natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Autostrada Wielkopolska has used the traffic and revenue study for the A2 motorway made by the consulting firm Wilbur Smith Associates (WSA) in 1999 (hereinafter ‘1999 WSA study’) instead of the updated study by WSA from June 2004 (hereinafter ‘2004 WSA study’) which was available at the time of the negotiations of Annex 6.
prvič, ali so plačila nadomestil, metodologija za njihov izračun in/ali način uporabe metodologije pomenili gospodarsko prednost za podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska, ki je presegala tisto, kar je bilo potrebno za ohranitev gospodarskega ravnotežja iz koncesijskega sporazuma.
The 2004 WSA study predicted significantly lower traffic and revenues than the 1999 WSA study.
Komisijo je zlasti zanimalo, ali:
Consequently, the IRR of the Real Toll model would have been lower if it had been calculated on the basis of the up-to-date data of the study from 2004 instead of the outdated study from 1999.
je bila s koncesijskim sporazumom podjetju Autostrada Wielkopolska podeljena pravica do nadomestila v primeru zakonodajnih sprememb;
In other words, Autostrada Wielkopolska had presented, according to Poland, its financial situation immediately before the entry into force of the Amendment Act in a dishonest manner, which led to compensation in amounts exceeding the revenue that Autostrada Wielkopolska would have been capable of generating had the 2004 study been used.
je morala država zaradi uporabe mehanizma nadomestil, vsaj v obdobju od 1. septembra 2005 do 31. decembra 2006, prevzeti tveganja v zvezi s prometom in prihodki, povezana z lahkimi vozili, ter kakšne finančne koristi je ta prenos prinesel za koncesionarja;
According to a report procured by GDDKiA and the Ministry of Infrastructure, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (hereinafter: ‘PwC report’), using the traffic and revenues assumptions from the 2004 WSA study instead of the 1999 WSA study (coupled with small methodological and tax corrections) reduces the IRR of the Real Toll model from […] % to […] %.
je uporaba študije iz leta 1999 o prometu in prihodkih za izračun nadomestila podjetju AW S.A. zagotovila dodatno gospodarsko prednost, ki ni nujno odpravila negativnih učinkov zakonodajne spremembe za koncesionarja, ter kakšen je bil obseg te prednosti;
On 13 November 2008, the Minister of Infrastructure made a statement of avoidance of Annex 6 in the form of a letter addressed to AWSA, claiming, inter alia, that the Minister of Infrastructure was in error when concluding that agreement, since he had not been aware that Autostrada Wielkopolska failed to take into account the forecasts of traffic and revenue, for the section of A2 motorway between Nowy Tomysl and Konin, prepared in 2004, and hence more up-to-date than the forecasts prepared within this scope in 1999, used during negotiations on Annex 6.
drugič, ali nadomestilo, izplačano podjetju Autostrada Wielkopolska zaradi zakonodajne spremembe, na podlagi katere so bila težka tovorna izvzeta iz plačevanja cestnine za uporabo avtoceste v obdobju od 1. septembra 2005 do 30. junija 2011, v celoti ali delno pomeni nezdružljivo pomoč za poslovanje.
In the Minister's opinion, the fact that Autostrada Wielkopolska did not use the most up-to-date data on traffic and revenue levels on the date of signature of Annex 6 caused this annex to erroneously reflect Autostrada Wielkopolska's financial situation before the Amendment Act introduced the shadow toll system and the associated obligation to compensate the concession holder.
PRIPOMBE POLJSKE
In the opinion of the Minister of Infrastructure, supported later by the PwC report, Autostrada Wielkopolska received excessive compensation.
Gospodarska prednost
The overpayment for the period from 1 September 2005 to 30 June 2011 amounted to PLN 894956889 gross (around EUR 224 million) (hereinafter: the ‘Overcompensation’).
Pravica podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska do nadomestila
Since Autostrada Wielkopolska refused to repay the Overcompensation, the Minister and GDDKiA, in a letter of 8 November 2010, applied to the General Counsel to the Treasury (Prokuratoria Generalna Skarbu Państwa) for commencement, on behalf of the State Treasury, of legal proceedings and for legal representation within the scope of recovery of amounts unduly paid to Autostrada Wielkopolska as compensation.
Poljska meni, da je bilo podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska upravičeno do nadomestila.
At the same time, Autostrada Wielkopolska contested the repudiation of Annex 6 by bringing the case before an arbitral tribunal.
Prvič, Poljska poudarja, da je bil zakon o spremembi uveljavljen zato, ker je Komisija od Poljske zahtevala, naj odpravi dvojno plačevanje težkih tovornih vozil, ki uporabljajo cestninske avtoceste.
In March 2013, the Arbitral Tribunal decided in favour of the concession holder, stating that Annex 6 is valid and should be respected by the State.
Za pravilno izvajanje veljavne Direktive 1999/62/ES je moral zakon o spremembi vključevati mehanizem nadomestil za povrnitev izgubljenega prihodka zaradi spremembe zakonodaje upravljavcem avtocest.
In June 2013, the Polish authorities decided to challenge the arbitral award by lodging an annulment action in the competent national court.
Poleg zakona o spremembi je podjetju Autostrada Wielkopolska pravico do nadomestila zagotavljal tudi člen 12.6 koncesijskega sporazuma.
The case is pending.
V tem členu je določeno, da: ima koncesionar pravico do nadomestila iz državne zakladnice za izgubo prihodkov iz poslovanja, ki jo je utrpel, če mu je zaradi kakršne koli spremembe zahtev ali kako drugače z ukrepi javnega organa onemogočeno spreminjanje in prilagajanje cen cestnin, kot je določeno v členu 12.6.
End of compensation mechanism
Kar zadeva spreminjanje in prilagajanje cen cestnin, je s členom 12.6 koncesionarju zagotovljena pravica do zviševanja in zniževanja cen cestnin po lastni presoji v okviru predpisov iz navedenega člena.Poljska trdi, da zakon o spremembi, ki ob podpisu koncesijskega sporazuma ni bil predviden, vpliva na koncesionarja in kot tak pomeni spremembo zahtev.
The need for a shadow toll compensation expired on 30 June 2011, which is when Poland introduced an electronic toll collection system called ‘via TOLL’ that replaced the vignettes.
Poljska trdi, da pravica podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska do nadomestila temelji tudi na rezervacijah za tveganja iz koncesijskega sporazuma, s katerimi je tveganje v zvezi s prometom in prihodki iz cestnin, dodeljeno koncesionarju.
The ‘via TOLL’ system is obligatory for all HGVs and allows its users to perform electronic payment settlement for the use of toll road networks based on kilometres and on a road category.
V zameno je koncesionarju podeljena pravica do pobiranja cestnin.
The ‘via TOLL’ system covers only selected roads and not the whole road network in Poland (as the vignettes did), thereby eliminating the possibility of double charging.
Ker je bila z zakonom o spremembi podjetju Autostrada Wielkopolska odvzeta pravica do pobiranja cestnin za težka tovorna vozila, je bil potreben mehanizem nadomestil za ponovno vzpostavitev gospodarskega ravnotežja iz koncesijskega sporazuma.
Therefore, as of 1 July 2011, the concession holders could return to charging all HGVs entering toll motorways according to the rules set up in the concession agreements.
Promet lahkih vozil
Grounds for initiating the procedure
V zvezi s prenosom tveganja, povezanega s prometom lahkih vozil, med letom 2005 in preverjanjem leta 2007, predstavljenim v uvodnih izjavah 65 do 75 sklepa o začetku formalnega postopka preiskave, Poljska navaja, da je bil mehanizem, uporabljen za izračun in preverjanje prikrite cestnine za koncesionarja za avtocesto A2 drugačen od tistega, ki ga je Komisija sprejela v zadevi SA.29584 za koncesionarja za avtocesto A4.
In its opening decision, the Commission raised doubts about the compatibility of the measure with the internal market.
Medtem ko so bili za avtocesto A4 po obdobju preverjanja višine prikrite cestnine v veljavnem finančnem modelu posodobljeni le podatki v zvezi s težkimi tovornimi vozili, vsi drugi podatki pa so ostali nespremenjeni (vključno s podatki o lahkih vozilih), so bili za avtocesto A2 po obdobju preverjanja prikrite cestnine posodobljeni vsi podatki (vključno s podatki, povezanimi z lahkimi vozili).
In particular, it highlighted the following questions:
Poljska meni, da bi se v primeru avtoceste A2 uporaba mehanizma nadomestil lahko štela za prevzem tveganja v zvezi s prometom in prihodki od lahkih vozil v obdobju od septembra 2005 do 31. decembra 2006, vendar je bil po mnenju Poljske ta mehanizem potreben, ker je sprejeta metodologija, s katero naj bi se ohranil finančni položaj podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska, zahtevala, da finančni model vključuje celotni projekt (tj. tudi lahka vozila).
First, whether the compensation payments, the methodology for their calculation and/or the way the methodology was applied, granted an economic advantage to Autostrada Wielkopolska that went beyond what was necessary to preserve the economic balance of the Concession Agreement.
Po mnenju Poljske interne stopnje donosnosti za projekt ni bilo mogoče izračunati le ob upoštevanju podatkov za težka tovorna vozila.
In particular, the Commission asked whether:
Študije o prometu – interna stopnja donosnosti
the Concession Agreement gave Autostrada Wielkopolska a right to be compensated in the event of legislative changes;
V zvezi z uvodnimi izjavami 76 do 81 sklepa o začetku formalnega postopka preiskave Poljska navaja, da je mehanizem za izračun nadomestila, ki je določen v zakonu o spremembi in je bil vzpostavljen na Poljskem, pravilen.
the application of the compensation mechanism resulted in the State taking over, at least in the period from 1 September 2005 to 31 December 2006, of traffic and revenue risks related to light vehicles, and what was the financial benefit to the concession holder of this transfer;
Vendar je koncesionar zaradi uporabe nepravilnih vhodnih podatkov prejel prekomerno nadomestilo.
the use of the 1999 study of traffic and revenue for the calculation of compensation resulted in an additional economic advantage to AW S.A that was not necessary to remove the negative effects of the legislative change for the concession holder and what was the scale of this advantage.
Vendar pa Poljska ob sklenitvi koncesijskega sporazuma ni zagotovila, da bo dosežena določena interna stopnja donosnosti.
Second, whether the compensation paid to Autostrada Wielkopolska for the legislative change exempting HGVs from the obligation to pay a toll for using the motorway in the period from 1 September 2005 to 30 June 2011 is in whole or part an incompatible operating aid.
Ker je podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska prejelo nadomestilo za doseganje interne stopnje donosnosti, pričakovane leta 2000, in ne interne stopnje donosnosti, ki bi jo podjetje dejansko lahko doseglo tik pred začetkom veljavnosti zakona o spremembi, je bilo podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska v boljšem položaju, kot bi bilo brez spremembe zakonodaje, kar pomeni gospodarsko prednost.
Autostrada Wielkopolska's right to compensation
Po mnenju Poljske ni razlogov, da bi se zadevna pomoč štela za združljivo z notranjim trgom.
Poland is of the opinion that Autostrada Wielkopolska had a right to compensation.
PRIPOMBE ZAINTERESIRANIH STRANI
Firstly, Poland points out that the Amendment Act was enforced because the Commission requested Poland to eliminate double payments by HGVs using toll motorways.
Komisija je prejela pripombe podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska kot zainteresirane strani.
In the interest of the correct implementation of the applicable Directive 1999/62/EC, the Amendment Act had to include a compensation mechanism to reimburse motorway operators for revenue lost due to the change in law.
V uvodu podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska navaja, da je obvestilo Poljske, da nadomestilo pomeni nezdružljivo državno pomoč, le še en korak v gospodarskem sporu, potem ko je Poljska izgubila postopek pred arbitražnim sodiščem in še vedno poskuša doseči razveljavitev dodelitve nadomestila.
Alongside the Amendment Act, also the Concession Agreement, in Article 12.6, granted to Autostrada Wielkopolska the right to be compensated.
Podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska dojema obvestilo Komisiji kot izbiranje najugodnejšega sodišča s strani Poljske, ki se ne bi smelo podpreti, saj je to v nasprotju z duhom in namenom politike EU o državni pomoči.
This article stipulates that: ‘The Concession Holder shall be entitled to compensation from the State Treasury for any loss of Revenues from Operation incurred by the Concession Holder if due to any Changes in Requirements or otherwise the Concession Holder is prevented by the Public Authority's action from changing and adjusting the Toll Rates as provided for in Article 12.6.’
Poleg tega meni, da bi bilo v nasprotju z javnim interesom, če bi bilo državam članicam dovoljeno zlorabljati pravila o državni pomoči, da bi dosegle ničnost sporazumov, ki so jih sklenile v komercialnih okoljih po običajnih tržnih pogojih.
In terms of changing and adjusting the Toll Rates, Article 12.6. gives the concession holder the right to increase and decrease the toll rates at its own discretion within the limits of the regulations referred to therein.
Podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska meni, da je bilo na podlagi koncesijskega sporazuma upravičeno do nadomestila, potem ko mu je bila odvzeta pravica pobiranja cestnin za težka tovorna vozila, zaradi česar je bilo prikrajšano za navedeni vir prihodkov.
Poland argues that the Amendment Act, which was not foreseeable at the time of signing the Concession Agreement, affects the concession holder and, as such, constitutes a Change in Requirements.
Poleg tega poudarja, da njegova pravica do nadomestila in nadomestilo v obliki prikritega cestninjenja nista bila nikoli sporna.
In return, the concession holder is granted the right to collect tolls.
Prvič, podjetje je pojasnilo, da je treba njegov položaj primerjati s položajem koncesionarja za avtocesto A4.
29584, the Commission assumed that the concession holder of the A4 motorway had a right to a similar compensation which was caused by and calculated according to the same Amendment Act.
Vsem vključenim stranem je bilo jasno, da bi se z odpravo plačila dejanske cestnine močno povečal promet težkih tovornih vozil.
Light vehicles traffic
Posledično bi se privlačnost avtoceste v scenariju prikritega cestninjenja zmanjšala (več prometnih zastojev, večje potrebe po vzdrževanju, ki prinašajo več dela in manjšo hitrost prometa), kar bi pripeljalo do različnih možnosti poti in precejšnjega zmanjšanja pretoka lahkih vozil na avtocestah.
On the transfer of the risk of light vehicles traffic between 2005 and the verification in 2007, presented in recitals 65-75 of the decision to open formal investigation procedure, Poland states that the mechanism used to calculate and to verify the shadow toll for the concession holder of the A2 motorway was different that the one accepted by the Commission in case SA.29584 for the concession holder of the A4 motorway.
Ti dejavniki precej bolj vplivajo na avtocesto v izvoznem koridorju kot na cesto, ki se uporablja za dnevne migracije.
While for the A4 motorway, after the period during which the shadow toll level was verified, only data concerning HGVs were updated in the applicable financial model and all other data (including those pertaining to light vehicles) remained unchanged, for the A2 motorway after the shadow toll test period all data (including those related to light vehicles) were updated.
Zato je bilo treba število lahkih vozil v primeru avtoceste A2 posodobiti.
Poland considers that in the case of A2 motorway the application of the compensation mechanism could potentially be seen as taking over the risk of traffic and revenue from light vehicles in the period from September 2005 to 31 December 2006 but in Poland's view it was necessary because the adopted methodology, that was supposed to preserve the financial situation of Autostrada Wielkopolska, required that the financial model covers the project as a whole (i.e., also light vehicles).
Drugič, podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska pojasnjuje, da je zanj veljala obveznost izvedbe gradbenih del, ker so bili nekateri pragovi prometa preseženi (npr. tretji pas poznanske obvoznice), kar je povzročilo precejšnje kapitalske izdatke.
In Poland's view, it was impossible to calculate the IRR for the project looking at HGV data only.
Pri preverjanju zgolj težkih tovornih vozil se ne bi upoštevali posledice uvedbe prikritih cestnin za drug promet in mejniki za dodatna gradbena dela v skladu s koncesijskim sporazumom.
Traffic Studies — Internal Rate of Return
Prvič, podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska poudarja, da je bil ob začetku pogajanj o koncesijskem sporazumu leta 2005 njegov cilj določiti višino nadomestila, ki bi omogočala oceno interne stopnje donosnosti, ki bi bila podobna interni stopnji donosnosti ob zaključnem finančnem obračunu leta 2000, ki je bila po navedbah podjetja AW S.A. […]-odstotna.
As regards recitals 76 to 81 of the decision to open formal investigation procedure, Poland states that the calculation mechanism of the compensation, provided for in the Amendment Act and put in place by Poland, is correct.
Čeprav sta se pogodbenici dogovorili, da bo cena AGRi po preverjanju leta 2007 določena za doseganje […]-odstotne interne stopnje donosnosti, je po mnenju podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska ključnega pomena, da za ceno AGRi velja tudi absolutna zgornja meja cen cestnin.
However, the concession holder was overcompensated due to the use of incorrect input data.
Podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska je leta 2005 vnaprej ocenilo, da bo v okviru mehanizma prikritega carinjenja zaradi absolutne zgornje meje cen cestnin iz Priloge 6 pričakovana interna stopnja donosnosti podjetja omejena na […] % (tj. precej manj kot […] %).
Poland explains that to calculate the IRR, the traffic and revenue study from 1999 was used although a more up-to-date version of that study from 31 December 2004 existed.
Leta 2007 je bila v poročilu o preverjanju cena AGRi, ki se je zaračunavala v vmesnem obdobju, zvišana do zgornje meje.
When using the 2004 study, the calculated IRR is significantly lower - […] % instead of […] % if calculated with the 1999 study.
Zato je bila po preverjanju leta 2007 pričakovana interna stopnja donosnosti podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska […]-odstotna.
Poland argues that through this, ‘the concession holder was restored to its financial situation that existed in 2000 instead of that which had existed prior to the effective date of the Amendment Act and the date of Annex 6 (2005)’ and thereby the business risk of operations between 2000 and 2005 was transferred to the State.
Podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska navaja, da je koncesijski sporazum dolgoročen in zelo zapleten sporazum, saj vključuje izgradnjo in upravljanje avtoceste.
Poland had not guaranteed, however, that any specific IRR would be achieved at the conclusion of the Concession Agreement.
Za ugotovitev, ali sprememba takega zapletenega sporazuma med državo in zasebno stranko pomeni državno pomoč, bi bilo treba uporabiti načela, ki jih je Komisija določila v zadevi London Underground.
Poland argues that the above issue was analysed in detail by Scott Wilson Sp. z o.o.
V skladu s temi načeli sprememba ne pomeni državne pomoči, če:
(hereinafter: ‘Scott Wilson’), which came to the conclusion, when analysing all the traffic and revenue forecasts presented by Autostrada Wielkopolska in the period from 1998 to 2004, that the use of the study from 1999 was not appropriate given that a more up-to-date study from 2004 existed, as it lead to a significantly higher IRR as compared to the use of the study from 2004.
prvotni koncesijski sporazum ne pomeni državne pomoči;
Because Autostrada Wielkopolska was compensated to attain the IRR expected in 2000 and not the IRR Autostrada Wielkopolska could realistically have expected to achieve right before the Amendment Act entered in force, Autostrada Wielkopolska was put in a better situation than it would have been without the change of law and this constitutes an economic advantage.
sprememba ne vodi do bistvenega izboljšanja položaja koncesionarja ali izboljšanja tržne stopnje.
Moreover, Poland points out that the Concession Agreement in Article 25.9 limits the compensation to Autostrada Wielkopolska to what it would have obtained without the legislative change.
Podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska pojasnjuje, da ker je bila koncesija podeljena na podlagi odprtega, preglednega in nediskriminatornega razpisnega postopka, se za koncesijski sporazum domneva, da je bil sklenjen po tržnih pogojih in zato ne pomeni državne pomoči.
Compatibility Assessment
Po navedbah podjetja AW S.A. je bila v obravnavanem primeru pričakovana dejanska interna stopnja donosnosti delničarskega kapitala (lastniški kapital in podrejeni dolg) po obdavčitvi na podlagi prvotnega koncesijskega sporazuma ob zaključnem finančnem obračunu […]-odstotna.
In the view of Poland, no grounds exist to consider the aid in question compatible with the internal market.
Ker je bila to pričakovana stopnja donosnosti, določena v prvotnem sporazumu, bi jo bilo treba šteti za skladno s tržnimi pravili.
COMMENTS FROM INTERESTED PARTIES
Podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska je […]-odstotno interno stopnjo donosnosti, pričakovano po sprejetju Priloge 6, primerjalo s […]-odstotno interno stopnjo donosnosti iz prvotne ponudbe.
The Commission received comments from Autostrada Wielkopolska as an interested party.
Podjetje pojasnjuje, da je bilo […]-odstotno zvišanje rezultat zunanjih finančnih dejavnikov, in sicer nadomestitve proračunskih napovedi z dejanskimi finančnimi rezultati ter posodobitve napovedi glede inflacije in menjalnega tečaja.
In the introduction, Autostrada Wielkopolska states that Poland's notification of the compensation as incompatible State aid is simply a move in a commercial dispute after Poland lost the proceedings in front of the Arbitral Tribunal and is also now trying to set aside the award.
Po podatkih podjetja AW S.A. je bilo zato zvišanje popolnoma upravičeno.
Autostrada Wielkopolska perceives the notification to the Commission as forum shopping on the side of Poland which should not be supported as this is contrary to the spirit and purpose of the EU's State aid policy.
Poleg tega se položaj podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska ni bistveno izboljšal zgolj zaradi prehoda z dejanskega na prikrito cestninjenje (ne glede na kakršno koli spremembo interne stopnje donosnosti).
Autostrada Wielkopolska considers it would be contrary to public interest if Member States were allowed to abuse State aid rules to void agreements that they entered into at arm's length in commercial settings.
Zlasti se s prehodom ni zmanjšala izpostavljenost podjetja Autostrada Wielkopolska tveganjem, povezanim s prometom.
Autostrada Wielkopolska considers that under the Concession Agreement, it was entitled to seek compensation after being deprived of the right to collect tolls from HGVs and therefore deprived of that source of income.
Poleg tega podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska trdi, da čeprav bi se sprememba, ki jo je zahtevalo, štela za „bistveno“ v smislu zadeve London Underground (ki je podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska ne priznava), pričakovana stopnja donosnosti podjetja še vedno nikakor ne bi presegala tržnih stopenj.
Additionally, Autostrada Wielkopolska points out that it was never disputed that Autostrada Wielkopolska had a right to compensation nor was it disputed that the compensation would be in the form of a shadow toll.
Podjetje AW S.A. ugotavlja, da je Poljska v zadevi N 462/2009 navedla, Komisija pa potrdila, da je bila tržna donosnost avtocestnih projektov na Poljskem približno […]-odstotna.
According to Autostrada Wielkopolska, the inclusion of light weight traffic in the shadow toll verification method was necessary to correctly assess the compensation amount and therefore it does not create an advantage to Autostrada Wielkopolska
Poleg tega podjetje Autostrada Wielkopolska trdi, da […]-odstotna interna stopnja donosnosti, ki bi se po mnenju Poljske morala uporabiti kot referenčna vrednost za izračun prikrite cestnine, ni tržna stopnja, saj noben razumen zasebni vlagatelj leta 2005 ne bi privolil v koncesijski sporazum, če bi bila pričakovana stopnja donosnosti le […]-odstotna.