natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The construction of an infrastructure explicitly designed for LCC traffic, the geographical situation of the airport (catching around 35 million inhabitants), the saturation of the nearby Amsterdam and Dusseldorf airports were then depicted as competitive advantages.
Ponudnik letaliških storitev, pristojen za varnost letenja, družba Tower Company GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba Tower Company) in družba STI Security Training International GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba STI), ponudnik storitev pregledov potnikov, menita, da dejavnosti v javnem interesu, ki jih opravljata, ne bi bilo mogoče preseliti, če bi se letališče zaprlo.
Given the need to enforce environmental protection rules, FN GmbH simultaneously commissioned an air traffic forecast from […] (‘the […] study’), which anticipated for 2010 a traffic of 2,88 million passengers, and for 2020 a traffic ranging between 3,1 and 4,85 million passengers.
Družbi Serve2fly in I-Punkt
Germany observes that the traffic records show that the business plan was perfectly respected until 2010, despite the adverse events described above.
Ponudnik storitev zemeljske oskrbe zrakoplovov družba Serve2fly Heico Losch Airport Service GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba Serve2fly) in lokalno gradbeno podjetje I-Punkt GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba I-Punkt) menita, da je bil poslovni razvoj letališča Niederrhein-Weeze izjemno pozitiven in je vodil v ustvarjanje več kot 1000 delovnih mest v tem manj razvitem delu regije Severno Porenje – Vestfalija.
Germany further explains that in 2009, in view of the enlarged scope of Ryanair activities at the airport, FN GmbH commissioned another business plan covering the year 2009-2020 (‘the 2009 business plan’).
Družba Serve2fly trdi, da so stališča iz sklepa o začetku postopka v nasprotju s smernicami Komisije, saj lokalnim letališčem preprečujejo, da bi konkurirala na trgu.
This business plan was transmitted to [bank], which could take this expert's study into consideration when making the decision to grant a commercial loan to FN GmbH.
Družba Serve2fly opozarja na zunanje neugodne dogodke, s katerimi se je moralo spopadati letališče, in Komisijo poziva, naj jih upošteva.
In light of those elements, Germany contested the Commission's preliminary views that FN GmbH's business model was unsustainable and that the privatisation process was conducted on political considerations and not on pure commercial terms.
Družba Gaetan Data GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba Gaetan Data), lokalno podjetje za usposabljanje, trdi, da ima letališče edinstven pomen v smislu usposabljanja na področju zračnega prometa, in meni, da bi morala Komisija čim prej končati zadevo.
Market-conformity of EEL GmbH's loans to FN GmbH
Družbe Van Boekel, RAS in SOV
Germany stated that the opening decision uses an incorrect legal basis to assess the market conformity of the interest rates of the loans granted by EEL GmbH.
Družba Van Boekel GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba Van Boekel), lokalno podjetje, ki se med drugim ukvarja z gradbenimi deli na cestah in krajinsko arhitekturo, družba Rheinland Air Service Werft & Handel GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba RAS), ponudnik storitev polnjenja rezervoarjev zrakoplovov, in družba Schilling Omnibusverkehr GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba SOV), ki izvaja avtobusne prevoze med letališčem Niederrhein-Weeze ter Kölnom in Düsseldorfom, trdijo, da je letališče zdaj donosno zasebno letališče, ki ima resnično evropsko razsežnost.
According to Germany, the Commission used the 2008 Communication from the Commission on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates (‘the 2008 Reference Rate communication’) [24] in its assessment.
Družba NRN Energie GmbH (v nadaljnjem besedilu: družba NRN Energie) navaja, da je letališče financiral zasebni vlagatelj, medtem ko se je letališče Eindhoven lahko zanašalo na dodatno financiranje, ki ga je Nizozemska zagotavljala za vojaške operacije.
Germany argues that since most measures under scrutiny were granted between 2003 and 2005, the Commission should have applied its 1997 notice on the method for setting the reference and discount rates (‘the 1997 Reference Rate communication’) [25].
Kar zadeva uporabo javnih sredstev, so bila po mnenju družbe NRN javna posojila odobrena pod tržnimi pogoji.
Moreover, irrespective of which of the two communications would be applicable ratione temporis, Germany questioned the applicability of any Commission reference rate to this case on the grounds that there is allegedly no functioning financial market for the construction of airport infrastructure.
Tako kot Nemčija je tudi družba NRN Energie zaskrbljena zaradi kršitve legitimnih pričakovanj.
Germany added that the loans granted by the public authorities were totally market compliant on the following grounds:
Okrožje Kleve
all loans agreements provided for the repayment of the principal accrued with market conform and/or legally applicable interests;
Okrožje Kleve podpira vse pripombe Nemčije, zlasti tiste v zvezi s kršitvijo legitimnih pričakovanj.
all loans granted to FN GmbH were completely and constantly secured by (i) charges on land of prime rank (Grundschuld auf sämtliche Grundstücke), (ii) Airport Network BV's shares in ANH GmbH's capital and (iii) ANH GmbH's shares in FN's capital;
Poudarja še, da se v Severnem Porenju – Vestfaliji, enem najgosteje poseljenih območij v Evropi, povečuje povpraševanje po regionalnih letališčih, ki ga bližnje in skoraj zasičeno letališče Düsseldorf ne more v celoti izpolniti.
the interest rates of the loans granted to FN GmbH, ranging from [1-8] %, were at all times market-compliant taking into account the significant initial contribution of private capital injections (around [20-50] %) in the overall project financing and the high level of collateralisation;
Dodaja, da je bilo financiranje letališča Niederrhein-Weeze strogo v skladu s smernicami za letalski sektor iz leta 2005, pri čemer je bilo letališče uvrščeno v kategorijo D (do vključno leta 2007).
these interest rates are equivalent to the interests granted for 10-year maturity loans that are 80 % collateralised with estate properties.
Družba FN GmbH podpira vse pripombe Nemčije v zvezi s sklepom o začetku postopka, h katerim je tudi prispevala.
As regards the private investor test, Germany referred to the case-law in the Italian Republic v Commission case [26] where the Court stated that ‘In order to determine whether such measures are in the nature of State aid, it is necessary to consider whether in similar circumstances a private investor of a size comparable to that of the bodies administering the public sector might have provided capital of such an amount’.
Poudarja, da ukrepi, ki se preučujejo, zlasti posojila, ki jih je odobrila družba EEL GmbH pod tržnimi pogoji, ne pomenijo državne pomoči.
Germany argued that a private investor in lieu of EEL would have taken into account the obligation of legal compliance and accepted that the profitability of the investment could be delayed given the compliance costs, as already recognised by the Commission in the previous individual aid case Einzelbeihilfe für Wasserwerke [27].
Trdi, da ji je kljub zelo obsežnim naložbam v letališko infrastrukturo ([50–100] milijonov EUR) uspelo ohraniti visok delež lastniškega kapitala (nad [20–50] %), delež ukrepov financiranja, ki se preučujejo, pa omejiti na manj kot [20–50] % celotnega financiranja.
Germany also added that a private investor may also take into account the strategic nature/objective of the business model to adapt its profitability projections.
Družba FN GmbH dodaja, da se od začetka delovanja leta 2003 povečujejo promet in dobički iz poslovanja, pri čemer ima letni dobiček od leta 2007.
According to point 3.2 (v) of the Commission Communication on Public authorities' holdings in company capital of 14 September 1984 [28], ‘the strategic nature of the investment in terms of markets or supplies is such that acquisition of a shareholding could be regarded as the normal behaviour of a provider of capital, although profitability is delayed’.
Nadalje ugotavlja, da se prihodki iz poslovanja povečujejo in v glavnem presegajo stroške poslovanja, ki se ne spreminjajo.
Germany concluded that this provision rules out the presence of an economic advantage involving State aid.
Trdi, da bi bila ta zanesljiva poslovna uspešnost še boljša, če bi se vsi stroški, povezani z dejavnostmi v javnem interesu, v izkazih poslovnega izida odšteli.
Measure 2: Land NordRhein Westfalen's support measure to FN GmbH
Poudarja, da ni podjetje v težavah in da so bila vsa posojila odobrena pod tržnimi pogoji.
According to Germany, the support measure granted by a decision of Land Nordrhein Westfalen to FN GmbH on 15 October 2002 for an amount of EUR 3,525 million actually constitutes no aid or at least existing aid within the meaning of the Procedural Regulation.
Trdi, da so obrestne mere za posojila, ki jih je odobrila družba EEL GmbH, za ta bonitetni razred višje od obrestnih mer banke Bundesbank za nove zavarovane kredite ali obrestnih mer iz indeksa Pfandbriefindex [36] (z običajnim pribitkom 80–120 bazičnih točk).
Germany argued that that the measure has been adopted on the basis of the 1993 Decree.
Druge tretje osebe
According to Germany, the decree had been adopted before the Commission notice on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the EC Treaty and Article 61 of the EEA agreement to State aids in the aviation sector (‘the 1994 Aviation Guidelines’) [29].
Pet posameznikov dvomi, da:
Germany added that the financing of airport infrastructures only constituted State aid and became subject to the Commission's scrutiny at a later stage, following: (a) the Commission's adoption of its Community guidelines on financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines departing from regional airports (‘the 2005 Aviation Guidelines’) in 2005 and (b) the adoption of landmark judgments in that sector by the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union [30].
so bile v informacijah, ki jih je zagotovila Nemčija, izraženi dejanski zneski, dodeljeni družbama EEL GmbH in FN GmbH;
Germany also argued in this respect that the Commission used an incorrect legal basis in the opening decision to preliminary assess Measure 2.
je bilo letališče sposobno preživeti brez javnih posojil;
Indeed, the opening decision [31] was based on the new version of the 1993 Decree, which entered into force on 1 January 2003, after the granting of the measure.
ni bilo delujočega finančnega trga, ki bi lahko financiral projekte, kot je projekt letališča Niederrhein-Weeze;
Finally, Germany considers that, since the 1993 Decree, on the basis of which the aid measure under scrutiny has been adopted, has been repealed, there is no need for the Commission to make use of the provisions of the Procedural Regulation related to existing aid.
bi lahko družba FN GmbH vrnila vsa posojila in obresti na datume vračila leta 2016; zadevne tretje osebe v zvezi s tem trdijo, da bi bila Nemčija prisiljena sprejeti zamenjavo terjatev v lastniške deleže, ki se je obravnavala leta 2011, kar bi pomenilo nezakonito pomoč in dejavnost, ki je ne bi izvedel noben zasebni vlagatelj;
Germany considers that the granting of the bridge financing was necessary to accompany the private investment into the airport at the startup phase.
obrestne mere, ki jih je družbi FN GmbH zaračunala Nemčija, ustrezajo tržni stvarnosti;
As regards the waiving of FN GmbH's obligation to repay the second loan tranche, Germany holds that the district of Kleve deliberately took that decision since FN GmbH had fulfilled its legal obligation to create at least 350 jobs.
je družba FN GmbH ustvarila 350 delovnih mest (kar je bil osnovni pogoj, ki ga je družbi FN GmbH določila Nemčija za odpoved vračila drugega obroka v višini [2–5] milijonov EUR leta 2004);
Measure 4: public refinancing of EEL GmbH
je realna vrednost zavarovanj, ki jih je zagotovila družba Airport Network B.V. za posojila, odobrena družbi FN GmbH, visoka [37];
Germany contests that the refinancing of EEL GmbH constitutes an operation involving the State, since it is merely a capital injection undertaken by EEL GmbH's shareholders.
bi vlagatelj tvegal in odobril posojila letališču, ki ni že na začetku pridobilo operativne licence.
Germany points out that the refinancing of the EEL GmbH was carried out by the public owners and private banks.
PRIPOMBE NEMČIJE K PRIPOMBAM TRETJIH OSEB
Germany claims that the opening decision counts the alleged State aid twice (FN GmbH's refinancing by EEL GmbH, and EEL GmbH's refinancing by its public shareholders) although they form only one single measure.
Nemčija je menila, da se elementi, ki jih je predložil g.
Germany recalls that the Commission had renounced to proceed to a double assessment in the similar Leipzig/Halle case [32].
Kleinschnittger, ne morejo veljavno uporabiti v postopku, saj razkrivajo zaupne informacije s posvetovanj skupščine okrožja Kleve, ki so bile nezakonito pridobljene in posredovane Komisiji.
Germany denies that EEL GmbH was involved in any economic activity and argues that EEL GmbH should be instead considered as a temporary Special Purpose Vehicle (‘SPV’) set up to manage and develop the airport infrastructure.
Kar zadeva pripombe nekaterih posameznikov, se je sklicevala na svoja dopisa z dne 18. marca 2013 in 19. avgusta 2013, povzeta v oddelku 5.
Germany takes the view that EEL GmbH was set up to be more efficient in the project management than its two separate shareholders (the district of Kleve and the municipality of Weeze) and to channel start-up support provided by the latter in a more transparent way.
OCENA UKREPOV
According to Germany, no private investor would have carried out the same activities as those of EEL GmbH.
V skladu s členom 107(1) PDEU 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.
Finally, Germany added that EEL GmbH was making a profit margin thanks to the difference between the interest rates of the loans received from its shareholders and those granted to FN GmbH.
Merila iz člena 107(1) PDEU so kumulativna.
Compatibility assessment
Da torej ukrep pomeni državno pomoč v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU, mora biti izpolnjen vsak od naslednjih štirih pogojev.
Germany doubts that the Commission thoroughly assessed the compatibility of the support measures in the opening decision.
Finančna podpora:
It adds that, in view of the issue relating to legitimate expectations explained below, the Commission should neither proceed further with the investigation nor consider any recovery of the support measure.
je dodeljena s strani države ali iz državnih sredstev,
Finally, Germany notes that the Commission had already cleared the support measures granted to the Kassel-Calden airport, which are similar to those granted to Niederrhein-Weeze airport.
daje prednost določenim podjetjem ali proizvodnji določenega blaga,
Germany infers from this that the Commission should declare the latter compatible with the internal market.
izkrivlja ali bi lahko izkrivljala konkurenco in
Legitimate expectations
vpliva na trgovino med državami članicami.
In its comments on the opening decision, Germany reiterated previous arguments as regards legitimate expectations.
V zadevnem primeru je Nemčija trdila, da so družba EEL GmbH in njena delničarja vedno ravnali kot preudarni udeleženci v tržnem gospodarstvu, ki si prizadevajo za donosnost, ter da ukrepi, ki se ocenjujejo, družbi niso zagotovili gospodarske prednosti, ki je ta ne bi mogla pridobiti pod običajnimi tržnimi pogoji.
According to Germany, the Commission would have informed it in July 2009 [33] that it had no intention to investigate the case further, and, by doing so, would have created legitimate expecations.
Če to drži, potem ukrepi, ki jih je izvedla Nemčija, ne bi pomenili državne pomoči.
Germany concluded that the Commission was then bound by the principle of good administration and should have closed the preliminary investigation.
V nasprotju s trditvami Nemčije Komisija ni ustvarila legitimnih pričakovanj v zvezi z zaključkom predhodne preiskave.
To support its views, Germany claimed that the Court of Justice of the European Union had established in the Salzgitter case [34] that a delay by the Commission in exercising its supervisory powers and ordering recovery of State aid did not render a recovery decision unlawful, except in exceptional cases (like this one) where the Commission would have manifestly failed to act and would have clearly breached its duty of diligence.
Prvič, trditev, da Komisija ne bi ukrepala, je nepomembna.
Germany argued that the Commission's formal investigation overlooked other Commission acts such as the 2005 Konver II Decision (granting 14,9 million ECU for the conversion of former military airports in Nordrhein Westfalen) and the action plan for airport capacity, efficiency and safety in Europe [35], which would explicitly call for the creation of new airport infrastructure.
Sodišče je v združenih zadevah Demesa in Territorio Histórico de Álava proti Komisiji [38] potrdilo, da je vsako navidezno nedelovanje nepomembno, kadar ukrep pomoči ni bil priglašen.
COMMENTS FROM INTERESTED PARTIES
Ker Nemčija ni priglasila pomoči (glej uvodno izjavo 247), se ne more sklicevati na legitimno pričakovanje.
Flughafen Düsseldorf Gmbh (‘Flughafen Düsseldorf’), the operator of Düsseldorf airport, took the view that the four measures under scrutiny have affected competition in the Single market and should be declared incompatible.
Komisija ugotavlja, da je sklicevanje na sodno prakso v zadevi Salzgitter nepomembno, saj se ta sodba nanaša samo na obdobje vračila v primeru pomoči, ki je na podlagi sklepa Komisije razglašena za nezdružljivo, in ne na obdobje predhodne preiskave, ki ga zajemajo pripombe Nemčije.
According to Flughafen Düsseldorf, the traffic at Niederrhein-Weeze was multiplied by ten in less than 10 years only because the airport's cost structure had been artificially lowered by public support.
Končno, Komisija ugotavlja, da ima pravico nadaljevati formalno preiskavo, saj ni Nemčije nikoli obvestila o zaključku obravnavane zadeve.
Because of the start of flight operations at Niederrhein-Weeze, Ryanair has abusively used the brand ‘Düsseldorf’ in its marketing campaigns, which have misled and diverted potential customers to Niederrhein-Weeze at the expense of Flughafen Düsseldorf.
Podjetje v težavah
The Niederrheinische Industrie— und Handelskammer Duisburg Wesel Kleve zu Duisburg (‘the Niederrheinische IHK’), the local chamber of commerce and industry, points that the closure of the military airport led to a loss of 400 jobs and around EUR 100 million of revenues per year for the disctrict whereas conversely, the business development of Niederrhein-Weeze airport has been extremely positive and created over 1200 jobs in the region.
Vendar na podlagi informacij, ki jih je predložila Nemčija, Komisija meni, da se je finančni položaj družbe FN GmbH sčasoma izboljšal:
The Niederrheinische IHK further notes that the airport has grown according to the 2003 business plan and has turned into the third largest regional airport in the Land.
družba je ustvarila pozitivne denarne tokove v manj kot petih letih po začetku delovanja (glej razpredelnico 5), do konca leta 2010, ko je bil izveden zadnji ukrep, ki se preučujejo, pa je ustvarila dobiček;
The recent decrease in passengers traffic would be largely imputable to the introduction of the air passenger tax in Germany.
družbi je vedno koristila podpora njenih zasebnih delničarjev (glej uvodno izjavo 72) in je sčasoma lahko pridobila posojila poslovnih bank (glej uvodno izjavo 73);
Erlebe-Fernreisen and Atlasreisen
vodstvo družbe FN GmbH ni v navedenem obdobju nikoli predvidevalo, da bo vložilo predlog za začetek stečajnega postopka.
Erlebe-Fernreisen GmbH (‘Erlebe-Fernreisen’) and Atlasreisen Partnerunternehmen (‘Atlasreisen’), two local travel agencies, expresses support to Niederrhein-Weeze airport's position in the procedure.
Zato Komisija meni, da ni bila družba nikoli v položaju, opisanem v točki 9 smernic za reševanje in prestrukturiranje, „ko ni zmožn[a] z lastnimi sredstvi ali s sredstvi, ki jih lahko pridobi od svojih lastnikov/delničarjev ali upnikov, preprečiti izgube, ki bi brez zunanjega posredovanja državnih organov kratkoročno ali srednjeročno skoraj gotovo ogrozile obstoj družbe“.
Erlebe-Fernreisen takes the view that the renovation of the military airport and the cooperation with the management of Niederrhein-Weeze airport boosted the company's growth.
Komisija sklepa, da družba FN GmbH ne bi smela biti opredeljena kot podjetje v težavah.
Atlasreisen recalls the airport's ability to go through the difficult certification process and the introduction of the air passenger tax in Germany.
Obstoj pomoči v zvezi s posojili, ki so bila odobrena družbi FN GmbH (ukrep 1)
Agello Service GmbH (‘Agello’), an airport services provider, considers that the positive business development of Niederrhein-Weeze airport has turned it into the third largest regional airport in the Land and considers it to be a successful European project.
Pojem podjetja in gospodarske dejavnosti
In its view, the recent decrease in passengers traffic is largely imputable to the introduction of the air passenger tax in Germany.
Do nedavnega se je pri razvoju letališč pogosto upošteval izključno teritorialni vidik ali v nekaterih primerih vojaške potrebe.
Pro:niederrhein, a group of local citizens supporting the Niederrhein-Weeze airport considers that the measures under assessment are not illegal and that the airport is important for the region, as highlighted by a petition signed by over 20000 persons in 2006.
Delovanje letališč je bilo organizirano kot del uprave, in ne kot komercialno podjetje.
Tower Company and STI
Konkurenca med letališči in upravljavci letališč je bila prav tako omejena ter se je razvijala postopoma.
The Tower Company GmbH (‘Tower Company’), the airport service provider in charge of flight security, and STI Security Training International GmbH (‘STI’), the passenger control service provider, considers that the public remit activities it carries out could not be relocated in case of closure of the airport.
To se je v zadnjih letih spremenilo.
It invites the Commission to take employment into consideration in its assessment.
Čeprav v nekaterih primerih še naprej obstajajo navedeni preudarki o načrtovanju rabe zemljišč in upravne strukture, je večina letališč ustanovljena v skladu z gospodarskim pravom, da bi se omogočilo njihovo poslovanje pod tržnimi pogoji v vse bolj konkurenčnem okolju.
Serve2fly and I-Punkt
Prehod v zasebni sektor je običajno potekal s privatizacijo ali postopnim odpiranjem kapitala.
Serve2fly Heico Losch Airport Service GmbH (‘Serve2fly’), the airport ground handling provider, and I-Punkt GmbH (‘I-Punkt’), a local construction company, consider that the business development of Niederrhein-Weeze airport has been extremely positive and created over 1000 jobs in this less developped part of the Nordrhein Westfalen region.
V zadnjih letih so družbe zasebnega kapitala ter investicijski in pokojninski skladi pokazali veliko zanimanje za prevzem letališč, kar dokazuje tudi zadevni primer.
Serve2fly argues that the views put across in the opening decision go against the Commission's own guidelines by preventing local airports from competing on the market.
Kot je navedeno v točki 44 smernic Komisije o državni pomoči letališčem in letalskim prevoznikom (v nadaljnjem besedilu: smernice za letalski sektor iz leta 2014) [39], zaradi postopnega razvoja tržnih sil v letališkem sektorju ni mogoče določiti natančnega datuma, od katerega bi se moralo upravljanje letališča nedvomno obravnavati kot gospodarska dejavnost.
Serve2fly recalls the external adverse events that the airport had to cope with and invite the Commission to take them into account.
Vendar je Sodišče Unije priznalo razvojne spremembe v naravi letaliških dejavnosti.