natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
In the present case, the Commission notes that Sweden and VFAB have not adduced any evidence that the alleged public service obligations have been actually and clearly defined and formally entrusted to VFAB.
Švedski organi so pred sklepom o začetku postopka trdili, da so vložki delničarjev temeljili na finančni analizi, ki je bila podobni tistim, ki jih je opravil zasebni lastnik letališča Skavsta (glej točko 52 sklepa o začetku postopka).
Indeed, in this respect, VFAB refers only to the by-laws of VFAB in which the mission of the undertaking is defined first as ‘covering the region's need of air transport’ [30] (‘tillgodose regionens behov av flygtransporter’) and later as ‘serving civil aviation at Västerås Airport’ [31] (‘betjäna den civila luftfarten vid Västerås Flygplats’).
Vendar kot je bilo že ugotovljeno v sklepu o začetku postopka, Švedska ni predložila konkretnih informacij o tem, da bi lastniki letališča Skavsta zagotovili kapital v podobnih okoliščinah, v katerih se je znašlo letališče Västerås, in da primerljivost ni bila mogoča tudi zato, ker so bile stopnje pogostosti potniškega prometa na letališču Skavsta desetkrat višje od tistih na letališču Västerås.
Neither of these formulations makes reference to the three alleged public service obligations and in any case they cannot be considered as clear and actual SGEI obligations (they rather appear to constitute a general description of the object of the undertaking).
V zvezi s tem med formalno preiskavo ni bilo dodatnih dokazov.
For this reason alone the public support to VFAB cannot be considered as falling outside the scope of State aid rules under the Altmark case law.
Švedski organi so pred sklepom o začetku postopka predložili zelo omejene dokaze, ki naj bi pokazali, da sta mesto Västerås in družba LFV Holding delovali kot običajna vlagatelja v tržnem gospodarstvu, ko sta prispevala kapital.
In addition, the Commission notes than at least two other Altmark criteria would appear not to be met:
Po ocenah bi družba VFAB dosegla prag dobička leta 2003, in sicer s pogostostjo potniškega prometa v višini 400000.
there is no evidence of an ex ante definition of the compensation (but rather ex post compensation for unanticipated losses) and VFAB has not been chosen through a public procurement procedure and there is no evidence that the alleged compensation has been based on an analysis of the costs of a well-run undertaking (rather the opposite, as the level of support was defined simply by the need to make up for several years of continuous losses).
Vendar so se ta predvidevanja po navedbah v sklepu o začetku postopka zdela zelo optimistična glede na predhodno poslovanje letališča Västerås, pri čemer se niso predložili nadaljnji dokazi v podporo tem predvidevanjem (kot je opisano v zgornji preglednici 1, se je pogostost potniškega prometa dejansko zmanjšala, namesto petkratno povečala).
VFAB's claim that the public support to VFAB falls outside the scope of State aid rules because it would be compensation for the discharge of a public service obligation can therefore not be accepted.
Družba LFV Holding AB je do konca leta 2006 prodala svoj delež nazaj mestu Västerås za 1 SEK.
The MEO principle
V skladu z informacijami, ki so jih predložili švedski organi, je bil razlog ta, da SCAA ni bil pripravljen še naprej zagotavljati vložkov delničarjev za pokritje izgub družbi VFAB.
An advantage within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU is any economic benefit which an undertaking would not have obtained under normal market conditions, i.e. in the absence of state intervention.
Komisija nadalje ugotavlja, da so bili v skladu s pripombami družbe VFAB med preiskavo vložki delničarjev iz mesta Västerås in holdinga LFV namenjeni za „pokritje izgub, nastalih pri poslovanju družbe VFAB“ [33].
Only the effect of the measure on the undertaking is relevant, neither the cause nor the objective of the state intervention.
Družba VFAB je trdila, da je bila večina tega poslovanja negospodarske narave, pri čemer meni, da je treba vprašanje, ali so vložki delničarjev v skladu z načelom udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu, oceniti le v povezavi z donosom na podlagi sporazumov s komercialnimi letalskimi prevozniki, ki so po mnenju družbe VFAB edini del poslovanja letališča, ki je gospodarske narave.
Whenever the financial situation of the undertaking is improved as a result of state intervention, an advantage is present.
Ker so bili navedeni sporazumi mejno dobičkonosni, VFAB trdi, da so bili vložki delničarjev v skladu z načelom udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu.
In the present case, in order to determine whether the shareholder contributions grant VFAB an advantage that it would not have received under normal market conditions, the Commission has to compare the conduct of the public authorities providing the capital injections to that of an MEO who is guided by prospects of profitability in the long term.
Komisija najprej zaradi že navedenih razlogov ne sprejema trditve družbe VFAB, da bi bile dejavnosti upravljavcev letališč v veliki meri negospodarske narave in da bi se skladnost vložkov delničarjev morala oceniti le v povezavi z donosom na podlagi sporazumov družbe VFAB s komercialnimi letalskimi prevozniki.
The assessment should leave aside any positive repercussions on the economy of the region in which the airport is located, since the Court has clarified that the relevant question for applying the MEO principle is whether ‘in similar circumstances a private shareholder, having regard to the foreseeability of obtaining a return and leaving aside all social, regional-policy and sectoral considerations, would have subscribed the capital in question’.
Družba VFAB je podjetje in z vidika delničarjev bi bilo treba skladnost z načelom udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu oceniti ob upoštevanju finančnega rezultata družbe VFAB kot celote.
In Stardust Marine the Court stated that, ‘[…] in order to examine whether or not the state has adopted the conduct of a prudent investor operating in a market economy, it is necessary to place oneself in the context of the period during which the financial support measures were taken in order to assess the economic rationality of the state's conduct, and thus to refrain from any assessment based on a later situation.’
Družba VFAB ni predložila utemeljenega podatka, s katerim bi se lahko ločili njena gospodarska in negospodarska dejavnost.
Furthermore, the Court declared in the EDF case that, ‘[…] for the purposes of showing that, before or at the same time as conferring the advantage, the Member State took that decision as a shareholder, it is not enough to rely on economic evaluations made after the advantage was conferred, on a retrospective finding that the investment made by the Member State concerned was actually profitable, or on subsequent justifications of the course of action actually chosen’ [32].
Kar zadeva možnost, da bi rezultati poslovanja družbe VFAB zagotovili donos na podlagi vložkov delničarjev, ki bi bil sprejemljiv za zasebnega upravljavca, Komisija ugotavlja, da niti Švedska niti zainteresirane strani med preiskavo niso predložile informacij, s katerimi bi spremenile predhodne ugotovitve Komisije, da vložki delničarjev niso bili skladni z načelom udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu.
In order to be able to apply the MEO principle, the Commission has to place itself at the time when each decision to provide public funds to VFAB was taken.
Dejansko ni bilo predloženih dokazov v podporo zelo omejenim dokazom, ki so se predložili pred začetkom postopka in ki bi pokazali, da so se vložki delničarjev kljub močnim dokazom prima facie o nasprotnem (kot je povzeto v uvodnih izjavah 119 do 121) zagotovili na podlagi razumnih domnev o donosu, ki bi bil sprejemljiv za udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu v podobnih okoliščinah.
The Commission must also base its assessment on the information and assumptions which were at the disposal of the relevant local authorities at the time when the decision regarding the financial arrangements of the infrastructure measures at stake was taken.
Komisija ugotavlja nasprotno, in sicer da so njeni predhodni sklepi podkrepljeni z izjavami same družbe VFAB (glej uvodno izjavo 121), ki jih Švedska ni izpodbijala, da vložki delničarjev niso bili namenjeni pridobitvi donosa, ki bi bil sprejemljiv za udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu, temveč za pokritje stalnih izgub, nastalih pri poslovanju družbe VFAB.
In the opening decision, the Commission set out its preliminary analysis of why the shareholders' contributions to VFAB constitutes an advantage to the firm and why, in particular, the MEO principle would not be met.
Takšno stalno pokrivanje izgub brez kakršnih koli jasnih in verodostojnih možnosti izboljšanja poslovanja družbe, kar bi vodilo do sprejemljivega donosa, ne bi bilo sprejemljivo z načelom udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu.
The Commission first noted that VFAB has generated considerable losses for more than 10 years.
Švedska ni predložila informacij v zvezi z dvomi v sklepih o začetku postopka zlasti glede domnevnih zelo optimističnih napovedi pred prvimi vložki delničarjev, niti ni predložila dokazov, da so naknadni vložki temeljili na kakršni koli obliki ocene prihodnjih donosov in niso bili namenjeni zgolj pokritju izgub.
Indeed, already at the time of the first shareholder contribution in 2003, VFAB was already at least (according to the information available to the Commission) in its fifth year of consistent losses.
Zaključek
These losses continued without interruption throughout the period covered by the investigation such that, at the time of each shareholder contribution, VFAB was still loss-making.
Komisija ob upoštevanju navedenega meni, da udeleženec v tržnem gospodarstvu ne bi zagotovil vložkov delničarjev.
In these circumstances the Commission consider it very unlikely that a private investor would be willing to contribute with capital injections of in total SEK 194 million (approx.
Dokazi, ki so jih predložile države članice, ne kažejo na to, da bi bila izvedena ocena, ki je sprejemljiva za udeleženca v tržnem gospodarstvu, ko so se izvedli navedeni vložki, temveč da so bili vložki delničarjev namenjeni stalnemu pokrivanju izgub družbe VFAB ne glede na poslovanje družbe.
EUR 21,4 million) in order to cover such losses.
Zato vložki delničarjev zagotavljajo gospodarsko prednost družbi VFAB, ki je pod običajnimi tržnimi pogoji ne bi pridobila.
Since VFAB has been fully state-owned during the entire period in question, there are no private owners with which a comparison could be made.
Selektivnost
The compliance with the MEO would in these circumstances only be demonstrated on the basis of strong prospects of long-term profitability of VFAB.
Ukrep državne pomoči spada v področje uporabe člena 107(1) PDEU, če daje prednost „posameznim podjetjem ali proizvodnji posameznega blaga“.
Prior to the opening decision, the Swedish authorities argued that the shareholder contributions were made based on financial analysis similar to the ones made by the private owner of Skavsta airport (see 52 of the opening decision).
Zato med državne pomoči spadajo le tisti ukrepi, ki podjetjem zagotavljajo selektivno prednost.
However, as already noted in the opening decision, Sweden provided no concrete information showing that Skavsta's owners would have provided capital in circumstances similar to those of Västerås, and that comparability was unlikely also because Skavsta has a passenger levels 10 times higher than Västerås.
V sedanjem primeru vložki delničarjev koristijo le družbi VFAB, pri čemer je jasno, da so selektivni v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU.
No additional evidence has been provided on this point in course of the formal investigation.
Izkrivljanje konkurence in vpliv na trgovino
Prior to the opening decision, the Swedish authorities submitted very limited evidence intended to show that the City of Västerås and LFV Holding acted as normal market economy investors when contributing the capital.
Če pomoč, ki jo odobri država članica, krepi položaj podjetja v primerjavi z drugimi podjetji, ki konkurirajo na notranjem trgu, je treba ta podjetja obravnavati kot podjetja, na katera vpliva navedena pomoč [34].
As noted in the opening decision, there are indications that the SCAA performed some kind of market analysis before its acquisition of shares in VFAB in 2000.
Gospodarska prednost, ki so jo vložki delničarjev dodelili družbi VFAB, je slednji zagotovila okrepljen gospodarski položaj, saj je upravljavec letališča lahko nadaljeval s poslovanjem, ne da bi kril vse nastale stroške.
According to the forecasts on which the purchase was made, the number of passengers at Västerås Airport should grow from 120000 in 1999 to 600000 within 8 years, which would result in a sustainable profitability of SEK 7-10 million per year.
Kot je bilo že pojasnjeno, je upravljanje letališča gospodarska dejavnost.
It was estimated that VFAB would reach break-even in 2003 with a passenger frequency of 400000.
Konkurenca je na eni strani med letališči, da privabijo letalske prevoznike in ustrezen zračni promet (potniški in tovorni), ter na drugi strani med upravljavci letališča, ki si lahko medsebojno konkurirajo, da bi se jim zaupalo upravljanje danega letališča.
These assumptions appeared however, as indicated in the opening decision, very optimistic in view of the previous performance of Västerås Airport, and no further evidence has been provided to substantiate the solidity of these projections (indeed, as described in Table 1 above, the passenger frequency declined instead of five-folding).
Poleg tega, še zlasti v zvezi z nizkocenovnimi prevozniki in upravljavci čarterskih letov, si lahko letališča, ki niso v istem ciljnem območju in so celo v različnih državah članicah, medsebojno konkurirajo, da bi privabila navedene letalske prevoznike.
By the end of 2006, LFV Holding AB sold its share back to the City of Västerås for SEK 1.
Kot je navedeno v točki 40 letalskih smernic iz leta 2005 in ponovno poudarjeno v točki 45 letalskih smernic iz leta 2014, iz področja uporabe člena 107(1) PDEU ni mogoče izključiti niti majhnih letališč.
According to the information submitted by the Swedish authorities, the reason was that the SCAA was not prepared to continue to provide shareholders' contributions as loss coverage to VFAB.
Poleg tega je v točki 45 letalskih smernic iz leta 2014 izrecno navedeno, da „sorazmerna majhnost podjetja, ki prejme javno financiranje, ne izključi a priori možnosti, da bi bila trgovina med državami članicami prizadeta“.
The Commission further notes that according to VFAB's comments in the course of the investigation, the purpose of the shareholders' contributions from the City of Västerås and LFV holding was to ‘cover the losses arisen in VFAB's operations’ [33].
Storitve letališča Västerås je v obdobju, zajetem v formalni preiskavi, uporabilo med 113626 in 242376 potnikov na leto, trenutno pa ga uporablja približno 273000 potnikov na leto (podatki za leto 2013).
VFAB has argued that most of these operations are non-economic and considers that the question whether the shareholders' contributions comply with the MEO principle has to be assessed only in relation to the return on the arrangements with the commercial airlines which, in VFAB's view, is the only part of the airport's operations that is economic.
Znaten del letalskega prometa izvira iz drugih držav članic, pri čemer se izvajajo mednarodni leti z letališča Västerås v namembne kraje, kot so London-Stansted, Alicante in Malaga.
As these agreements were incrementally profitable, VFAB argues that the shareholders' contributions were in line with the MEO principle.
Ugotovljeno je torej bilo, da družba VFAB posluje na trgu, ki je odprt za konkurenco na evropski ravni.
Sweden has not contested these comments.
Ob upoštevanju teh dejstev je za javno financiranje družbe VFAB treba šteti, da izkrivlja ali bi lahko izkrivljalo konkurenco in ima zato vsaj morebitni vpliv na trgovino.
The Commission first, for the reasons indicated above, does not accept VFAB's contention that the airports operations would have been largely non-economic and that the shareholders' contributions compliance with the MEO principle should be assessed only in relation to the return on VFAB's agreements with commercial airlines.
Ob upoštevanju navedenih premislekov Komisija ugotavlja, da javno financiranje, dodeljeno družbi VFAB v obliki vložkov delničarjev med letoma 2003 in 2010 (ukrep 1), pomeni državno pomoč v smislu člena 107 PDEU.
VFAB is an undertaking and, from the shareholders' perspective, compliance with the MEO principle should be assessed in view of VFAB's financial result as a whole.
Zakonitost pomoči
In any case VFAB have not provided any substantiated figure that would allow separating its economic and non-economic activity.
Država članica mora v skladu s členom 108(3) PDEU priglasiti vse načrte za dodelitev ali spremembo pomoči, pri čemer predlaganih ukrepov ne sme izvajati, dokler v postopku priglasitve ni sprejet dokončen sklep.
As regards the prospects that VFAB's results would provide a return on the shareholders' contributions that would have been acceptable to a private operator, the Commission notes that neither Sweden nor interested parties have submitted any information in the course of the investigation intended to alleviate the Commission's preliminary findings that the shareholders' contributions were not compliant with the MEO principle.
Ker so bila sredstva že na voljo družbi VFAB, Komisija meni, da Švedska ni upoštevala prepovedi iz člena 108(3) PDEU.
Indeed, no evidence has been submitted that would complement the very limited evidence submitted prior to the opening and that would demonstrate that, in spite of the strong prima facie indications to the contrary (as summarised in recitals 119 to 121) the shareholders' contributions were provided on the basis of reasonable assumptions of a return that would be acceptable to an MEO in a similar situation.
Združljivost
On the contrary, the Commission finds that its preliminary conclusions are corroborated by VFAB's own statements (see recital 121), which Sweden has not contested, that the shareholders' contributions were not given with a view to obtaining a return that would be acceptable to an MEO, but for the purpose of covering the losses generated by VFAB's operations on a continuous basis.
Uporaba letalskih smernic iz leta 2014 in letalskih smernic iz leta 2005
Such continuous coverage of losses without any clear and credible prospects of an improvement in the performance of the firm leading to an acceptable return would not be acceptable to an MEO.
Člen 107(3) PDEU določa nekatere izjeme k splošnemu pravilu iz člena 107(1) PDEU o nezdružljivosti državne pomoči z notranjim trgom.
Sweden has not submitted any information in respect of the doubts expressed in the opening decisions regarding in particular the very optimistic forecasts allegedly made prior to the first shareholders' contributions, nor has it submitted any evidence that the subsequent contributions were made on the basis of any form of assessment of future returns as opposed to the mere coverage of losses.
V zvezi s tem letalske smernice iz leta 2014 predstavljajo okvir za oceno, ali se lahko pomoč letališčem opredeli kot združljiva v skladu s členom 107(3)(c) PDEU.
Conclusion
Letalske smernice iz leta 2014 navajajo, da bo Komisija, če je bila nezakonita pomoč dodeljena pred 4. aprilom 2014, uporabila pravila o združljivosti, ki so veljala v času dodelitve nezakonite pomoči za naložbe.
In view of the above, the Commission considers that an MEO would not have provided the shareholders' contributions.
Komisija je že v uvodnih izjavah 136 do 138 ugotovila, da vložki delničarjev pomenijo nezakonito državno pomoč, dodeljeno pred 4. aprilom 2014.
The evidence provided by the Member State does not substantiate that an assessment that would have been acceptable to an MEO was carried out when those contribution took place, but rather that the shareholders' contributions were intended to cover VFAB's losses on a continuous basis without a link to the performance of the firm.
Razlikovanje med pomočjo za naložbe in pomočjo za tekoče poslovanje
Therefore the shareholders' contributions provide an economic advantage to VFAB which it would not have obtained on normal market conditions.
Komisija mora ob upoštevanju navedenih določb letalskih smernic iz leta 2014 ugotoviti, ali zadevni ukrep pomeni nezakonito pomoč za naložbe ali za tekoče poslovanje.
Selectivity
V skladu s točko 25(18) letalskih smernic iz leta 2014 je pomoč za naložbe opredeljena kot „pomoč za financiranje osnovnih sredstev, zlasti za pokritje vrzeli v financiranju stroškov investicijskega vzdrževanja“.
To fall within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU a state measure must favour ‘certain undertakings or the production of certain goods’.
Poleg tega se v skladu s točko 25(21) zadevnih smernic pomoč za tekoče poslovanje lahko nanaša na bodisi vnaprejšnje plačilo (to pomeni, da vnaprej pokrije stroške za naložbe) bodisi pomoč, izplačano v obliki periodičnih obrokov (za pokritje stroškov investicijskega vzdrževanja v smislu letne amortizacije in stroškov financiranja).
Hence, only those measures favouring undertakings in a selective way fall under the notion of State aid.
Pomoč za tekoče poslovanje se po drugi strani nanaša na pokrivanje vseh ali delnih stroškov poslovanja, opredeljenih kot osnovni stroški za zagotavljanje letaliških storitev, „vključno s stroškovnimi kategorijami, kot so stroški za zaposlene, pogodbene storitve, komunikacije, odpadke, energijo, vzdrževanje, najem in upravljanje itd., vendar ne vključujejo stroškov investicijskega vzdrževanja, podpore za trženje ali vseh drugih spodbud, ki jih letalskim prevoznikom dodeli letališče, ter stroškov, ki spadajo na področje javne politike“.
When aid granted by a Member State strengthens the position of an undertaking compared with other undertakings competing in the internal market, the latter must be regarded as affected by that aid [34].
Oddelek 5.1 letalskih smernic iz leta 2014 navaja merila, ki jih bo uporabila Komisija pri ocenjevanju združljivosti pomoči za tekoče poslovanje z notranjim trgom v skladu s členom 107(3)(c) PDEU.
The economic advantage granted by the shareholder contributions to VAFB strengthened its economic position, as the airport operator was able to continue its business without bearing all of the inherent costs.
Zlasti v skladu s točko 172 letalskih smernic iz leta 2014 bo Komisija navedena merila uporabila za vse zadeve o pomoči za tekoče poslovanje, vključno z nerešenimi prijavami in nezakonito nepriglašeno pomočjo.
Competition takes place, on the one hand, between airports to attract airlines and the corresponding air traffic (passengers and freight), and, on the other hand, between airport managers, who may compete between themselves to be entrusted with the management of a given airport.
Prispevek k natančno opredeljenemu cilju skupnega interesa (točki 113 in 114 letalskih smernic iz leta 2014).
Moreover, in particular with respect to low-cost carriers and charter operators, airports that are not located in the same catchment areas and even in different Member States can also be in competition with each other to attract those airlines.
Ta pogoj je med drugim izpolnjen, če pomoč poveča mobilnost državljanov EU in povezljivost regij z določitvijo točk dostopa do poletov znotraj Unije ali spodbuja regionalni razvoj.
As mentioned in point 40 of the 2005 Aviation Guidelines and reaffirmed in point 45 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, it is not possible to exclude even small airports from the scope of application of Article 107(1) of the TFEU.
Kljub temu pa podvajanje nedobičkonosnih letališč ne prispeva k cilju skupnega interesa.
Furthermore, point 45 of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines explicitly states that ‘the relatively small size of the undertaking which receives public funding does not, as such, exclude the possibility that trade between Member States might be affected’.
Potreba po posredovanju države (točke 116 do 118 letalskih smernic iz leta 2014).