natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Existence of State aid
Vendar v tej zadevi, glede na razmeroma visok delež povpraševanja, ki je bil v Romuniji v letu 2007 še vedno izpolnjen na podlagi reguliranih tarif, omejeno likvidnost trgovalnih platform OPCOM v obdobju 2007–2010, količino električne energije pogodb v preiskavi, vzpostavitev energetske borze, ki jo upravlja OPCOM kot ustrezni protimonopolni trg, na katerem se je izvajala zloraba prevladujočega položaja (uvodne izjave 30, 31 in 34), in ob upoštevanju pripomb, ki so jih podale tretje strani (uvodne izjave 60 do 63), ni mogoče ugotoviti na podlagi prima facie, da je promptne cene ali cene na platformi OPCOM PCCB mogoče imeti za ustrezna merila za ocenjevanje morebitne prisotnosti gospodarske prednosti v primerjavi s tržnimi cenami.
By virtue of Article 107(1) TFEU, any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Member States, be incompatible with the internal market.
Komisija je zato razveljavila svojo odvisnost od povprečne cene OPCOM kot referenčno merilo za primerjavo pogodbenih cen podjetja Hidroelectrica, na podlagi katerih je izrazila dvome, izražene v ustreznih uvodnih sklepih, glede obstoja gospodarske prednosti v desetih pogodbah z dobavitelji električne energije in dveh s proizvajalci elektrod.
In order to constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, the measure at issue must fulfil all these conditions.
Preiskava je pokazala, da trgovanja na platformah, kot je OPCOM, za krajša obdobja in pod standardnimi pogoji ne glede na to, ali gre za ponudbe na osnovi „dan vnaprej“ ali „eno leto ali manj“ ali z namenom zagotovitve dodatnih storitev ali storitev izravnave operaterjem električnega omrežja, ni mogoče obravnavati kot sprejemljivo alternativo prilagojenim pogodbam podjetja Hidroelectrica, ki so predmet preiskave, v posebnih okoliščinah romunskega trga v obravnavanem obdobju.
It is therefore necessary to assess whether the contracts under investigation provided State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU to the buyers of electricity sold by Hidroelectrica, i.e. Alpiq RomEnergie, Alpiq RomIndustries, EFT, Electrica, Electromagnetica, Energy Holding, Euro-Pec, Luxten-Lighting, Alro, ArcelorMittal, Electrocarbon and Elsid after Romania's accession to the European Union.
Zadevne pogodbe so bile sklenjene s pogajanji, da bi zadovoljili posebne potrebe kupca in prodajalca, pri čemer niso na voljo v drugih tržnih segmentih.
This would be the case, among other conditions of application of Article 107(1) TFEU, only if the contracts at issue favoured certain buyers by affording them an economic advantage above normal market conditions and, if so, only if the advantage deriving from the contracts and their subsequent amendments can be attributed not only to resources of the Romanian State, but also to actions, instructions or decisive influence of the State, as opposed to independent commercial decisions of Hidroelectrica.
Zato da bi se ugotovila prisotnost gospodarske prednosti v primerjavi s tržnimi pogoji, je treba torej preučiti tudi pogoje, ki veljajo za druge tržne segmente, na voljo v Romuniji v letu 2007 in naprej, čeprav ti niso bili navedeni v odločitvi o sprožitvi postopka.
According to the decision in the case of Budapesti Erömü [51], State aid measures put into effect before accession and still applicable after accession should be considered either existing aid or new aid following accession.
V zvezi z reguliranim trgom, na katerem je podjetje Hidroelectrica učinkovito zagotovilo približno petino proizvodnje v času dejanskega stanja (uvodna izjava 31), primerjava z reguliranimi cenami, ki jih je podjetje Hidroelectrica zaračunavalo vsako leto na podlagi upravičenih stroškov in stopnje donosa, ki jih je določil regulativni organ ANRE za področje električne energije, kažejo, da so bile vse obravnavane pogodbene cene stalno in znatno višje od reguliranih cen med letoma 2007 in 2010 (uvodna izjava 26 in Priloga 1).
In order to be considered existing aid, these measures should be listed expressly in the Act of Accession of a Member State to the European Union; in the present case by Annex V to the Treaty of Accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union (‘Act of Accession’) [52].
Zato je bilo z gospodarskega vidika razumno, da je podjetje Hidroelectrica nadaljevalo oskrbo vseh domnevnih upravičencev v trenutnih postopkih od leta 2007, saj so bile zadevne pogodbe donosnejše kot tiste na reguliranih trgih.
The contracts were not listed explicitly in Annex V to the Act of Accession.
V vsakem primeru, če se naredi primerjava s teoretično možnostjo povečanja dobavljenih količin na reguliranem trgu, podjetje Hidroelectrica ni moglo preklopiti dobave električne energije iz pogodb v preiskavi na regulirani trg, ker je količine, ki so bile dobavljene na reguliranem trgu ANRE, določilo predhodno.
Considering that the contracts were still applicable after the date of accession, they could be regarded only as new and, in the light of the quoted case-law, must therefore be assessed as from the date of accession (1 January 2007) in the light of the four conditions laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU.
Enako velja, mutatis mutandis, za pogoje trgovanja za dan vnaprej in na izravnalnem trgu.
That evaluation cannot be based on the circumstances obtaining on the market when the contracts were entered into (see recital 19), in particular for the purpose of deciding whether the contracts in question were in line with market prices when they were concluded.
Vendar iz različnih razlogov tržni pogoji in cene, ki so prevladovale na tistih tržnih segmentih, ne morejo šteti za reprezentativne tržne pogoje, s katerimi bi se pogodbe v preiskavi lahko primerjale, da bi ugotovili, ali so bile podeljene gospodarske prednosti kupcem.
Such circumstances will not, therefore, be further assessed hereinafter.
Prvič, zdi se, da je podjetje Hidroelectrica električno energijo dobavljalo tudi v teh tržnih segmentih med letoma 2007 in 2010, čeprav v omejenem obsegu, in sicer manj kot 10 % svoje prodaje (uvodna izjava 31).
Assessment of possible economic advantage over market conditions
Najpomembnejše vprašanje je, ali taki trgi lahko veljajo kot možna alternativa za razumnega udeleženca, ki bi deloval namesto podjetja Hidroelectrica in bi opredelil 63 % njegove prodaje – prodaje, ki jo je podjetje Hidroelectrica doseglo na podlagi dvostranskih pogodb med letoma 2007 in 2010.
In order to establish whether the prices and conditions at which Hidroelectrica supplied electricity to the alleged beneficiaries would not have been otherwise available on the Romanian market as from 2007, the Commission must first find an appropriate price benchmark that reflects a market price (i) available in a period of time when the contracts were in force after Romania's accession to the EU; and (ii) for the period of time for which the Commission initiated the formal procedure in relation to the contracts.
Trgovanje na teh tržnih segmentih vključuje posebne značilnosti, zaradi katerih ni mogoče določiti tržnih pogojev, veljavnih za celotni romunski trg ali za dolgoročne pogodbe podjetja Hidroelectrica.
Economic advantage over market conditions
Storitev izravnave ali pomožne storitve izvaja proizvajalec elektrike za operaterja prenosnega sistema na podlagi nepredvidljivega povpraševanja in vzorcev povpraševanja s strani posameznega kupca.
In assessing whether or not there was economic advantage, the Commission takes as its point of reference a market operator subject to the same or similar obligations as Hidroelectrica, having the same opportunities and faced with the same legal and economic conditions as those obtaining in Romania in the period examined, given the operator's constraints and commercial objectives [53].
Za ponudbe dan vnaprej prav tako velja, da so cene in količine nepredvidljive iz dneva v dan.
If the presence of State aid is to be excluded, a publicly owned company must, when selling its products, behave as would a private operator in the market economy, seeking to maximise revenues or minimise losses.
Z drugimi besedami, dolgoročnih pogodb, ki se preučujejo, tudi ob neupoštevanju njihovih pogodbenih določb in ob predpostavki, da se lahko razdelijo na več zaporednih letnih pogodb, ki se vsako leto lahko revidirajo, ni mogoče primerjati z nizom 365 enodnevnih pogodb za isto obdobje.
In other words, assessing the presence of a possible undue economic advantage in a commercial supply contract from a State-owned supplier involves assessing to what extent a non-State-owned supplier in a similar situation would have behaved in the same way.
Nobeden od teh alternativnih tržnih segmentov ne bi nudil predvidljivega in stabilnega prihodka, ki ga pričakuje podjetje Hidroelectrica ali pa je ustrezen glede na značilnosti proizvodnje podjetja Hidroelectrica in bi bil v skladu z njihovim naložbenim načrtom (točke od 13 do 15).
Likewise, whereas price differences between electricity tariffs set by the State and higher free market prices might, on first examination, indicate the presence of State aid, it may, for objective reasons, still be possible to find that lower price levels in the contracts under investigation do not afford electricity buyers an economic advantage over market conditions [54].
Nazadnje še dejstvo, celotni obseg trgovanja od leta 2007 do leta 2010 med vsemi romunskimi dobavitelji in relevantnimi kupci na trgu za dan vnaprej in na izravnalnem trgu vedno skupaj znaša manj kot letni obseg dobave na podlagi pogodb v preiskavi (glej uvodne izjave 30, 31 in 38).
Finally, in examining the possibility of State aid defined as electricity prices above market conditions on electricity markets under complex market settings, the Commission may lawfully rely on specific methods or economic models to determine to what extent contract prices differ from market prices [55].
V tem obdobju noben tržni segment ni imel potrebne zmogljivosti in likvidnosti za obseg prodaje, ki se je izvajal v okviru pogodb v preiskavi.
In fact, the price for the contracts was either adjusted annually above the price set out in the contract or established annually for a number of contracts, except in the case of Alro, for which the actual annual price resulted from the application of the contractual indexation formulae.
Z drugimi besedami, tudi če nerealno domnevamo, da bi podjetje Hidroelectrica lahko nadomestilo vse romunske proizvajalce in prodajalce na enem ali na obeh od teh dveh trgov, bi podjetje Hidroelectrica še vedno moralo poiskati dodatne kupce za zadevne količine.
Whether or not there was economic advantage is therefore assessed for each of the years covered by the investigation as of 1 January 2007.
Zato pogojev in cen v teh nišnih tržnih segmentih, ne glede na vrednosti, ni mogoče uporabiti kot referenčne vrednosti za bistveno in objektivno primerjavo s cenami podjetja Hidroelectrica v okviru dolgoročnih pogodb.
Contracts with electricity traders, electrode producers and Alro
Glede na bistvene značilnosti pogodb v smislu prilagodljivosti oskrbe, dolgotrajnosti in pogodbenih količin ter v posebnih okoliščinah na romunskem trgu v preiskovanem obdobju so najbolj primerljivi instrumenti, ki so na voljo za določitev morebitne prisotnosti gospodarske prednosti v primerjavi s prevladujočimi tržnimi razmerami v Romuniji, cene, ki so bile dogovorjene z velikimi odjemalci v pogodbah in sklenjene s prožnimi in vnaprej določenimi pogoji.
As described in recitals 24-35, the Commission examined several electricity market segments in Romania between 2007 and 2010.
Zato je primerno, da se analizira, ali so pogodbe, ki so predmet preiskave, v skladu s cenami drugih prodajalcev na romunskem trgu za neposredno dogovorjene pogodbe.
In order to compare like with like, it is appropriate to examine the closest and most adequate comparators for the prices provided for in the contracts in the period under examination.
Nabor podatkov, opisanih v uvodnih izjavah od 35 do 38 zgoraj, zajema neposredno dogovorjene dvostranske pogodbe, ki so bile v veljavi sočasno s pogodbama v preiskavi, je najprimernejša osnova na voljo Komisiji za primerjavo pogodbenih cen, ki so se zaračunavale dobaviteljem električne energije ter podjetjem Alro, Electrocarbon in Elsid.
In well-functioning electricity markets with adequate liquidity and instruments allowing the prices of future deliveries to be predicted, spot prices are a good indication or approximation of market prices and can be used as benchmarks for assessing price levels in specific contracts.
Zato je Komisija primerjala te cene s cenami na podlagi podatkov, ki se nanašajo na obdobje od 1. januarja 2007 do konca leta 2010.
However, in the present case, given the relatively high proportion of demand that, in Romania in 2007, was still being satisfied on the basis of regulated tariffs, the limited liquidity of OPCOM trading platforms in the period 2007-2010, the volumes of electricity subject to the contracts under investigation, the establishment of power exchanges managed by OPCOM as a relevant antitrust market on which abuse of dominant position was practised (recitals 30-31 and 34), and taking into account the comments made by third parties (recitals 60-63), it cannot be established on a prima facie basis that spot prices or prices on the OPCOM-PCCB platform can be deemed to constitute suitable benchmarks for assessing the possible presence of an economic advantage over market prices.
Pogodbe s podjetjem ArcelorMittal
The Commission has therefore set aside its reliance on average OPCOM prices as benchmarks for comparing Hidroelectrica's contract prices, on which it had based the doubts raised in the relevant opening decisions about the presence of an economic advantage in the ten contracts with electricity traders and the two with electrode producers.
Glede dveh pogodb, sklenjenih v letih 2009 in 2010 s podjetjem Hidroelectrica in ArcelorMittal na trgu OPCOM-PCCB, Komisija ne meni, da cene iz vzporednih ponudb dveh dobaviteljev na trgu OPCOM-PCCB, ki so navedene v zadevni odločitvi o začetku postopka, pomenijo ustrezne referenčne cene, in sicer iz naslednjih razlogov:
The investigation has shown that trading on platforms like OPCOM, for shorter durations and on standard terms and whether on a ‘day-ahead’ or ‘one-year or less’ basis or with a view to providing ancillary or balancing services to the electricity network operator, cannot be viewed as a reasonable alternative to Hidroelectrica's bespoke contracts under scrutiny in the specific circumstances of the Romanian market in the period under consideration.
v zvezi s pogodbo iz leta 2009 nobena od teh dveh vzporednih ponudb na trgu OPCOM ni bila dejansko veljavna.
The contracts concerned were negotiated directly to accommodate the specific supply needs of the buyer and the seller, with flexibility not available in other market segments.
Energy Holding je umaknil vzporedno ponudbo za enako obdobje, količino in pogoje dobave, preden je bila ponudba družbe ArcelorMittal prodana na dražbi [56].
Therefore, in order to ascertain the presence of an economic advantage over market conditions, it is necessary also to examine the conditions obtaining on other market segments available in Romania in 2007 and thereafter, even if these were not identified in the opening decisions.
Druga ponudba podjetja Petprod ni bila sprejemljiva za primerjalne analize, saj vključuje le polovico količine, ki jo je ArcelorMittal ponudil v odkup;v zvezi s pogodbo iz leta 2010 so finančni podatki za dva dobavitelja z vzporednimi ponudbami kazali na to, da ne bi mogla prenesti izgub, če ne bi uspela ponovno prodati velike količine električne energije, ki sta jo nameravala kupiti od podjetja Hidroelectrica: pravi namen teh dveh dobaviteljev iz leta 2010 je bil ponovno prodati električno energijo podjetju ArcelorMittal po višji ceni.
As regards the regulated market, on which Hidroelectrica effectively supplied approximately one fifth of its production at the time of the facts (recital 31), a comparison with the regulated prices charged yearly by Hidroelectrica based on eligible costs and a rate of return set by the electricity regulator ANRE shows that all the contract prices under scrutiny were constantly and significantly above the regulated prices between 2007 and 2010 (recital 26 and Annex 1).
Pravzaprav sta bili obe ponudbi umaknjeni takoj, ko je Hidroelectrica 29. decembra 2010 sprejela ponudbo za nakup podjetja ArcelorMittal, kar dokazuje, da zadevna dobavitelja nista nameravala prodajati teh količin drugim strankam razen podjetju ArcelorMittal [57].(116) V odsotnosti v celoti primerljivih pogodb povprečne cene OPCOM-PCCB niso veljavna referenčna točka za obe pogodbi s podjetjem ArcelorMittal, glede na to, da so bile količine energije, s katero se je trgovalo na trgu OPCOM, omejene, in da izvajane vrste transakcij prav tako niso primerljive.
It was therefore economically rational for Hidroelectrica to continue supplying all alleged beneficiaries in the current proceedings as from 2007, as the contracts concerned were more lucrative than those supplied on the regulated markets.
Ne glede na predhodna stališča, ki so bila opredeljena v uvodni odločbi, in upoštevajoč velike količine električne energije, kupljene s strani podjetja ArcelorMittal, ter dejstvo, da je ArcelorMittal zanesljiva in finančno stabilna stranka podjetja Hidroelectrica, in dejstvo, da niti dve vzporedni ponudbi dobaviteljev niti povprečne cene OPCOM-PCCB niso primerljive s cenami v primeru dveh pogodb podjetja ArcelorMittal, zato Komisija meni, da so cene iz pogodbe opredeljene v nizu podatkov najboljše referenčne cene za namene primerjave.
In any event, and drawing a comparison with the theoretical alternative of increasing the quantities supplied on the regulated market, Hidroelectrica could not at will switch its supplying of electricity from the contracts under scrutiny to the regulated market, since the quantities supplied on the regulated market were set ex ante by ANRE.
Zato je glede na prejete pripombe v odgovor na sklep o začetku postopka Komisija spremenila analizo in preučila cene dveh pogodb s podjetjem ArcelorMittal na podlagi istih podatkov, uporabljenih za primerjavo dolgoročnih pogodb.
The same is true, mutatis mutandis, for trading conditions on the balancing and day ahead markets.
Ekonometrična analiza Komisije o dolgoročnih pogodbenih cenah
Given the characteristics of Hidroelectrica's production, based partly on dispatchable electricity and low marginal costs, it is arguable that Hidroelectrica could have secured occasionally higher revenues by switching its supplying of electricity from the contracts under consideration to the day-ahead and balancing markets, focusing in particular on supplying electricity at peak times, when prices rise considerably.
Vendar se je treba v tej zadevi, glede na razmeroma visok delež povpraševanja, ki je bil v Romuniji v letu 2009 še vedno izpolnjen na podlagi reguliranih tarif, omejeno likvidnost platform OPCOM za trgovanje v obdobju 2007–2010, in glede na dejstvo, da je bila energetska borza, ki jo upravlja OPCOM, opredeljena kot ustrezni protimonopolni trg, na katerem se izvajajo zlorabe prevladujočega položaja, opreti na druga ustrezna merila za ocenjevanje morebitne prisotnosti gospodarske prednosti v primerjavi s tržnimi cenami.
However, for various reasons, the market conditions and prices prevailing on those market segments cannot be considered representative of market conditions with which the contracts under examination can be compared in order to ascertain whether they conferred an economic advantage on the buyers.
Zato je Komisija uporabila zbirko podatkov, ki so jo zagotovili romunski organi, saj meni, da je to najboljši vir dokazov, ki odraža tržne razmere v Romuniji.
Firstly, it is apparent that Hidroelectrica supplied electricity on these market segments too between 2007 and 2010, albeit to a limited extent — in the order of less than 10 % of its sales (recital 31).
Niz podatkov vsebuje dovolj informacij, da Komisija lahko analizira razmere na romunskem trgu z električno energijo v obdobju v preiskavi, kot je navedeno v uvodnih izjavah 36 in 37.
The relevant issue is whether such markets could have constituted a valid alternative for a rational operator acting in lieu of Hidroelectrica and determining the destination of 63 % of its sales — sales that Hidroelectrica made on the basis of bilateral contracts between 2007 and 2010.
Na podlagi niza podatkov je Komisija izvedla ekonometrično analizo, da bi določila referenčno ceno na podlagi pogodb za električno energijo, sočasnih s pogodbami v preiskavi podjetja Hidroelectrica v celotnem obdobju preiskave.
Trading on those market segments involved distinct features that make it impossible to determine market conditions valid for the whole Romanian market or for Hidroelectrica's long-term contracts.
Uporaba ekonomskih modelov za količinsko opredelitev morebitnih prednosti v primerjavi s tržnimi pogoji v skladu s predhodnimi primeri na kompleksnem tržnem okolju (uvodna izjava 104), kakršen je obravnavani primer v Romuniji od leta 2007 (uvodne izjave 24 do 38 in 107).
Indeed, balancing or ancillary services are supplied by electricity producers to the transmission system operator on the basis of unpredictable demand and patterns of demand on the part of a single buyer.
Popoln in podroben tehnični opis ekonometrične analize in njenih rezultatov je naveden v Prilogi II.
Day-ahead supply also implies prices and quantities unpredictable from one day to the next.
Zaradi pomanjkanja jasnih referenčnih meril za ugotavljanje „tržnih pogojev“ je bilo pri pregledovanju, ali sta pogodbi vsebovali cene nad tržno ravnijo, referenčno merilo tržnih cen ocenjeno kot približek v okviru konzervativnih domnev, in sicer z upoštevanjem pomembnih odstopanj navzdol od ocenjene tržne cene.
In other words, the long-term contracts under examination, even leaving aside their contract provisions and assuming they could be segmented into a succession of annually revisable contracts, cannot be compared with a succession of 365 1-day contracts for the same period.
Analiza kaže, da so le trije domnevni upravičenci imeli korist od cen, ki so bile nižje od tistih v obsegu, v katerem jih je mogoče šteti za skladne z referenčno tržno ceno:
None of these alternative market segments would offer the predictability and stability of revenue required by Hidroelectrica or match Hidroelectrica's production characteristics and investment plan (recitals 13-15).
v letih od 2007 do 2010 imata Electrocarbon in Elsid vsako leto pogodbene cene, nižje od referenčne tržne cene za ustrezno leto;
Finally, and as a matter of fact, the total volumes traded each year from 2007 until 2010 between all Romanian suppliers and the relevant buyers on the day-ahead and balancing markets always altogether amounted to less than the annual volume supplied under the contracts under investigation (see recitals 30, 31 and 38).
za podjetje Luxten-Lighting je ta razlika višja od referenčne cene le v letih 2008 in 2009.
During that period, none of the market segments had the capacity and liquidity necessary for absorbing the volumes of sales made under the contracts under investigation.
Analiza je pokazala, da so bile cene podjetja Hidroelectrica v devetih pogodbah med letoma 2007 in 2010, in sicer s podjetji Alpiq RomIndustries, Alpiq RomEnergie, EFT, Electromagnetica, Energy Holding, Euro-Pec, Electrica, ArcelorMittal in Alro, popolnoma v skladu z referenčno tržno ceno.
In other words, even on the unrealistic assumption that Hidroelectrica could have replaced all Romanian producers and sellers on one or both of those two markets segments, Hidroelectrica would still have needed to find additional buyers for the volumes in question.
V primeru pogodbe s podjetjem Luxten-Lighting se cene, ki se uporabljajo za leti 2007 in 2010, ne razlikujejo znatno od tistih za druge neposredno dogovorjene v pogodbah, sklenjenih na romunskem trgu.