natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The Commission therefore stated in its opening decision on the regional investment aid case SA.23827 (2013/C) — Germany — LIP — Propapier PM 2 GmbH that, if after its formal investigation on State aid case SA.36147 (C 30/10) — Germany — Alleged infrastructure aid for Propapier PM2 the Commission would conclude that other aided investments constitute a single investment project with the Propapier paper plant investment, or that additional aid was granted to Propapier in the form of infrastructure measures, the compliance of the regional investment aid to Propapier with § 67 of the RAG would have to be assessed taking account of the combined aid package.
Kljub temu je predložila tudi podatke samo za odprti trg.
The Commission will take account of the regional aid granted to Propapier in its compatibility assessment of the infrastructure aid measures when adopting its final decision on State aid case SA.36147 (C 30/10).
Komisija ne vidi razloga, da bi se oddaljila od prakse, ki jo je uporabila v prejšnjih sklepih o državni pomoči in združitvah v papirništvu (v katerih je bodisi razlikovala med trgi za ves karton za embalažo in samo za reciklirani karton za embalažo bodisi je opredelitev pustila odprto in je ali razlikovala med splošnim/odprtim trgom, ali opredelitev pustila odprto ali trg opredelila kot splošni trg kartona za embalažo, vendar je izračunala oba scenarija).
APPLICATION OF THE TESTS PROVIDED IN § 68(A) AND (B) OF THE RAG
Zato se je na podlagi informacij, ki so ji bile na voljo pred sprejetjem nične odločbe, in pripomb, prejetih po sprejetju sklepa o začetku postopka, ki se nanašajo na dejansko stanje pred sprejetjem nične odločbe, odločila izvesti preskusa iz točke 68 Smernic na ravni trga vsega kartona za embalažo in trga za testliner do 150 g/m2 in fluting iz recikliranega papirja, na splošnem in odprtem trgu.
Since the total amount of aid from all sources exceeds the applicable individual notification threshold, the Commission has to carry out the tests laid down in § 68(a) and (b) of the RAG.
Zadevni proizvodni trg valovitega kartona
Aid to large investment projects falling under § 68 of the RAG and where:
Valoviti karton se ne bo proizvajal v obratu, ki je prejel pomoč, ampak je proizvod v nadaljnjem proizvodnem procesu, ki ga zadeva naložbeni projekt.
the beneficiary accounts for more than 25 % of the sales of the product concerned before or on completion of the investment, or
Nemčija je navedla, da ima valoviti karton z vidika ponudbe samostojen trg, saj strojev za proizvodnjo valovitega kartona tudi ob znatnih dodatnih stroških ni mogoče predelati za proizvodnjo drugih izdelkov.
the capacity created by the project is more than 5 % of the size of the market using apparent consumption data of the product concerned, unless the average annual growth rate of its apparent consumption over the past five years is above the annual growth rate of the EEA’s GDP,
Z vidika povpraševanja je embalaža iz valovitega kartona najbližje kartonskim škatlam, čeprav je embalaža iz valovitega kartona lažja, trdnejša in cenejša.
can be approved only after a detailed verification, following the opening of the formal investigation provided for in Article 108(2) TFEU, that the aid is necessary to provide an incentive effect for the investment and that the benefits of the aid measure outweigh the resulting distortion of competition.
Zato porabniki valovitega kartona, to je proizvajalci škatel iz valovitega kartona, za večino potreb po embalaži tega ne morejo nadomestiti z drugimi proizvodi.
To carry out the relevant tests provided in § 68(a) and (b) of the RAG, the Commission has first to establish the relevant product and geographic markets.
Ker v zvezi s tem ni bilo prejetih pripomb, se Komisija ne oddaljuje od predhodne prakse v sklepih o združitvah, navedene zgoraj, in potrjuje stališče, ki ga je zavzela tudi v nični odločbi in sklepu o začetku postopka, da valoviti karton pomeni ločen zadevni proizvodni trg.
Products concerned
Upoštevni geografski trg
The Commission considers that, even though the Propapier PM2 machine may have been intended by Progroup to mainly produce testliner of 70/110 g/m2 and fluting of 70/130 g/m2 (as claimed by Smurfit Kappa), the market delineation should be based on the actual potential output of the machine.
Odstavek 70 Smernic določa, da bo za namen uporabe preskusov iz točke 68(a) in (b) Smernic ‚prodaja in očitna poraba določena na ustrezni ravni klasifikacije Prodcom, po navadi v EGP, ali če ti podatki niso na voljo, na osnovi katere koli splošno sprejete druge segmentacije trga, za katero so na voljo statistični podatki‘.
Therefore, the Commission confirms that, as submitted by Germany and described in recital 25 above, the investment project directly concerns two types of CCM, namely testliner up to 150 g/m2 and fluting made from recycled fibre.
Upoštevni geografski trg kartona za embalažo
Since an estimated 75 % of the CCM produced in the aided facility was to be used internally within Progroup for the production of the downstream product, the Commission considers, in line with § 69 of the RAG, that the downstream product, i.e. corrugated board, is also a product concerned by the investment project.
Nemčija trdi, da upoštevni geografski trg za karton za embalažo zajema vsaj EGP in celo presega meje EGP (tj. vključno s sosednjimi območji EGP).
Relevant product market
Vendar Komisije ne vidi razloga, da bi se oddaljila od prakse, ki jo je uporabila pri prejšnjih sklepih o državni pomoči in združitvah, ko je štela EGP za zadevni geografski trg za karton za embalažo, zato bo uporabila preskus trga iz točke 68 Smernic s sklicevanjem na splošno sprejeto segmentacijo geografskega trga za karton za embalažo in reciklirani karton za embalažo, za katerega so na voljo podatki in ki zajema EGP.
According to § 69 of the RAG, the relevant product market includes the product concerned and its substitutes considered to be such either by the consumer (by reason of the product’s characteristics, prices and intended use) or by the producer (through flexibility of the production installations).
Upoštevni geografski trg valovitega kartona
Relevant product market for CCM
Valoviti karton bo družba Progroup proizvajala na drugih lokacijah, pri čemer bo uporabljala karton za embalažo, proizveden v obratu v Eisenhüttenstadtu.
Germany substantiated this by referring to the relations of substitutability between the different products.
Ob upoštevanju najslabšega mogočega scenarija in na podlagi ugotovitev v prejšnjih sklepih o združitvah, pri katerih se je pokazalo, da je mogoče pole valovitega kartona gospodarno prevažati do 400 km daleč, Komisija pušča odprto vprašanje opredelitve upoštevnega geografskega trga za valoviti karton in bo izračunala tržna deleža na ravni EGP in na območju, ki zajema samo glavne države za dobavo družbe Progroup.
The Commission indeed considers that flutings made from recycled fibre and from virgin fibre are substitutes from the supply side point of view.
Tržni deleži
Fluting made from virgin fibre can be produced on the same production line as fluting made from recycled fibre, only an adjustment concerning the preparation of the raw material is necessary (one-off investment of EUR […] million, which is less than […] % of the overall investment costs).
Da bi Komisija proučila, ali prag iz točke 68(a) Smernic ni presežen, mora analizirati tržni delež upravičenca do pomoči na ravni skupine pred naložbo in po njej.
Moreover, fluting based on virgin fibre is in practice made from a mixture containing up to 40-50 % of recycled fibre.
Komisija se je zato odločila, da bo proučila tržne deleže za leto po dokončanju naložbe, za katero so bile neodvisne napovedi že na voljo, tj. leto 2011.
However, for the consumer, both products have the same basic characteristics and the same use.
Za določitev tržnega deleža družbe Progroup na ravni skupine je Komisija primerjala njeno celotno dobavo (vključno s prodajo tretjim osebam in prodajo za lastno uporabo znotraj skupine) v smislu količin in vrednosti v danem letu ter očitno porabo na upoštevnih trgih.
Consumers can substitute a heavier (e.g. 140 g/m2) recycled fibre based fluting with a lighter (e.g. 127 g/m2) fluting made from virgin fibre.
Tržni deleži so se izračunali tudi ločeno za odprti trg kartona za embalažo, tj. z upoštevanjem samo prodaje, ki ni namenjena lastni uporabi družbe Progroup, in celotno velikost trga za dobavo tretjim osebam.
The possibility to use lighter fluting based on virgin fibres compared to recycled fibres outweighs the price difference.
Podatke za skupno očitno porabo v EGP v smislu količine in vrednosti na trgih kartona za embalažo, za testliner do 150 g/m2 in fluting iz recikliranega papirja ter za valoviti karton je za namen priglasitve na zahtevo upravičenca do pomoči zbral Pöyry, globalna družba za svetovanje in inženirske storitve, ki se posveča predvsem energetski, gozdarski, infrastrukturni in okoljski panogi.
Therefore the Commission considers that both products are also substitutes from a demand side point of view.
Družba Pöyry je za pridobitev podatkov uporabila svojo podatkovno zbirko in javno dostopne podatke, npr. v strokovnih revijah in podatke panožnih združenj.
As regards demand side substitutability between recycled fibre based testliner and virgin fibre based kraftliner the same applies: they have the same use, and the higher price for kraftliner is offset by the possibility to substitute a heavier testliner with a lighter kraftliner.
Če je zmogljivost za proizvodnjo valovitega kartona večja, to v praksi povzroči ustrezno povpraševanje po surovini, tj. kartonu za embalažo, na odprtem trgu.
Fluting (both from virgin and recycled fibre), testliner and kraftliner are full substitutes from the supply side viewpoint, since every modern paper machine, including the beneficiary’s, can produce both.
Temu dodatnemu povpraševanju integriranih proizvajalcev po kartonu za embalažo se prišteje povpraševanje po kartonu za embalažo na odprtem trgu, ki izhaja od neintegriranih proizvajalcev valovitega kartona.
Based on the above, it could be concluded that the relevant product market for CCM is the overall CCM market.
To razmerje se je uporabilo tudi za oceno velikosti odprtega trga v letu 2011.
In earlier merger decisions however, the Commission left the question of the relevant market open, especially as regards the subdivision into virgin fibre based products and recycled fibre based products.
S to metodo ni mogoče oceniti velikosti odprtega trga za testliner in fluting iz recikliranega papirja, saj ni na voljo ločenih podatkov, ki bi razlikovali med zmogljivostmi za proizvodnjo kartona za embalažo iz recikliranega papirja in naravnih vlaken.
The Commission notes that Germany provided market data also for the narrowest possible relevant market of testliner up to 150 g/m2 and fluting made from recycled paper.
Ker pa karton za embalažo iz recikliranega papirja obsega približno 70-80 % celotnega trga kartona za embalažo, tako velik delež najverjetneje velja tudi za odprti trg, kar pomeni, da so tržni deleži družbe Progroup na odprtem trgu kartona za embalažo iz recikliranih vlaken samo nekoliko večji kot na odprtem trgu za vse vrste kartona za embalažo.
Progroup is a vertically integrated paper producer, competing on the overall market for CCM, where any integrated producer may decide, due to better conditions, to buy a certain product from Progroup rather than producing it in-house.
Podatki o velikosti trga valovitega kartona na geografskem območju, ki zajema glavne države, kamor dobavlja družba Progroup (tj. Češko republiko, Francijo, Nemčijo, Združeno kraljestvo, Nizozemsko in Poljsko), so bili dobljeni na podlagi statističnih podatkov organizacije FEFCO, predloženih pred sprejetjem nične odločbe, ki kažejo, da to območje predstavlja 58 % celotnega trga EGP.
Detailed analysis provided by Germany showed that even those vertically integrated manufacturers, which produce in-house as much CCM (measured in tons) as they need for their production of corrugated board, are buying and selling CCM from competitors depending on concrete needs of subtypes of CCM and logistic requirements.
Tržni deleži družbe Progroup na zadevnih trgih v letu pred naložbo in po njej, izračunani na podlagi tržnih podatkov, ki jih je predložila Nemčija (na podlagi podatkov družbe Pöyry in organizacije FEFCO), so prikazani v preglednici 1 spodaj.
Because of the dominant presence of vertically integrated manufacturers, high market shares in the open market (i.e. for third party deliveries only) do not necessarily mean market power.
Preglednica 1
On this basis, Germany concluded that the relevant product market is the overall CCM market covering both in-house deliveries of CCM and sales to third parties (= total market).
Tržni deleži družbe Progroup na ravni skupine na zadevnih trgih
Nevertheless, Germany also provided data for the open market only.
Tržni deleži (v %)
The Commission sees no reason to deviate from its practice in previous State aid and merger decisions in the paper sector (where the Commission either distinguished between the markets for all CCM and for recycled CCM only, or left the definition open, and either distinguished between overall/open market, or left the definition open, or defined the market to be the overall CCM market but calculated both scenarios).
obseg
Therefore, on the basis of the information available to it before the adoption of the annulled decision, as well as of comments received after the opening decision that relate to the factual situation before the adoption of the annulled decision, the Commission decided to carry out the tests provided in § 68 of the RAG at the level of the market for all CCM and the market for testliner up to 150 g/m2 and fluting made from recycled paper, both on the overall and on the open market.
vrednost
Relevant product market for corrugated board
Karton za embalažo (splošni trg – EGP)
Corrugated board will not be produced in the aided facility, but it is a downstream product concerned by the investment project.
[0–10]
Germany submitted that corrugated board forms a standalone market from the supply side point of view, since machinery for the production of corrugated board cannot be converted, even with substantial additional costs, to manufacture other products.
Samo reciklirani karton za embalažo (testliner do 150 g/m2 in fluting iz recikliranega papirja) (splošni trg – EGP)
On the demand side, corrugated board packaging is closest to cardboard boxes, however, corrugated board packaging is lighter, more stable and cheaper.
Karton za embalažo (odprti trg – EGP)
Therefore, consumers of corrugated board, i.e. the producers of corrugated boxes, cannot substitute it either with other products for the majority of packaging needs.
Valoviti karton (EGP)
Since no comments were received on this point, the Commission does not deviate from its previous practice in the merger decisions referred to above and confirms its view, also taken in the annulled and in the opening decision, that corrugated board constitutes a separate relevant product market.
Valoviti karton (glavne države za dobavo)
Relevant geographic market
Pri vseh upoštevanih opredelitvah trga tržni delež družbe Progroup ostaja veliko pod 25-odstotnim pragom iz točke 68(a) Smernic.
§ 70 of the RAG establishes that for the purpose of applying the tests provided in § 68(a) and (b) of the RAG, “sales and apparent consumption will be defined at the appropriate level of the Prodcom classification, normally in the EEA or, if such information is not available or relevant, on the basis of any other generally accepted market segmentation for which statistical data are readily available”.
Z nadaljnjo segmentacijo na podlagi gramature do 130 g/m2 se zadevni tržni delež ne bo povečal nad odločilni prag 25 %.
Relevant geographic market for CCM
Komisija zato meni, da zadevni ukrep pomoči ne presega praga iz točke 68(a) Smernic.
Germany claims that the relevant geographic market for CCM is at least EEA-wide and that it even extends beyond the EEA (i.e. including EEA neighbouring areas).
Povečanje zmogljivosti in učinkovitost trga
The Commission sees however no reason to deviate from its practice in earlier State aid and merger decisions to consider the EEA as the relevant geographic market for CCM, and will therefore apply the market test provided in § 68 of the RAG at the generally accepted geographic market segmentation for CCM and recycled CCM for which data is readily available, which is EEA-wide.
Komisija mora izvesti tudi preskus iz točke 68(b) Smernic.
Relevant geographic market for corrugated board
Preveriti mora, ali je zmogljivost proizvodnje, ustvarjena s projektom, manjša od 5 % velikosti trga, izmerjenega s podatki o očitni porabi zadevnega proizvoda, razen če je povprečna letna stopnja rasti njegove očitne porabe v zadnjih petih letih nad povprečno letno stopnjo rasti BDP v EGP.
Corrugated board will be manufactured by Progroup in other locations by using the CCM produced at the Eisenhüttenstadt facility.
Komisija mora najprej proučiti, ali trg kartona za embalažo v EGP slabo deluje glede na povprečno letno stopnjo rasti njegove očitne porabe.
At the time of the notification, it was planned that Propapier would deliver CCM to Progroup plants located in Germany, as well as in France, the Czech Republic and in the future also to the plant in Stryków (Poland) after its set up in 2008.
V istem obdobju je bila skupna letna stopnja rasti očitne porabe v EGP za testliner do 150 g/m2 in fluting iz recikliranega papirja 3,25-odstotna v smislu obsega in 1,22-odstotna v smislu vrednosti.
These plants would then in turn produce the downstream product, i.e. corrugated board.
Ker je bila skupna letna stopnja rasti BDP Evropskega gospodarskega prostora v letih 2001–2006 1,97-odstotna v stalnih cenah (tj. v smislu obsega) in 3,98-odstotna v sedanjih cenah (tj. v smislu vrednosti), je skupna letna stopnja rasti porabe kartona za embalažo ter testlinerja do 150 g/m2 in flutinga iz recikliranega papirja presegla referenčno vrednost, če se izračuna v smislu obsega, v smislu vrednosti pa je bila pod referenčno vrednostjo.
Germany claims that the relevant geographic market for corrugated board is not narrower than the EEA, but nonetheless also provided data for the area covering the core delivery countries of Progroup (i.e. Czech Republic, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Poland).
Obseg in/ali vrednost
Market shares
Res je, da v tej zadevi samo izračun vrednosti povzroči potrebo po izračunu, ali je presežen 5-odstotni prag iz točke 68(b) Smernic, vendar bi bila splošna zavrnitev izračunov vrednosti v nasprotju s prejšnjo prakso Komisije in bi oslabila zmožnost preskusa, da se z njim odkrijejo primeri presežne zmogljivosti, npr. če rast ponudbe močno presega že tako veliko rast povpraševanja in če so povprečni spremenljivi stroški razmeroma nizki.
To examine whether the threshold laid down in § 68(a) of the RAG is not exceeded, the Commission has to analyse the market share of the aid beneficiary at group level before and after the investment.
Komisija bo zato preverila, ali zmogljivost, ustvarjena z naložbenim projektom, presega 5 % velikosti upoštevnega trga.
The investment project started in 2007 and was completed by mid-2010, while full capacity was foreseen to be reached only by 2015.
Preskus zmogljivosti in izračun povečanja zmogljivosti
Germany indicated at the time of the notification that independent data concerning apparent consumption on the relevant markets was not available for the year after full capacity is reached, i.e. 2016.
V skladu s točko 68(b) Smernic se povečanje zmogljivosti izračuna kot delež očitne porabe zadevnega proizvoda, kar po definiciji vključuje dobave tretjim osebam in notranje dobave kartona za embalažo.
Therefore, the Commission decided to examine the market shares for the year after completion of the investment, i.e. 2011 for which independent forecasts were already available.
Namen preskusa zmogljivosti v točki 68(b) Smernic je preprečiti bistveno povečanje zmogljivosti (tj. nad 5 %), ki ne temelji na ustreznem povečanju povpraševanja (tj. rast povpraševanja je manjša od rasti BDP v EGP), ki bi imelo škodljive učinke na konkurente, zlasti njegove učinke na cene.
This is an acceptable approximation since 92 % of the total capacity to be created by the project was expected to be available by then.
Kaj se šteje za bistveno povečanje zmogljivosti, se določi glede na velikost trga.
To establish the market share of Progroup at group level the Commission compared its total deliveries (including sales to third parties as well as captive sales within the group) in volume and in value terms in the given year to apparent consumption on the relevant markets.
Velikost trga kartona za embalažo je navsezadnje odvisna od velikosti trga proizvoda v nadaljnjem proizvodnem procesu, ne glede na to, ali se proizvod v nadaljnjem proizvodnem procesu proizvaja notranje ali ga proizvajajo tretje osebe.
Market shares were also calculated separately for the open market of CCM, i.e. taking into account only non-captive sales of Progroup and the total size of the market of third party deliveries.
Zato merjenje zmogljivosti izključno v smislu velikosti odprtega trga kartona za embalažo ni ustrezno.
The figures on overall EEA-wide apparent consumption in volume and in value terms on the markets for CCM, for testliner up to 150 g/m2 and fluting made from recycled paper as well as for corrugated board were compiled for the purpose of the notification at the request of the beneficiary by Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm focusing on the energy, forest industry and infrastructure & environment sectors.
Poleg tega, kot je navedeno zgoraj, bi zaradi medsebojne odvisnosti splošnega in odprtega trga znižanje cen na odprtem trgu vplivalo na odločitev integriranih proizvajalcev za proizvodnjo ali nakup in bi takoj povečalo povpraševanje na odprtem trgu.
Pöyry established data using its own database as well as data available in the public domain, e.g. in trade journals and provided by industry associations.
Komisija na podlagi tega običajno meri povečanje zmogljivosti na celotnem trgu.
Because of a lack of independent figures concerning the size of the open market, this market volume was estimated by Germany on the basis of Pöyry capacity data for 2006.
Očitna poraba testlinerja do 150 g/m2 in flutinga iz recikliranega papirja v EGP je leta 2006 znašala 18,281 milijona ton (6 752,698 milijona EUR v smislu vrednosti).
The method consisted in comparing for each integrated producer its production capacity of CCM and of corrugated board.
Glede na navedeno zmogljivost, ustvarjena s projektom družbe Propapier v Eisenhüttenstadtu, znaša 2,6 % celotnega trga kartona za embalažo ([< 3] % v smislu vrednosti), medtem ko znaša 3,4 % skupnega trga za testliner do 150 g/m2 in fluting iz recikliranega papirja ([< 5] % v smislu vrednosti).
If the capacity for corrugated board production is higher, this results in theory in a corresponding demand for the raw material, i.e. CCM, on the open market.
To pomeni, da zmogljivost, ustvarjena s projektom, znaša manj kot 5 % zadevne očitne porabe (na ravni EGP).
To this extra demand of CCM by integrated producers is added the demand for CCM on the open market originating from non-integrated corrugated board producers.
Tudi če bi se kot najslabši mogoči scenarij uporabila višja podatka o ustvarjeni zmogljivosti, ki ju je predložila družba Smurfit Kappa (650 000 ton na leto in 750 000 ton na leto), 5-odstotni prag ne bi bil presežen na celotnem trgu kartona za embalažo (glej preglednico 2 spodaj).
This ratio was also used to estimate the size of the open market in 2011.
Povečanje zmogljivosti na celotnem trgu kartona za embalažo (EGP)
This method does not allow to estimate the size of the open market for testliner and fluting made from recycled paper since, due to the supply side flexibility, no separate data are available distinguishing between recycled paper and virgin fibres based CCM production capacities.
Upoštevni trg