natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
In return, VSL agreed to work with SPAQuE to provide all useful and necessary information regarding the renovation and rehabilitation works to be conducted on the site.
Poleg tega belgijski organi glede načela enkratne pomoči, v skladu s katerim ukrep 1 ne bi bil združljiv z odstavkom 72 in naslednjimi Smernicami za reševanje in prestrukturiranje, ker so ukrepi pomoči za reševanje in prestrukturiranje že ukrepi 3, 5, 6 in 7, nasprotno menijo, da:
Grounds for initiating the formal investigation procedure
je bil ukrep 3 (poroštvo v višini 150000 EUR) septembra 2008 odobren stečajnemu upravitelju družbe CVSL in ne družbi VSL.
The Commission considered that all the measures under investigation constituted State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the TFEU.
Belgijski organi poleg tega menijo, da med družbama VSL in CVSL ni bilo gospodarske kontinuitete.
The Commission doubted whether Measures 1 (rescue aid), 3 (unremunerated guarantee) and 4 (use and sale of the trade marks) complied with the market-economy investor principle.
ukrep 5 (posojilo v višini 1,5 milijona EUR) ne vsebuje elementa pomoči glede na uporabljeno obrestno mero in značilnost zavarovanja.
As regards Measure 5 (loan of EUR 1,5 million), the Commission had concerns as to whether interest rate on the loan involved aid.
ukrep 6 (povečanje kapitala za 1,5 milijona EUR) ne vsebuje elementa pomoči, saj naj bi bil sprejet hkrati z dokapitalizacijo s strani družbe CFC v višini 5,2 milijona EUR v obliki zamenjave terjatev.
The Commission also queried the pari passu nature of Measure 6 (capital injection) and its compliance with the market-economy investor principle.
pomoči v omejenem znesku niso bile dodeljene podjetju v težavah in se ne smejo upoštevati pri preučitvi načela enkratne pomoči.
With regard to Measure 7, which groups together de minimis aid measures, the Commission was not sure that each of them met the conditions stated in the Regulation cited above [6].
Poleg tega so občutno nižje od predujmov, ki jih je založila družba CFC od leta 2009.
Finally, with regard to Measure 8 (sale of buildings and provision of some buildings free of charge), the Commission was not sure whether the sale price of the plots sold to SPAQuE by VSL involved aid, given the uncertainty surrounding the assessment of the decontamination costs.
Pomoč za prestrukturiranje (ukrep 2)
The Commission also had doubts about the aid present in SPAQuE's provision of buildings to VSL free of charge.
Ker belgijski organi tega ukrepa niso izvedli, slednji po umiku njegove priglasitve ni predmet tega sklepa, zato so pripombe belgijskih organov v zvezi s tem brezpredmetne.
With regard to Measure 3, the Commission also raised doubts about whether or not there was economic continuity between CVSL and VSL.
Poroštvo v višini 150000 EUR (ukrep 3)
Finally, the Commission had doubts regarding the compatibility of all these measures with the internal market and, more specifically, the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty [7] (hereinafter ‘the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines’) (Measures 1, 2 and 3).
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka poudarila, da je bilo poroštvo v višini 150000 EUR brezplačno odobreno podjetju v težavah, saj je bila družba CVSL tedaj v stečaju.
COMMENTS BY BELGIUM ON THE OPENING DECISION
Zato se zdi, da je bila družbi CVSL dodeljena ugodnost, saj noben zasebni tržni udeleženec ne bi odobril navedenega poroštva brezplačno.
On the classification of VSL as an undertaking in difficulty
Belgijski organi se niso opredelili glede tega, ali je navedeni ukrep pomoč ali ne.
The Belgian authorities are not contesting VSL's classification as an undertaking in difficulty after 8 February 2012, the date on which the request for a judicial reorganisation was filed (which, as will be seen, is significant when analysing several of the measures in question).
Poleg tega so pojasnili, da je bilo navedeno poroštvo odobreno stečajnemu upravitelju in ne družbi CVSL v stečaju.
Nonetheless, they consider that, prior to that time, VSL could not be described as an undertaking in difficulty because, according to them, VSL was a newly created company and was benefiting from the unconditional support of its majority shareholder, CFC, in accordance with paragraphs 10 and 11 of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines and the Commission's decision-making practice [8].
Vendar trdijo, da med družbama CVSL in VSL ni bilo gospodarske kontinuitete.
The rescue aid (Measure 1)
Menijo, da so zadostno dokazali prekinitev gospodarske kontinuitete med družbama CVSL in VSL.
In the opening decision, the Commission considered that this loan, granted without any collateral to an undertaking in difficulty, could constitute aid since VSL would not have been able to obtain a loan under such conditions from a private bank.
Vztrajajo pri tem, da je bil obseg sredstev, prenesenih na družbo VSL, večji od obsega sredstev v lasti družbe CVSL in popolnoma ločen, zato naj bi bilo treba izključiti vsakršno kontinuiteto.
In their comments, the Belgian authorities do not contest the fact that the soft loan of EUR 1 million, granted by the Walloon Region on 3 April 2012, constituted aid.
Belgijski organi poleg tega opozarjajo, da so novi delničarji družbe VSL vedno želeli podpreti družbo CVSL pri prevzemu obsežnega nepremičninskega in turističnega projekta Cristal Park.
Nonetheless, they took the view that this measure constituted rescue aid in accordance with point 13 of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines because VSL's difficulties were intrinsic and not the result of an arbitrary allocation of costs within the group and were too serious to be resolved by the group itself.
Ekonomska logika navedenega prevzema zato po njihovem mnenju kaže na očitno prekinitev upravljanja tovarne kristala družbe CVSL, ki je temeljilo izključno na proizvodnji kristalnega stekla.
They explain that CFC, given the range of its different activities and holdings, was unable to devote all of its resources to VSL.
Uporaba in prenos znamk Val Saint-Lambert (ukrep 4)
CFC's liquidity had significantly declined since the end of the 2011 financial year and stood at only EUR 130000 on 19 October 2012.
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka poudarila, da se zdi, da je sistem plačila koncesije, dodeljene družbi VSL, ki temelji na prihodnjem EBITDA družbe VSL, vseboval ekonomsko ugodnost.
The Belgian authorities also point out that, given the frequency with which CFC had advanced funds to VSL (EUR 9,5 million since VSL was set up) and the persistence of VSL's disappointing financial results, CFC was no longer able to resolve VSL's problems using the group's resources.
Regija Valonija je namreč prenesla koncesijo za vrednostna sredstva brez poroštva za vračilo, pri čemer je lahko EBITDA družbe VSL negativen tako kot predhodna leta, in brez pričakovanja druge koristi po izteku koncesije razen prilagoditve inflaciji (indeks), ki naj bi bila povrhu določena šele za obdobje od šestega leta.
Moreover, with regard to the ‘one time, last time’ principle, under which Measure 1 is allegedly incompatible with points 72 et seq. of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines because Measures 3, 5, 6 and 7 constitute rescue or restructuring aid, the Belgian authorities considered in contrast that:
Zasebni tržni udeleženec bi se verjetno odločil za plačilo, ki bi vključevalo vsaj nespremenljivo in zanesljivo osnovo.
Measure 3 (guarantee of EUR 150000) was granted to CVSL's insolvency administrators in September 2008 and not to VSL.
Poleg tega je sklep o začetku postopka vključeval možnost obstoja pomoči pod pogoji v zvezi s prenosom znamke.
The Belgian authorities consider, moreover, that there was no economic continuity between VSL and CVSL,
Belgijski organi menijo, da pri očitkih v zvezi z izračunom plačila, ki ga je prejela Valonija v zameno za podelitev licence za znamke, sklicevanje na slabe izide predhodnic družbe VSL, kot naj bi to počela Komisija, ni utemeljeno.
Measure 5 (loan of EUR 1,5 million) contained no element of aid given the interest rate applied and the quality of the collateral,
Nasprotno, menijo, da izračun plačila za uporabo znamk na podlagi EBITDA ni odločitev, ki ne bi imela tržne logike.
Measure 6 (capital injection of EUR 1,5 million) contained no element of aid because it took place at the same time as a capital contribution of EUR 5,2 million from CFC in the form of a debt-to-equity swap,
Navedena odločitev je po njihovih navedbah utemeljena, ker je EBITDA eden od izračunljivih indicev, ki valonskim organom omogoča merjenje poslovnega uspeha, povezanega s prodajami izdelkov, katerih znamke imajo v lasti.
The de minimis aid measures were not granted to an undertaking in difficulty and must not be considered under the principle of ‘one time, last time’.
Belgijski organi niso predložili pripomb k pogojem prihodnje prodaje znamk družbi VSL.
Moreover, they were clearly lower than the advances granted by CFC since 2009.
Posojilo v višini 1,5 milijona EUR (ukrep 5)
The restructuring aid (Measure 2)
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka dvomila o kakovosti zavarovanja.
Following withdrawal of the notification of this measure and the fact that it was not implemented by the Belgian authorities, the measure is not examined in this Decision and hence the Belgian authorities' comments in this regard cease to be relevant.
Iz dokumentov, predloženih Komisiji, je bilo namreč razvidno, da je bil pod hipoteko vsaj del nepremičnin družbe VSL, potrebnih obnove.
The guarantee of EUR 150000 (Measure 3)
Toda dejanska vrednost navedenega zemljišča ni bila znana in je bila morda negativna.
In the opening decision, the Commission highlighted the fact that the EUR 150000 guarantee had been granted without remuneration to an undertaking in difficulty, given that CVSL was insolvent at that time.
Zato se je zdelo, da je bila 4,7-odstotna obrestna mera za posojilo prenizka.
It therefore seems to have given CVSL an advantage since no private operator would have granted this guarantee without remuneration.
Glede na kakovost zavarovanja je bilo namreč treba osnovni 1,778-odstotni obrestni meri prišteti od 400 do 1000 bazičnih točk.
The Belgian authorities did not comment on whether or not this measure could be classified as aid.
Belgijski organi menijo, da je bila vrednost zavarovanj povsem ustrezno določena, ker naj bi se nanašala na celotno posojilo.
Moreover, they pointed out that the guarantee was granted to the insolvency administrators and not to the insolvent CVSL.
Njihova ocena je temeljila na izvedenskem mnenju izvedenske pisarne Marengo, pripravljenem januarja in februarja 2009.
They maintain, however, that there was no economic continuity between CVSL and VSL.
Povečanje kapitala za 1,5 milijona EUR (ukrep 6)
They consider that they have sufficiently demonstrated the break in economic continuity between CVSL and VSL.
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka ugotovila, da odločitev o povečanju kapitala ni bila sprejeta na podlagi poslovnega načrta, temveč samo na podlagi finančne napovedi.
They stress that the volume of assets transferred to VSL was greater than that held by CVSL and totally separate, with the result that any continuity must be ruled out.
V tej napovedi ni nikjer pojasnjeno, kako si namerava navedeno podjetje opomoči, niti kaj naj bi zagotovilo v zameno ponudniku kapitala, to je regiji Valonija.
The Belgian authorities also point out that the new shareholders in VSL always intended to base the takeover of CVSL on a large-scale property development and tourist centre, Cristal Park.
Poleg tega se zdi, da regija Valonija in družba CFC nista v enakem položaju in jima ne grozijo enaka tveganja.
According to them, the economic logic of the takeover thus represented a clean break with CVSL's operation of the crystal works, which was based solely on the manufacture of crystal products.
Regija Valonija pred navedenim ukrepom ni bila delničarka družbe VSL in v zvezi z njo nima ekonomskega interesa.
The use and sale of the Val Saint-Lambert trade marks (Measure 4)
Družba CFC pa je delničarka družbe VSL in ima interes, da si navedeno podjetje opomore ali vsaj omeji svoje izgube.
In the opening decision, the Commission noted that the mechanism for obtaining remuneration for the concession granted to VSL, based on VSL's future Ebitda, seemed to confer an economic advantage.
Belgijski organi menijo, da družba VSL ob dodelitvi navedenega ukrepa ni bila v težavah, ker naj bi imel večinski delničar popolno zaupanje v svojo podružnico in jo finančno podpiral.
In fact, the Walloon Region was assigning a valuable asset without any guarantee of remuneration, since VSL's Ebitda could be negative, as it had been in the previous years, and without expecting any profit over the term of the concession other than indexing for inflation, which, moreover, would not come into play until the sixth year.
Komisiji očitajo, da se je pri presoji, ali gre za državno pomoč ali ne, oprla na naknadni donos, kar naj bi bilo v nasprotju z evropsko sodno prakso.
A private operator would probably have opted for a form of remuneration that included at least a fixed and certain basis.
Trdijo, da je bila dokapitalizacija izvedena v manjšem obsegu in hkrati z dokapitalizacijo, ki so jo izvedli delničarji družbe CFC.
Moreover, the opening decision considered the possibility of aid being present in the conditions for assigning the trade mark.
Poleg tega naj regija Valonija sicer ne bi bila delničarka družbe VSL, vendar naj bi imela ekonomsko ugodnost v zvezi s povečanjem kapitala, saj je imela po njihovih navedbah interes, da podpira dejavnost, da bi si navedena družba opomogla in pozneje poplačala posojilo.
The Belgian authorities consider that it is unfounded for the Commission to refer to the bad results of VSL's predecessors in order to criticise the way in which the Walloon Region calculated the remuneration it was to receive in return for granting the licence for the trade marks.
Pomoči de minimis (ukrep 7)
On the contrary, they feel that the way in which remuneration for use of the trade marks was calculated (on the basis of Ebitda) was not devoid of commercial logic.
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka menila, da se je zdelo, da je družba VSL v težavah od leta 2009 do danes in da zato ni mogla biti upravičena do tovrstne pomoči.
This choice was justified, in their opinion, because Ebitda is one of the accounting indicators that enable the Walloon authorities to measure commercial success in terms of the sale of products for which it holds the trade mark.
Družbe VSL po navedbah belgijskih organov ni mogoče opredeliti kot podjetje v težavah, ker naj bi šlo za novoustanovljeno podjetje, in sicer pred manj kot tremi leti, in ker naj bi imela zaupanje svojega večinskega delničarja do postopka pravne reorganizacije.
The Belgian authorities have not commented on the conditions for the future sale of the VSL trade marks.
Zato navedeni ukrepi spadajo na področje uporabe Uredbe de minimis in jih torej ni mogoče obravnavati kot pomoči.
The loan of EUR 1,5 million (Measure 5)
Dekontaminacija nepremičnin družbe VSL v okviru projekta Cristal Park in brezplačno dajanje na voljo nekaterih nepremičnin družbi VSL s strani družbe SPAQUE (ukrep 8)
In the opening decision, the Commission had doubts about the quality of the collateral.
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka menila, da se je družba SPAQUE zavezala k nakupu nepremičnin, ne da bi bila seznanjena s stroški njihove obnove.
It emerged from documents submitted to the Commission that the mortgage related, at least in part, to VSL buildings requiring rehabilitation.
Belgijski organi pojasnjujejo, da valonska zakonodaja v zvezi s stroški dekontaminacije omejuje obseg obveznosti lastnika onesnažene nepremičnine, v primeru pretekle degradacije in glede na prizadeta območja, na katerih so onesnažene nepremičnine z vidika prostorskih načrtov.
So the real value of these plots of land was not known and was possibly negative.
Poleg tega je lahko družba VSL po navedbah belgijskih organov, ob upoštevanju, da bi prevzela obveznost kritja stroškov dekontaminacije, zavezana obnoviti navedeno območje, samo da bi ga uskladila z njegovo uporabo v prostorskem načrtu območja, na katerem je, to je industrijsko uporabo.
It therefore seemed that the interest rate on the loan, set at 4,7 %, was too low.
Zato je treba oceniti stroške dekontaminacije posameznega območja, da bi to bilo v skladu z namembnostjo, ki je veljala ob prodaji, v obravnavanem primeru industrijsko uporabo.
In fact, depending on the quality of the collateral, it would be appropriate to add between 400 and 1000 basis points to the base rate of 1,778 %.
Belgijski organi menijo, da so bili stroški ocenjeni v poročilu družbe GEOLYS.
The Belgian authorities consider that the value of the collateral was excellent as it covered the entire loan.
Ti so bili nato odšteti od prodajne cene.
Their assessment was based on an expert report produced by the Marengo consultancy in January and February 2009.
Belgijski organi nato pojasnjujejo, da bo dela dekontaminacije na nepremičninah po njihovem nakupu s strani družbe SPAQUE, izvajal ta javni organ z uporabo javnih sredstev.
The capital injection of EUR 1,5 million (Measure 6)
V skladu s Smernicami Skupnosti o državni pomoči za varstvo okolja sanacijska dela, ki jih izvede javni organ na enem ali več zemljiščih, ki jih ima v lasti, ne pomenijo državne pomoči.
In the opening decision, the Commission noted that the capital injection had not been agreed on the basis of a business plan but on the basis of a simple financial projection.
Belgijski organi v zvezi z brezplačnim dajanjem na voljo nepremičnin družbi VSL menijo, da se pri tem dajejo na voljo nepremičnine družbe SPECI, delniške družbe z zasebnim kapitalom.
This gave no explanation as to how the company intended to ensure its recovery and no explanation regarding the remuneration it intended to grant to the provider of the capital, namely the Walloon Region.
PRIPOMBE TRETJIH STRANK K SKLEPU O ZAČETKU POSTOPKA
Moreover, the Walloon Region and CFC did not seem to be in the same situation or running the same risks.
Komisija ni prejela nobenih pripomb.
The Walloon Region was not a VSL shareholder prior to this measure and had no relevant economic interest.
OCENA POMOČI
In contrast, CFC was a shareholder in VSL and had an interest in seeing the company recover or, at least, limit its losses.
Določitev obstoja pomoči v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU
The Belgian authorities take the view that VSL was not in difficulty at the time this measure was granted in so far as the majority shareholder had given its unconditional support and financial backing to its subsidiary.
Člen 107(1) PDEU določa, da 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, nezdružljiva z notranjim trgom, kolikor prizadene trgovino med državami članicami.
They criticise the Commission for relying on the ex post profitability of an investment in order to assess whether or not it involves State aid; this practice is not in line with European case law.
Iz navedene določbe izhaja, da morajo obravnavani ukrepi, da bi bili priznani kot državne pomoči, (i) izhajati iz državnih virov, to pomeni, da morajo vključevati državna sredstva in biti pripisljiva državi, (ii) zagotavljati ekonomsko ugodnost njihovemu upravičencu, (iii) biti selektivni in (iv) vključevati možnost izkrivljanja konkurence in negativnega vpliva na trgovino med državami članicami.
They maintain that the capital injection was of less significance and was provided concurrently with that of CFC's shareholders.
Belgija ni izpodbijala opredelitve pomoči kot pomoči za reševanje (ukrep 1).
Moreover, even though the Walloon Region was not a VSL shareholder, it had an economic advantage associated with the capital injection because, according to the Belgian authorities, it was in the interest of the Walloon Region to support the business so that it would recover and subsequently repay the loan.
Komisija je to upoštevala od sprejetja sklepa o začetku postopka.
The de minimis aid (Measure 7)
Belgija je po začetku formalnega postopka preiskave umaknila svojo priglasitev ukrepa 2.
In the opening decision, the Commission considered that VSL seemed to have been in difficulty since 2009 and was thus not able to benefit from this kind of aid.
Zato ta v tem sklepu ni analiziran.
According to the Belgian authorities, VSL could not be classified as an undertaking in difficulty because it was a company set up less than 3 years previously which enjoyed the full confidence of its majority shareholder up to the time of the judicial reorganisation.
Vendar Belgija izpodbija to opredelitev za ukrepe št. od 3 do 6, 7 in 8, ker naj ti ukrepi ne bi zagotavljali ekonomske ugodnosti njihovemu upravičencu ali bili de minims.
Consequently, these measures fall within the scope of the de minimis Regulation and cannot be considered as aid.
Obstoj državnih sredstev
Decontamination of VSL's buildings in the context of the Cristal Park project and VSL's use of some of SPAQuE's buildings free of charge (Measure 8)
Ukrepi 1, 3, 5 in 6
In the opening decision, the Commission considered that SPAQuE had made a commitment to purchase buildings without being aware of the cost of their rehabilitation.
Družba SOGEPA je v imenu regije Valonija dodelila ukrep 1 (posojilo v višini 1 milijona EUR), ukrep 3 (poroštvo v višini 150000 EUR), ukrep 5 (posojilo v višini 1,5 milijona EUR) in ukrep 6 (povečanje kapitala za 1,5 milijona EUR).
The Belgian authorities explain that, in the matter of decontamination costs, Walloon legislation limits the extent of a property owner's obligations in the case of historical pollution and on the basis of the designated use of the locations of polluted buildings in local development plans.
Ker gre za družbo, ki je povsem javna, je mogoče ta sredstva obravnavati kot državna sredstva v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU [9].
The Belgian authorities further maintain that, although VSL had an obligation to deal with the pollution, it could only be required to rehabilitate the site to bring it into line with its current designated land use, i.e. industrial use.
Ukrep 4
Consequently, an estimate must be made of the cost of decontaminating a site in order to bring it into line with the designated use of the land at the time of sale, in this case industrial use.
Komisija ugotavlja, da sta družba VSL in regija Valonija sklenili pogodbo, ki za družbo VSL določa izključno in neomejeno koncesijo za uporabo znamk Val Saint-Lambert in ureja njihov prenos.
The Belgian authorities consider that this cost assessment was presented in the Geolys report.
Ta ukrep in pogoji prihodnje prodaje znamk pomenijo obstoj državnih sredstev.
These costs were then deducted from the sale price.
Ukrep 7
The Belgian authorities go on to explain that, following the purchase of the buildings by SPAQuE, the decontamination work was to be undertaken by a public authority, SPAQuE, with the aid of public funds.
Po informacijah belgijskih organov se poleg tega zdi, da sta javni organ ali javno podjetje prav tako dodelila pomoči, ki so jih ti opredelili kot de minimis, pri čemer pa Belgija ni pojasnila, da gre vsakokrat za regijo Valonija ali družbo SOGEPA.
In accordance with the Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection, remediation works conducted by a public authority on one or more plots of land belonging to it do not constitute State aid.
Ne glede na navedeno gre za državna sredstva in belgijski organi poleg tega ne izpodbijajo, da je vir teh ukrepov državen.
With regard to the free provision of buildings to VSL, the Belgian authorities consider that this relates to buildings belonging to SPECI, a private limited company.
Ukrep 8
COMMENTS BY THIRD PARTIES ON THE OPENING DECISION
Komisija ugotavlja, da je družba SPAQUE podjetje v državni lasti in podružnica družbe Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonne (SRIW) ter da ji je valonska vlada že dodelila sredstva za dekontaminacijo nepremičnin [10].
The Commission has not received any comments.
Nakup zemljišč od družbe VSL, ki ga je izvedla družba SPAQUE, in njihovo brezplačno dajanje na voljo eni od njiju, vključujeta obstoj državnih sredstev.
ASSESSMENT OF THE AID
Merilo za pripis odgovornosti