trditev, je predložila skrajšano oceno štirih meril iz sodbe o zadevi Altmark.
In particular, in accordance with ENAC's parameters, Stretto airport was classed as a level II airport.
Italija je trdila, da je bil SO.G.A.S. dejansko pooblaščen za opravljanje javnih storitev.
This classification was based on the dimensions of the infrastructure, rather than on passenger volumes;
Pooblastilo je neposredno in posredno potrjevalo več upravnih aktov, ki so jih izdali lokalni organi.
it required airports with low passenger levels to incur the same costs in order to meet safety standards as airports with over a million passengers.
Italija je predložila zapisnik sestanka izvršilnega organa pokrajine Reggio Calabria, ki je potekal 17. oktobra 2007 in na katerem se je izvršilni organ odločil subvencionirati izgube upravljavca letališča, ter zapisnika sestankov istega organa z dne 16. junija 2009 in 31. decembra 2009, v katerih je bilo navedeno, da so bile dejavnosti letališča storitve splošnega gospodarskega pomena.
Without the public financing under investigation, the airport would have been forced to exit the market, with negative consequences at regional level for the mobility of residents.
V zapisniku sestanka z dne 17. oktobra 2007 je navedeno, da: „dežela Kalabrija meni, da so bile nekatere dejavnosti letališča v kraju Reggio Calabria potrebne za opravljanje storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena, in so za SO.G.A.S. pomenile številne obveznosti javnih storitev za zagotovitev, da je bil ustrezno zadovoljen javni interes.
This would also have prevented the shareholders from obtaining any return on their investment.
V takih primerih bi lahko organi upravljavcu letališča subvencionirali dodatne stroške, ki nastanejo zaradi izpolnjevanja navedenih obveznosti, pri čemer so bile te take, da ni bilo mogoče izključiti, da bi se lahko celotno upravljanje letališča štelo za storitev splošnega gospodarskega pomena.“
Finally or in the alternative, SO.G.A.S. contended that Commission Decision 2005/842/EC [8] on services of general economic interest was applicable in the present case, and that the measures could in any event be held compatible with the internal market and exempted from the notification requirement on that basis.
Na splošno je bila dežela Kalabrija pogodbenica protokola za razvoj letališč v krajih Lamezia Terme, Crotone in Reggio Calabria, zato je bilo jasno, da so bile letališke storitve javne storitve, bistvene za gospodarski in družbeni razvoj regije, ter da bi se zato lahko financirale s sredstvi EU oz. nacionalnimi ali regionalnimi sredstvi.
SO.G.A.S. argued that since the traffic at the airport did not exceed a million passengers a year in the reference period, the management of the airport was a service of general economic interest (‘SGEI’) within the scope of Article 2(1)(d) of Decision 2005/842/EC.
Italija je poudarila tudi, da je upravljavec letališča 28. decembra 2008 delničarje pozval, naj krijejo izgube, zlasti na podlagi obveznosti javnih storitev, in trdila, da zasebni upravljavci ne bi opravljali storitve upravljanja letališča pod izključno tržnimi pogoji.
SO.G.A.S. pointed out that under Decree-law No 250 of 25 July 1997, local authorities could hold shareholdings only in companies which were entrusted with a service of general economic interest.
Prvi preskus iz sodbe Altmark je bil torej uspešno opravljen.
SO.G.A.S. had always been owned by local authorities in Calabria and Messina, which was presumptive evidence that the management of the airport qualified as an SGEI.
Merila, na podlagi katerih je bilo nadomestilo izračunano, bi preprosto lahko bila privzeta iz zaključnega računa SO.G.A.S.-a, ki je zagotovil pregleden izkaz stroškov poslovanja.
In order to show that the management of the airport was indeed an SGEI, SO.G.A.S. submitted decisions of the Municipality of Reggio Calabria dated 27 July 2010 and 19 June 2010 which made reference to the importance of the airport services at regional level.
Javno financiranje je bilo omejeno na višino izgub, pri čemer prejemniku ni bil zagotovljen dodatni dobiček.
Public service compensation was limited to the losses incurred by the airport manager in providing the SGEI, and therefore complied with the necessity and proportionality principles laid down by Article 5(1) of Decision 2005/842/EC.
V zvezi s tretjim preskusom iz sodbe Altmark je Italija trdila, da v primeru javnih storitev ukrepi javnih delničarjev niso bili primerljivi z ukrepi zasebnega vlagatelja.
As for the absence of any act effectively entrusting the SGEI to the airport manager, SO.G.A.S. proposed that an agreement be drafted that would eliminate any doubt that the four Altmark [9] conditions were fulfilled in the case of Stretto airport.
Ravnanje javnega organa bi se lahko utemeljilo s cilji v javnem interesu, ki so preprečili uporabo načela vlagatelja v tržnem gospodarstvu.
COMMENTS FROM THE ITALIAN AUTHORITIES
V tem primeru ravnanja javnih delničarjev niso spodbudili poslovni razlogi, zato ga ni mogoče primerjati z ravnanjem tržnega vlagatelja.
In the opening decision the Commission noted that Italy had confirmed that SO.G.A.S. had not been formally entrusted with the provision of an SGEI, so that the compatibility of the disputed measures could not be assessed under the SGEI rules.
Italija je sklenila, da tretji preskus iz sodbe Altmark, za katerega se je zdelo, da zahteva uporabo načela vlagatelja v tržnem gospodarstvu, v primeru, ki se preiskuje, ni bil pomemben.
The question whether the airport's activities constitute an SGEI
Italija je menila, da bi se lahko kapitalske injekcije, ker so dejavnosti SO.G.A.S.-a bile storitev splošnega pomena, štele za nadomestilo za opravljanje takih storitev na podlagi naknadne ocene in zato niso pomenile državne pomoči.
In the course of the investigation Italy contended that the measures under assessment constituted compensation for the provision of SGEIs by SO.G.A.S.
Italija je navedla, da bi se morali ukrepi, čeprav bi se šteli za državno pomoč, v vsakem primeru šteti za združljive s členom 2(1) Odločbe Komisije 2005/842/ES.
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Italian authorities argued, an ex post assessment could conclude that in SO.G.A.S.'s case the EU requirements for SGEIs were met.
Brez izkrivljanja konkurence
Italy considered that the line taken by the Commission gave undue weight to the formal rather than the substantive requirements for SGEIs.
Italija se je sklicevala na točko 39 smernic za letalski sektor iz leta 2005, v kateri je navedeno, da „financiranja, odobrena majhnim regionalnim letališčem (kategorija D), malo verjetno izkrivljajo konkurenco ali vplivajo na trgovino v nasprotju s splošnim interesom“.