natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The prohibition of State aid laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU is neither absolute nor unconditional.
Poleg tega Komisija glede na to, da so bili ukrepi pomoči dodeljeni v obliki posojila, meni, da se je pomoč izvajala in se načeloma še naprej izvaja ob vsakem plačilu na rok zapadlosti vračila.
In particular, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 107 TFEU constitute legal bases allowing some aid measures to be considered compatible with the internal market.
Poleg tega je bila v zvezi z vsemi prihodnjimi roki zapadlosti po 1. marcu 2016 obrestna mera za posojilo iz sklada FDES zvišana in določena na 7,03 %.
In this case, the Commission considers that the aid was granted with the aim of restoring the long-term viability of firms in difficulty.
To je dokazoval aneks k posojilni pogodbi, ki ga je Francija Komisiji poslala 1. marca 2016.
Applicable legal basis
Poleg tega v prihodnje ne bo izvedena nobena pomoč.
Point 137 of the Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty [31] provides that ‘The Commission will examine the compatibility with the internal market of any rescue or restructuring aid granted without its authorisation and therefore in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the basis of these guidelines if some or all of the aid is granted after their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union’.
Zato od družbe Groupe Brandt ni več treba zahtevati, naj vrne nezdružljivo državno pomoč.
Point 138 then states that: ‘In all other cases it will conduct the examination on the basis of the guidelines which applied at the time the aid was granted’.
SKLEPNA UGOTOVITEV
Since the measures in question were granted in November 2013 and April 2014 respectively, their compatibility must be assessed in the light of the 2004 Guidelines.
Komisija ugotavlja, da je Francija z dodelitvijo posojil iz sklada FDES družbama FagorBrandt in Groupe Brandt nezakonito odobrila državno pomoč in s tem kršila člen 108(3) PDEU.
France has not submitted any observations concerning the compatibility of the measures.
Vendar je bilo z vračilom posojil in uskladitvijo posojilne pogodbe s tržnimi pogoji ponovno vzpostavljeno stanje pred dodelitvijo te državne pomoči, tako da ni več treba odrediti izterjave in odprave zadevnih ukrepov.
Since the loans granted to FagorBrandt and Groupe Brandt do not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, France does not consider it necessary to check their compliance with the principles set out in the 2004 Guidelines.
SPREJELA NASLEDNJI SKLEP:
To reiterate the Court of Justice's position on this matter, in judgment C-364/90, Italy v Commission, it declared: ‘As regards the first argument, it should be observed that a Member State which seeks to be allowed to grant aid by way of derogation from the Treaty rules has a duty to collaborate with the Commission.
Člen 1
In pursuance of that duty, it must in particular provide all the information to enable the Commission to verify that the conditions for the derogation sought are fulfilled’ [32].
Državna pomoč, ki izhaja iz posojil iz Sklada za ekonomski in socialni razvoj (FDES), odobrenih družbi FagorBrandt 28. novembra 2013, in ki jo je Francija nezakonito odobrila za družbo FagorBrandt, s čimer je kršila člen 108(3) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije, je nezdružljiva z notranjim trgom, ker je uporabljena obrestna mera nižja od obrestne mere, izračunane v tem sklepu na podlagi Sporočila Komisije o spremembi metode določanja referenčnih obrestnih mer in diskontnih stopenj (v nadaljnjem besedilu: sporočilo iz leta 2008), in sicer 7,03 %.
The FDES loan of EUR 10 million to FagorBrandt
Državna pomoč, ki izhaja iz posojil iz Sklada za ekonomski in socialni razvoj (FDES), odobrenih družbi Groupe Brandt 24. aprila 2014, in ki jo je Francija nezakonito odobrila za družbo Groupe Brandt, s čimer je kršila člen 108(3) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije, je nezdružljiva z notranjim trgom, ker so uporabljene obrestne mere nižje od obrestne mere, izračunane v tem sklepu na podlagi sporočila iz leta 2008, in sicer 7,03 %.
One of the fundamental principles governing rescue or restructuring aid is the ‘one time, last time’ principle, set out in point 72 of the 2004 Guidelines: ‘In accordance with the same [one time, last time] principle, in order to prevent firms from being unfairly assisted when they can only survive thanks to repeated State support, restructuring aid should be granted once only’.
Člen 2
Point 73 adds: ‘When planned rescue or restructuring aid is notified to the Commission, the Member State must specify whether the firm concerned has already received rescue or restructuring aid in the past, including any such aid granted before the date of application of these Guidelines and any unnotified aid.
Ker je družba Groupe Brandt vrnila pomoč iz člena 1, je formalni postopek preiskave iz člena 108(2) Pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije postal brezpredmeten.
If so, and where less than 10 years have elapsed since the aid was granted or the restructuring period came to an end or implementation of the restructuring plan was halted (whichever occurred the latest), the Commission will not allow further rescue or restructuring aid’.
Člen 3
In this case, FagorBrandt benefited from restructuring aid in 2008 which the Commission declared compatible.
Ta sklep je naslovljen na Francosko republiko.
In addition, none of the exceptions referred to in point 73 of the 2004 Guidelines apply.
V Bruslju, 15. marca 2016
Further restructuring aid less than six years after the previous aid can therefore under no circumstances be compatible with the applicable rules on State aid.
Za Komisijo
The Commission therefore concludes that the State aid awarded to FagorBrandt through the FDES loan of 25 November 2013 is incompatible with the internal market under the rules applying Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, provided for in the 2004 Guidelines.
Članica Komisije
The FDES loan of EUR 47,5 million to Groupe Brandt
UL C 460, 19.12.2014, str. 66.
As demonstrated in section 8.2, Groupe Brandt must be considered the economic successor to FagorBrandt.
Glej opombo 1.
Moreover, even if Groupe Brandt were to be considered a newly created firm, contrary to the conclusions set out in section 8.2, the aid could not be declared compatible because of point 12 of the 2004 Guidelines, which states: ‘For the purposes of these Guidelines, a newly created firm is not eligible for rescue or restructuring aid even if its initial financial position is insecure.
Société Générale, Natixis, CACIB, Arkea in BBVA.
This is the case, for instance, where a new firm emerges from the liquidation of a previous firm or merely takes over such firm's assets’.
Sezonsko posojilo je kratkoročno poslovno posojilo za potrebe občasne dejavnosti, torej sezonske narave nakupov in proizvodnje, ali prodaje podjetij.
In this case, Groupe Brandt was created on 15 January 2014 following FagorBrandt's liquidation.
Prvotno se je imenovala Electrom SAS.
In any event, Groupe Brandt could not have received State aid in the form of restructuring aid.
[…] milijonov EUR v obliki kapitalske injekcije in […] milijonov EUR na tekoči račun, ki je bil blokiran ter na katerem je bila izterljivost sredstev odvisna od pridobitve bančnega financiranja in udeležbe sklada FDES.
The Commission therefore concludes that the State aid awarded to Groupe Brandt through the FDES loan of 24 April 2014 is incompatible with the internal market under the rules applying Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, provided for in the 2004 Guidelines.
UL C 14, 19.1.2008, str. 6.
RECOVERY AND ECONOMIC CONTINUITY
UL C 244, 1.10.2004, str. 2.
Framework for analysis
Sklep Komisije 2013/283/EU z dne 25. julija 2012 o državni pomoči SA.23839 (C 44/2007), ki jo je Francija odobrila podjetju FagorBrandt (UL L 166, 18.6.2013, str. 1).
In this context, the Court of Justice has established that this aim is achieved once the beneficiary has repaid the amounts granted by way of unlawful aid, thus forfeiting the advantage which it had enjoyed over its competitors on the market, and the situation prior to the payment of the aid has been restored [35].
Glej Odločbo Komisije z dne 17. septembra 2008 v zvezi z državno pomočjo N 321/08, N 322/08 in N 323/08 – Grčija – Prodaja nekaterih sredstev družbe Olympic Airlines/Olympic Airways Services (UL C 18, 23.1.2010, str.
In line with case-law, Article 14(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 [36] lays down that: ‘Where negative decisions are taken in cases of unlawful aid, the Commission shall decide that the Member State concerned shall take all necessary measures to recover the aid from the beneficiary…’.
9).
Consequently, since the measures in question were implemented in breach of Article 108 TFEU and are to be considered unlawful and incompatible aid, they must be recovered in order to re-establish the situation that existed on the market before the aid was granted.
Glej sodbo Splošnega sodišča z dne 12. decembra 2000 v zadevi Alitalia proti Komisiji, T-296/97, ECLI:EU:T:2000:289, točka 81.
As such, recovery must cover the period during which an advantage was conferred on the beneficiary, that is to say from the time the aid was made available to the beneficiary until it was actually recovered.
Glej opombo 11.
The sums to be recovered should therefore include interest due until recovery takes place.
Prav tam.
In accordance with case-law, the recovery interest accrues from the date on which the aid was actually made available [37].
JORF z dne 1. decembra 2004.
France should therefore recover from FagorBrandt the incompatible aid consisting in the FDES loan of 25 November 2013 and from Groupe Brandt the incompatible aid consisting in the FDES loan of 24 April 2014.
Sodba Sodišča z dne 29. junija 1999 v zadevi DMT, C-256/97, ECLI:EU:C:1999:332, točka 22.
According to case-law, the recovery obligation may be extended to a new company to which the beneficiary has transferred part of its assets, where that transfer permits the conclusion that there is an economic continuity between the two companies [38].
http://fr.reuters.com/article/frEuroRpt/idFRL5N0IQ3HR20131105: Reuters, 5. novembra 2013, „Fagor a un avenir en France, dit Montebourg (Montebourg: družba Fagor ima v Franciji prihodnost)“.
The recovery obligation can be extended to another company, provided that it is established that the other company is effectively benefiting from the aid in question due to an economic continuity between the two entities.
http://fr.reuters.com/article/frEuroRpt/idFRL5N0IR2AJ20131106: Reuters, 6. novembra 2013, „FagorBrandt – Le gouvernement veut sauver un maximum d'emplois (FagorBrandt – vlada želi rešiti čim več delovnih mest)“.
In such a case, those taking over the beneficiaries' activities would therefore also have to repay the aid considered incompatible with the internal market.
http://www.planet.fr/revue-du-web-fagorbrandt-loffre-de-reprise-devrait-pouvoir-etre-amelioree-montebourg.538024.1912.html: La Tribune, 22. januarja 2014, „FagorBrandt: l'offre de reprise ‚devrait pouvoir être améliorée‘ (FagorBrandt: prevzemno ponudbo ‚bi moralo biti mogoče še izboljšati‘) “.
The FDES loan of EUR 10 million was granted to FagorBrandt.
Obrok B je bil namesto konec marca vrnjen konec aprila 2014.
However, FagorBrandt has been liquidated and its assets transferred by judgment of Nanterre Commercial Court of 15 April 2014.
Zamudne kazni, določene v pogodbi s skladom FDES, so bile plačane v skladu s pogodbenimi določili.
It is therefore necessary to examine whether the companies taking over FagorBrandt's activities, namely Variance Technologies, Pierre Jullien and Groupe Brandt, can be regarded as FagorBrandt's economic successors, and hence as liable for reimbursing the aid incompatible with the internal market from which FagorBrandt benefited.
Gospodarska prednost = 0,0703 × 10000000 – [0,05 – 0,10] × 10000000.
In the light of the ruling of the Court of Justice in Italy and SIM2 Multimedia v Commission [39], on which the Commission based its decisions concerning Olympic Airlines, Alitalia and Sernam [40], an analysis of whether there is economic continuity between operators must draw on a body of evidence.
Banki Société Générale in Natixis sta prvovrstni bančnici skupine FagorBrandt: vsaka od njiju ohranja po 3 milijone EUR nezajamčenih terjatev, ki so po ukinitvi zastavne pravice na zalogah v obdobju opazovanja družbe FagorBrandt postale nezavarovane.
This set of factors was confirmed by the Court of Justice in its judgment of 28 March 2012 in Ryanair v Commission [41], which endorsed the Commission's decision in the Alitalia case.
UL C 249, 31.7.2014, str.
In the present case, given the extremely limited scope of the assets taken over by Variance Technologies (Aizenay site) and Pierre Jullien (Roche-sur-Yon production site), these two buyers cannot be considered FagorBrandt's economic successors.
1.
On the other hand, Groupe Brandt, via its parent company Cevital, took over all tangible and intangible assets belonging wholly to FagorBrandt, together with all inventory.
Sodba Sodišča z dne 28. aprila 1993 v zadevi Italija proti Komisiji, C-364/90, ECLI:EU:C:1993:157, točka 20.
Finally, Groupe Brandt also took over FagorBrandt's trademarks and patents and almost 90 % of its employment contracts following its liquidation.
Glej sodbo Sodišča z dne 12. julija 1973 v zadevi Komisija proti Nemčiji, C-70/72, ECLI:EU:C:1973:87, točka 13.
Moreover, the price at which the assets were acquired by Groupe Brandt was set by Nanterre Commercial Court as part of the collective proceedings concerning FagorBrandt and not as part of a market transaction.
Glej sodbo z dne 14. septembra 1994 v združenih zadevah Španija proti Komisiji, C-278/92, C-279/92 in C-280/92, ECLI:EU:C:1994:325, točka 75.
This is illustrated by the fact that Groupe Brandt acquired FagorBrandt's assets at the price of EUR [0-5 million], even though the company's turnover was EUR [600-800 million] in 2012.
Glej sodbo z dne 17. junija 1999 v zadevi Belgija proti Komisiji, C-75/97, ECLI:EU:C:1999:311, točki 64 in 65.
It should also be noted that no other companies aside from Groupe Brandt were interested in acquiring assets of FagorBrandt.
Uredba Sveta (ES) št. 659/1999 z dne 22. marca 1999 o določitvi podrobnih pravil za uporabo člena 108 pogodbe o delovanju Evropske unije (UL L 83, 27.3.1999, str. 1).
Therefore, the price at which the assets were transferred was not the result of a comparison of several competing bids.
Sodba Splošnega sodišča z dne 30. januarja 2002 v zadevi Keller in Keller Meccanica proti Komisiji, T-35/99, ECLI:EU:T:2002:19, točke od 106 do 109.
The price at which Groupe Brandt acquired FagorBrandt's assets cannot therefore be considered the result of a market transaction.
Sodba Sodišča z dne 8. maja 2003 v združenih zadevah Italija in SIM 2 Multimedia SpA proti Komisiji, C-328/99 in C-399/00, ECLI: EU:C:2003:252.
Moreover, Groupe Brandt intended to pursue the same production activities as FagorBrandt, with the same trademarks.
Odločba Komisije z dne 17. septembra 2008 v zvezi z državnimi pomočmi N 321/2008, N 322/2008 in N 323/2008 – Grčija – Prodaja nekaterih sredstev družbe Olympic Airlines/Olympic Airways Services; Odločba Komisije z dne 12. novembra 2008 v zvezi z državno pomočjo N 510/2008 – Italija – Prodaja sredstev družbe Alitalia; Odločba Komisije z dne 4. aprila 2012 SA.34547 – Francija – Prevzem sredstev skupine SERNAM v okviru postopka prisilne poravnave.
In this regard, it should be noted that Groupe Brandt took over all of FagorBrandt's stock [42], together with all supplier and customer commitments relating to the transferred activities.
Sodba Splošnega sodišča z dne 28. marca 2012 v zadevi Ryanair Ltd proti Komisiji, T-123/09, ECR, ECL: EU:T:2012:164.
Furthermore, Cevital clearly and publicly [43] indicated that it intended to incorporate FagorBrandt's assets into its own commercial strategy, as electrical household appliances already account for 10 % of the Cevital group's turnover.
Razen zalog v obratu v La Roche-sur-Yonu.
Finally, and revealingly, Groupe Brandt inherited the right to use the company's trademarks that are most well-known in France, namely Brandt, De Dietrich, Vedette, Sauter and Easycook,
http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/la-strategie-de-l-algerien-cevital-avec-brandt.N268498
Consequently, in the light of the scale of the assets transferred, the price at which the assets were transferred and the economic justification for the takeover, the Commission concludes that there is economic continuity between FagorBrandt and Groupe Brandt.
Sodba Sodišča z dne 11. septembra 2009 v zadevi Komisija proti MTU Friedrichshafen, C-520/07 P, ECLI:EU:C:2009:557, točka 57 in navedena sodna praksa, in sicer sodbi Italija in SIM 2 Multimedia proti Komisiji, C-328/99 in C-399/00, ECLI:EU:C:2003:252, točka 66, in Nemčija proti Komisiji, C-277/00, ECLI:EU:C:2004:238, točke od 74 do 76.
By e-mail dated 1 March 2016, France informed the Commission that, as FagorBrandt's economic successor, Groupe Brandt had repaid the aid element as defined in section 7.1.3.2 of this Decision, and paid the recovery interest up to 29 February 2016.
Glej opombo 43.
On 29 February 2016, Groupe Brandt repaid to France the amount of the aid and interest, i.e. EUR [0-100000].
Nova zahteva za informacije je bila poslana 4. aprila 2014, Francija pa je nanjo odgovorila z dopisi z dne 15. in 28. aprila ter 13. maja 2014.
Generally, the repayment of aid is intended to eliminate the distortion of competition brought about by a certain competitive advantage (in this case, the aid element contained in the FDES loan of EUR 10 million) and thus to re-establish the status quo before the aid was granted [44].
Navedena zahteva je bila dopolnjena z zahtevo z dne 27. junija 2014, na katero je Francija odgovorila 10. julija 2014.
Consequently, it is no longer necessary to pursue Groupe Brandt for the recovery of the incompatible State aid which was granted to FagorBrandt.
Po začetku postopka prisilne poravnave je prisilni upravitelj ugotovil, da je iz načrtov denarnih tokov, ki jih je družba Ernst&Young Advisory revidirala 12. novembra 2013, razvidno, da naj bi zadevna družba že januarja 2014 imela primanjkljaj v višini […] [3] milijonov EUR, in to kljub naročilom v višini približno [50–100] milijonov EUR.
Recovery of the incompatible aid from Groupe Brandt
S ponovno oživitvijo dela dejavnosti družbe FagorBrandt naj bi se ustvarili pozitivni denarni tokovi, tako da bi se nadaljevanje dejavnosti financiralo še vsaj do maja 2014, s čimer bi se podaljšal skrajni rok za oddajo prevzemnih ponudb.
As regards the FDES loan of EUR 47,5 million granted to Groupe Brandt, only Groupe Brandt is liable for the improperly received aid.
Prisilni upravitelj se je po 12. novembru 2013 obrnil na banki Thémis in […], specializirani za financiranje podjetij v prisilni poravnavi, da bi pridobil posojili v višini 10 milijonov EUR.
The loan was granted specifically to Groupe Brandt by name, and the company is still operating as of the date on which this Decision is adopted.
Banka Thémis je 17. novembra 2013 privolila v dodelitev posojila v višini 5 milijonov EUR družbi FagorBrandt pod pogojem, da se banka […] zaveže pod enakimi pogoji in da Francija družbi FagorBrandt dodeli posojilo v enakem znesku.
The question of economic continuity between Cevital and Exagon on the one hand and Groupe Brandt on the other is therefore not relevant.
Skupina Cevital ima več kot 13000 zaposlenih, njen konsolidirani promet pa je leta 2013 znašal 2,4 milijarde EUR.
Moreover, given that the aid measures were granted in the form of loans, the Commission considers that the aid materialised and continues in principle to materialise at the time of payment of each repayment instalment.
Njen prevzemni načrt se je nanašal na pridobitev sredstev družbe FagorBrandt prek družbe Exagon, hčerinske družbe skupine Cevital, in sicer z ustanovitvijo nove družbe, Groupe Brandt.
Moreover, as regards all future due dates from 1 March 2016, the interest rate of the FDES loan was increased and set at 7,03 %.
Francija je sprejela enomesečno podaljšanje tega roka zapadlosti, tj. do 30. aprila 2014.
This was proven by an amendment to the loan agreement, sent to the Commission by France on 1 March 2016.
Potrdila je, da je bil preostanek posojila, tj. 3,5 milijona EUR, vrnjen 25. aprila 2014.
In the light of the above, the Commission considers that the aid element contained in the FDES loan of EUR 47,5 million has been eliminated and the status quo before the incompatible aid was granted has been re-established, in accordance with the relevant case-law [45].
Posojilo je bilo namenjeno kritju likvidnostnih potreb in financiranju prevzetih sredstev.
In addition, no aid will materialise in the future.
Obroka B in C posojila v skupnem znesku 36,3 milijona EUR sta bila plačana 28. aprila 2014.
Consequently, it is not necessary to pursue Groupe Brandt for the recovery of incompatible aid.
Obrok A v znesku 11,2 milijona EUR je bil plačan 4. julija 2014.
CONCLUSION
Po navedbah Francije je posojilo iz sklada FDES zavarovano s poroštvi v skupnem znesku 150 milijonov EUR.
The Commission finds that, by granting FDES loans to FagorBrandt and Groupe Brandt, France has unlawfully implemented State aid in breach of Article 108(3) TFEU.
Francija je upravičena do poroštev, ki jih je odobrila družba posojilojemalka Groupe Brandt (zastavna pravica na računih vrednostnih papirjev družbe Brandt France, zastavna pravica na predplačilih družbe Groupe Brandt), in poroštev, ki jih je odobrila družba Exagon (varščina družbe Exagon, zastavna pravica na računih vrednostnih papirjev družbe Groupe Brandt, zastavna pravica na predplačilih družbe Exagon).
However, the repayment of the loans and the adjustment of the loan agreement to market conditions has re-established the status quo before this unlawful State aid was granted, to the extent that it is no longer necessary to order recovery and the abolition of the measures in question,
Rok zapadlosti vračila obroka A je 31. oktober 2015.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Obrok B je treba vrniti do 30. aprila 2018.
Article 1
Nazadnje, obrok C bo treba vrniti v skladu s tremi roki zapadlosti, leta 2015, 2016 in 2017.
The State aid resulting from the loans from the Economic and Social Development Fund (FDES) granted to FagorBrandt on 28 November 2013, in so far as the interest rate applied is below the rate calculated in this Decision on the basis of the Communication from the Commission on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates (‘the 2008 Communication’), i.e. 7,03 %, unlawfully granted by France to FagorBrandt, in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, is incompatible with the internal market.
Poleg tega je bilo iz informacij, ki jih je predložila Francija, razvidno, da bi se bil zasebni posojilodajalec pripravljen zavezati za največ 5 milijonov EUR.
The State aid resulting from the FDES loan granted to Groupe Brandt on 24 April 2014, in so far as the interest rates applied are below the rate calculated in this Decision on the basis of the 2008 Communication, i.e. 7,03 %, unlawfully granted by France to Groupe Brandt, in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, is incompatible with the internal market.
Zdi se torej, da je bila z obrokom B posojila iz sklada FDES in tveganji, ki jih je v zvezi s tem prevzela Francija, družbi FagorBrandt dodeljena prednost, saj so različni zasebni upniki, ki so bili vendarle specializirani za financiranje podjetij v kolektivnih postopkih, družbi FagorBrandt zavrnili dodelitev finančnih sredstev, večjih od 5 milijonov EUR, pod zadevnimi pogoji in so menili, da s tem povezana poroštva ne zadoščajo glede na tveganja.
Article 2
Komisija je imela tudi pomisleke glede upoštevanja načela enkratnosti pomoči iz oddelka 3.3 smernic iz leta 2004.
In consequence of its having been found that Groupe Brandt has repaid the aid referred to in Article 1, the formal investigation procedure provided for in Article 108(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union has become devoid of purpose.
Družba FagorBrandt je namreč pomoč za prestrukturiranje prejela že leta 2008 [12].