natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The Authority considered that the lease for the use and operation of the optical fibre did not involve state aid, as the lease contract was established by means of the use of an open tender capable of establishing market terms and therefore did not confer an economic advantage on Vodafone.
Zdi se, da so merila za dodelitev, razen cene, izražala javno politiko ali zakonodajne pomisleke, ki jih zasebni vlagatelj ne bi štel za pomembne.
On 27 January 2014, the EFTA Court annulled the Authority's Decision No 410/12/COL.
Postopek oddaje javnega naročila ni uporabil ceno ali zakupnino kot edino ali glavno merilo za dodelitev.
The Court concluded that the Authority should have opened a formal investigation procedure, as the Authority had at its disposal information and evidence which should, objectively, have raised doubts or serious difficulties regarding whether the lease agreement conferred an economic advantage on Vodafone [20].
Sodišče Efte je nadalje menilo, da Nadzorni organ ni ocenil verjetnosti tega, da bi zveza NATO uporabila svoje prednostne pravice za uporabo vlakna ali svojo pravico do razveljavitve sporazuma.
The Court considered that the Authority should have had doubts as to whether the price agreed as a result of the tender was a reflection of a true market price for the lease of such an asset.
Sodišče je med drugim na podlagi navedenih dejstvih sklenilo, da so obstajali dosledni in nepristranski dokazi, da Nadzorni organ ni v celoti in dovolj proučil, ali je zakupna pogodba pomenila državno pomoč, in če je, ali je bila ta pomoč združljiva s Sporazumom EGP.
In particular, the Court held that the award criteria in the tender did not reflect what a private investor would consider relevant when tendering out a lease and that it was apparent that the Authority had not assessed all circumstances and consequences for the applicability of a market economy investor test.
ODLOČBA št. 299/12/COL O ZAČETKU FORMALNEGA POSTOPKA PREISKAVE
The award criteria other than price appeared to reflect public policy or regulatory considerations, which a private investor would not consider relevant.
Nadzorni organ se je 16. julija 2014 odločil, da začne formalni postopek preiskave o morebitni državni pomoči, dodeljeni na podlagi zakupa optičnega vlakna zveze NATO.
The tender procedure did not use price or leasing charge as a sole or main award criterion.
Nadzorni organ je v svoji odločbi navedel, da na podlagi podatkov, ki so jih predložili pritožnik in islandski organi, ne more izključiti možnosti, da pogodba, ki jo je islandska Agencija za obrambo 1. februarja 2010 sklenila z družbo Vodafone Iceland, morda pomeni državno pomoč v smislu člena 61(1) Sporazuma EGP.
The EFTA Court furthermore considered that the Authority had not assessed the likelihood of NATO using its priority rights to make use of the fibre and the probability that NATO would use its right of reversal.
Poleg tega je Nadzorni organ navedel, da na podlagi razpoložljivih podatkov tudi dvomi v združljivost morebitne pomoči z delovanjem Sporazuma EGP.
On the basis of, inter alia, the above, the Court concluded that there existed consistent and objective evidence that the Authority had not examined in a complete and sufficient manner whether the lease contract involved state aid and, if so, whether the aid was compatible with the EEA Agreement.
PRIPOMBE ISLANDSKIH ORGANOV NA ODLOČBO O ZAČETKU POSTOPKA [21]
DECISION No 299/12/COL TO INITIATE THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
Islandski organi v svojem odzivu na začetek formalnega postopka preiskave trdijo, da zadeva obravnava odpiranje sektorja, v katerem je prej imelo monopol podjetje v državni lasti, pozneje, po privatizaciji in prodaji, pa družba Míla.
On 16 July 2014, the Authority decided to initiate the formal investigation procedure into potential state aid granted through the lease of the NATO optical fibre.
Realno gledano, ne bi mogel noben konkurent družbe Míla podvojiti potrebnega omrežja in infrastrukture, tj. optičnega vlakna.
In its Decision, the Authority stated that based on the information submitted by the complainant and the Icelandic authorities, it could not exclude the possibility that the contract concluded on 1 February 2010 by the Icelandic Defence Agency with Vodafone Iceland might involve state aid within the meaning of Article 61(1) of the EEA Agreement.
Sektor je izjemno pomemben za splošno javnost in njen dostop do informacij.
The Authority further stated that based on the available information it also had doubts as to the compatibility of the potential aid with the functioning of the EEA Agreement.
Zadeva obravnava tudi dostop in zagotavljanje storitev za podeželska in redko poseljena območja na Islandiji.
COMMENTS BY THE ICELANDIC AUTHORITIES TO THE OPENING DECISION [21]
Edinstvene značilnosti zadeve so povezane z zapletenimi vprašanji glede lastništva in pomembnostjo omejitev zaradi vloge, ki jo ima vlakno v obrambnem mehanizmu ter kriznem upravljanju Islandije in drugih članic zveze NATO.
In their reply to the opening of the formal investigation, the Icelandic authorities argue that the case concerns the opening up of a sector previously monopolised by a state-owned enterprise and later, after privatisation and sale, by Míla.
Glavni cilj ukrepov islandskih organov je bil omejiti javne odhodke v zvezi z upravljanjem vlakna.
The necessary network and infrastructure, i.e. the optical fibre, could not have been realistically duplicated by any of the competitors of Míla.
Cilj vseh drugih korakov pa je bil prispevati k okrepljeni konkurenci v sektorju.
The sector is highly important to the general public and its access to information.
Ukrepi so bili uspešni in splošna javnost ter zasebni in javni subjekti, ki so močno odvisni od telekomunikacij po celotni Islandiji, imajo zdaj koristi od večje konkurenčnosti in boljše storitve.
The case also concerns access and provision of services to rural and sparsely populated areas in Iceland.
Uvedene so bile določene omejitve za spodbujanje konkurence pod enakovrednimi pogoji, glavni namen vseh teh omejitev pa je bilo zagotavljanje čim boljših in ugodnejših storitev za splošno javnost.
The unique characteristics of the case relate to the complex ownership issues and the relevance of restrictions due to the role of the fibre in the defence mechanism and crisis management of Iceland and other members of NATO.
Islandski organi znova poudarjajo že izraženo stališče, da ukrep ne pomeni državne pomoči.
The main aim of the measures of the Icelandic authorities was to limit public expenditure relating to the operation of the fibre.
Poleg tega so navedli spodaj opisane utemeljitve.
Otherwise, all steps taken were aimed at contributing to increased competition in the sector.
Državni viri, vpliv lastništva kabla in posledice prednosti
The measures were successful and the general public, as well as private and public entities that rely heavily on telecommunication throughout Iceland, now enjoy more competition and better service.
Islandija ne nasprotuje temu, da se državna sredstva lahko prenesejo tudi na drug način in ne samo tako, da država neposredno porazdeli državne sklade med druge subjekte, vendar poudarja, da je to treba oceniti za vsak primer posebej.
Certain limitations were introduced to promote competition on equal ground, all with the final purpose of ensuring that the general public would receive as good and cheap service as possible.
V zvezi s tem islandski organi zahtevajo, da nadzorni organ upošteva predvsem to, da „sredstvo“ (tj. vlakno) ni v lasti Islandije ali katerega koli njenega subjekta.
The Icelandic authorities reiterate the view expressed previously that the measure does not involve state aid.
Sredstvo je financirala, zgradila in ima v trajni lasti tretja stran, in sicer zveza NATO.
In addition, they put forward the arguments outlined below.
Dogovori med zvezo NATO in islandskimi organi temeljijo na načelu „ni stroškov, ni koristi“.
State resources, the influence of the ownership of the cable and implication for advantage
To pomeni, da bodo kakršni koli prihodki od zakupa vlakna najprej uporabljeni za kritje operativnih stroškov in manjših popravil.
While Iceland does not contest that state resources can be deemed to be transferred by other means than direct distribution of state-owned funds by the State itself to other entities, they underline that this must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Ta dogovor je opisan v členu 16 islandskega Zakona o obrambi št. 34/2008, ki nadalje pojasnjuje, da za kakršna koli sredstva, ki sodijo v to kategorijo, veljajo varnostna pravila in prednostne pravice zveze NATO.
In this context, the Icelandic authorities request the Authority to consider in particular that the ‘resource’ (i.e. the fibre) is not owned by the Icelandic State or any of its entities.
Poleg tega, če prihodki presegajo navedene stroške, se ves presežek vrne lastniku vlakna, in sicer zvezi NATO.
The resource was financed, constructed and is permanently owned by a third party, i.e. NATO.
Če stroški presegajo prihodke ali v primeru večjih popravil ali zamenjav zaradi višje sile, islandski organi zadevnih stroškov niso dolžni kriti.
The arrangements between NATO and the Icelandic authorities are based on the no-cost no-gain principle.
Stroške popravil kabla si namreč delita lastnika vlaken glede na število vlaken, ki jih imata v lasti, tj. družba Míla (5/8) in zveza NATO (3/8).
This means that any proceeds from the leasing of the fibre will first be used to pay for operational costs and minor repairs.
Zato za obravnavani primer ni mogoče neposredno uporabiti nobenega preskusa zasebnega prodajalca, saj islandski organi nimajo nobenega gospodarskega interesa, da bi dosegli prihodke od zakupa vlaken, ki bi presegali stroške upravljanja in vzdrževanja vlakna.
Article 16 of the Icelandic Defence Act No 34/2008 reflects this arrangement and further explains that any assets falling under this category are subject to rules of security and priority rights of NATO.
V razpisni dokumentaciji je določeno, da je bil dostop do vlakna pogojen z več drugimi vprašanji, ne pa samo z zakupom in zakupno ceno.
Moreover, if revenue exceeds those costs, any remainder is to be returned to the owner of the fibre, NATO.
V skladu s klavzulo 2.3 je obveznost zakupnika, da pridobi potrebne prostore in priključne točke za vlakno.
If costs exceed revenue, or in case of major repairs or replacements due to force majeure incidents, the Icelandic authorities are not liable for the relevant costs.
Islandija ni zagotovila niti tega, da bo zakupnik imel dostop do takih prostorov.
Rather, the cost of repairs to the cable is shared between the fibres' owners according to their respective number of fibres, i.e. Míla (5/8) and NATO (3/8).
Poleg tega je v klavzuli 2.7 določeno, da zakupnik načeloma vrne vlakno v istem stanju, kot ga je prejel, če pa zakupnik izvede spremembe, zakupodajalec ob koncu pogodbenega obdobja pridobi takšne spremembe brezplačno.
Hence, any private vendor test is not directly applicable to the present case, as the Icelandic authorities have no economic interest in achieving a rental income above the operation and maintenance costs of the fibre.
Za dostop do vlakna se je bilo treba dogovoriti z družbo Míla, ki je imela v lasti prostore, ki so bili potrebni za upravljanje vlakna.
The tender documents stipulate that access to the fibre was contingent upon various other issues than the lease and the lease price.
Islandska uprava za pošto in telekomunikacije je sčasoma izdala dve odločbi z navodili za družbo Míla, ki je bila vodilni udeleženec na trgu, da družbi Vodafone odobri dostop do priključnih točk za razumno plačilo.
According to clause 2.3 it was for the lessee to obtain necessary facilities and assembly points to the fibre.
Islandski organi predlagajo dokaze od družbe Vodafone v zvezi z njenimi dodatnimi stroški pri pridobivanju dostopa do vlakna [22].
The Icelandic State did not even guarantee that the lessee would have access to such facilities.
Stroški naložbe družbe Vodafone v opremo, optične spoje in začetna plačila družbi Míla znašajo 130 milijonov ISK.
Furthermore, clause 2.7 stipulated that the lessee shall return the fibre in principle in the same condition as when it received it, but where the lessee has made amendments, the lessors shall acquire such amendments free of charge at the end of the contract period.
Poleg tega letne licenčnine za opremo znašajo 7,5 milijona ISK.
Access to the fibre had to be negotiated with Míla, which owned the facilities needed to operate the fibre.
To so dodatni stroški poleg letne zakupnine v vrednosti 19,15 milijona ISK, ki je vezana na indeks gibanja cen.
Eventually, the Icelandic Post and Telecom Administration (‘PTA’) issued two rulings instructing Míla, as a dominant market operator, to grant Vodafone access to the connection points for a reasonable fee.
Poleg tega družba Vodafone plača Islandski obalni straži mesečno pristojbino v vrednosti 15000 ISK za vsako priključno točko, ki ni zajeta v obstoječi sporazum z Islandsko obalno stražo.
The Icelandic authorities submit evidence from Vodafone regarding Vodafone's additional costs in obtaining access to the fibre [22].
To dokazuje, da v tem primeru „sredstva“ niso v lasti države, da se dobiček na podlagi zakupa deli z dejanskim lastnikom v skladu z načelom „ni stroškov, ni koristi“ in da islandski organi niso bili pooblaščeni za dodelitev popolnega dostopa do vlakna morebitnim vlagateljem.
Vodafone's investment costs in equipment, optic trunks and initial fees to Míla amount to ISK 130 million.
Ta dejstva so pomembna: prvič za oceno tega, ali so bila državna sredstva prenesena, drugič za obravnavo postopka oddaje javnega naročila, tretjič pa vplivajo na komercialne dejavnike v zvezi z ustrezno zakupno ceno.
In addition there are annual license fees for the equipment of ISK 7,5 million.
Poleg tega dejstva dokazujejo, da je primerjava med hipotetičnim komercialnim akterjem na trgu in državo skoraj nemogoča, saj noben udeleženec na trgu ne bi mogel biti v primerljivem položaju.
This expenditure comes in addition to the annual rental charge of ISK 19,15 million, which is linked to a price index.
Omejitve zveze NATO, opisane v nadaljevanju, ter zapleteno lastništvo in porazdelitev dohodkov bi za običajnega udeleženca na trgu bili povsem tuji dejavniki.
Furthermore, Vodafone pays to the Icelandic Coast Guard (‘LHG’) a monthly fee of ISK 15000 for each connection point beyond the ones covered in the existing agreement with LHG.
Omejitve zveze NATO in verjetnost njihovega uveljavljanja
This demonstrates that the ‘resources’ in this case are not owned by the state, the financial gain of the lease is shared with the real owner according to the no-cost no-gain principle and that the Icelandic authorities did not have authority to grant potential investors full access to the fibre.
Islandski organi menijo, da je verjetnost uporabe ali razveljavitve s strani zveze NATO lahko različna v času trajanja zakupne pogodbe in da Islandija ali zveza NATO na to ne more vplivati.
These facts are important: firstly for the assessment of whether state resources were transferred, secondly when considering the tender procedure and thirdly they affect the commercial drivers for the appropriate lease price.
Narava omejitev zveze NATO pa ima precejšen in negativen učinek na uporabo vlakna v komercialne namene.
Finally, the facts demonstrate that the comparison between a hypothetical commercial actor on the market and the state is almost impossible, as no market participant could have been in a comparable situation.
Učinek na tržno zakupno ceno je negativen in islandski organi ocenjujejo, da ta negativni učinek na ceno znaša 15–25 %.
The NATO restrictions discussed below and the complex ownership and distribution of revenue would be completely alien to a normal market operator.
Take omejitve ne obstajajo v zvezi z vlakni, ki jih upravlja družba Míla.
The NATO restrictions and probabilities of exercise
Postopek oddaje javnega naročila
The Icelandic authorities submit that the probability of NATO use or revocation may vary during the tenure of the lease agreement and are beyond the control of Iceland or NATO.
Islandski organi trdijo, da se postopek oddaje javnega naročila iz leta 2008 lahko obravnava kot ustrezna metoda za določanje tržne cene.
Nevertheless, the NATO restrictions, by their nature, have a significant and negative impact on the utilisation of the fibre for commercial purposes.
Zlasti glede na lastniško strukturo, omejitve v zvezi z obrambno vlogo zveze NATO in naravo zadevnega sredstva, ne bi noben zasebni prodajalec, ki bi moral upoštevati vse te pomembne dejavnike, obravnaval postopka, v katerem bi edino merilo bila zakupna cena.
The impact on the rental market price is negative, and the Icelandic authorities estimate the negative effect on price at 15-25 %.
Islandski organi trdijo, da je uporaba šestih različnih razpisnih meril za dodelitev povsem utemeljena, in se ne strinjajo s stališčem, ki ga je Nadzorni organ izrazil v svoji odločbi o začetku postopka, in sicer da bi merilo o spodbujanju konkurence lahko postavilo prvotnega operaterja v slabši položaj.
No such restrictions exist as regards the fibres operated by Míla.
Zlasti opozarjajo, da družba Míla ni imela poslovnega interesa za vlakno zveze NATO.
The tender process
V skladu s tem bi bilo treba zavreči kakršno koli utemeljitev družbe Míla, da bi hipotetično lahko predložila boljšo ponudbo.
The Icelandic authorities maintain that the 2008 tender process qualified as a proper method to establish market price.
Kakršna koli ponudba družbe Míla ne bi bila dobronamerna poslovna ponudba.
In particular, given the ownership structure, the restrictions in relation to the NATO defence function and the nature of the asset at stake, no private vendor, having to take into consideration all these relevant factors, would have considered a process in which the only criteria would have been the lease price.
Islandski organi trdijo, da bi imeli pravico izključiti takšno ponudbo na podlagi sodbe v zadevi T-244/08, Konsum Nord proti Komisiji [23].
The Icelandic authorities claim that the six different award criteria of the tender are fully justified and do not agree with the view expressed by the Authority in its opening decision that the criterion of stimulation of competition might be to the disadvantage of the incumbent operator.
Islandski organi nasprotujejo stališču, ki ga je izrazil pritožnik, in sicer da je navedba najmanjše cene v razpisu odvrnila ponudnike od konkuriranja pri ceni.
They note in particular that Míla had no commercial interest in the NATO fibre.
Merilo o najmanjši ceni ne omejuje konkurence pri ceni.
Accordingly, any argument by Míla that it could hypothetically have made a higher offer should be disregarded.
Ponudniki so ponudili tako visoko ceno, kot se jim je zdela poslovno sprejemljiva.
Any bid by Míla would not have been a good faith commercial offer.
Če najmanjša cena ne bi bila določena, bi to lahko zgolj spodbudilo nižje ponudbe, kot so bile dejansko pridobljene v postopku, najnižja cena v razponu cen pa bi se samo znižala.
The Icelandic authorities argue that they would have had the right to exclude such a bid following the judgment in Case T-244/08 Konsum Nord v Commission [23].
Dejstvo, da je bila večina ponudb v ozkem cenovne razponu, lahko zgolj pomeni zadržanost trga do preseganja najmanjše cene zaradi poslovnih razlogov.
The Icelandic authorities contest the view expressed by the complainant that the setting of a minimum price in the tender had discouraged bidders from competing on prices.
Islandski organi poudarjajo, da je razpis dejansko vključeval dva ločena cenovna elementa in ne enega.
A minimum price criterion does not limit competition for price.
Poleg zakupne cene so ponudniki konkurirali tudi v številu omrežnih priključnih točk, ki so se jih zavezali vgraditi.
The bidders would go as high as they deem commercially viable.
Vsaka taka priključna točka zahteva precejšnje naložbe, ki jih ob koncu zakupa ne bo pridobil zakupnik, ampak bodo povečale vrednost vlakna zveze NATO.
The removal of the minimum price could only encourage lower bids than were actually obtained in the process and the price range would only increase downwards.
Strokovna ocenjevalna študija podjetja Mannvit
The fact that most of the bids were within a narrow price range can only indicate reluctance by the market to go above the minimum price due to commercial reasons.
V odstavku 87 Odločbe nadzornega organa št. 410/12/COL o začetku postopka se od islandskih organov zahteva, da predložijo neodvisno strokovno oceno o tržni ceni zakupnine.
The Icelandic authorities highlight that the tender actually contained not only one but two separate price components.
Islandski organi so najprej razumeli, da je ta zahteva odvisna od tega, da bi islandski organi preklicali utemeljitve v zvezi s postopkom oddaje javnega naročila in da bi dejanska zakupnina bila ustrezno merilo za takšno tržno ceno.
Besides the rental price, the bidders were also competing on the number of network termination points they committed to install.
Ker so bile po mnenju islandskih organov navedene trditve utemeljene, v začetne pripombe, ki so jih pripravili, ni bila vključena nobena ocenjevalna študija.
Each such termination point requires substantial investments that will not be recovered by the lessee at the end of the lease, but rather increase the value of the NATO fibre.
V odziv na pripombe tretje strani in zlasti utemeljitev, ki jih je v zvezi z domnevno tržno vrednostjo zadevne pravice do zakupa predložila družba Míla, pa so islandski organi zahtevali in zagotovili ocenjevalno študijo strokovnega svetovalnega podjetja Mannvit [24].
The expert valuation study by Mannvit
Mannvit je mednarodno svetovalno podjetje na področju inženirstva, tehničnih storitev in inovacij, ki je islandskim organom že svetovalo o postopku oddaje javnega naročila v obravnavanem primeru.
In paragraph 87 of the Authority's opening Decision No 410/12/COL, the Icelandic authorities were requested to submit an independent expert evaluation of the market price of the rental charge.
Podjetje Mannvit kot izhodišče primerja vlakno zveze NATO, ki ga je zakupila družba Vodafone, s ponudbo za proizvod (spojni zakupljeni vodi), ki jo je družba Míla navedla v svoji pritožbi (glej uvodno izjavo 56 v nadaljevanju za najnovejši izračun).
It was the initial understanding of the Icelandic authorities that this request was contingent upon the Icelandic authorities withdrawing arguments relating to the tender process and the actual rental charge being an appropriate proxy for such market price.
Podjetje Mannvit pojasni več pomembnih razlik:
As these arguments were in the view of the Icelandic authorities upheld, no valuation study was included in the initial comments prepared by the Icelandic authorities.
Regulirana tarifa družbe Míla za storitve zakupljenega voda vlaken se uporablja samo za storitve med obstoječimi priključnimi točkami z obstoječo opremo za prenos.
However, in response to the third party comments and notably the arguments put forward by Míla regarding the alleged market value of the lease right in question, the Icelandic authorities requested and provided a valuation study by the expert consultant Mannvit [24].
Vlakno, ki ga je zakupila družba Vodafone, pa je zahtevalo vgradnjo opreme za prenos na 30 lokacijah.
Mannvit is an international consultancy firm in the fields of engineering, technical services and innovation, and had already advised the Icelandic authorities on the tender process in the present case.
Podjetje Mannvit je ocenilo, da povprečni strošek vgradnje te opreme znaša 4 milijone ISK na priključno točko, z zmanjšanjem vrednosti za 15 % na leto, predvidenimi odhodki iz poslovanja, ki znašajo 20 % naložbe v osnovna sredstva, in tehtanimi povprečnimi stroški kapitala, ki znašajo 8,5 % naložbe v osnovna sredstva [25].
As a starting point, Mannvit compares the NATO fibre leased by Vodafone with the offer for the product (trunk leased lines) quoted by Míla in its complaint (see recital 56 below for the most recent calculation).
Podjetje Mannvit je izračunalo, da skupni letni strošek znaša 52 milijonov ISK za naložbe, ki so zahtevane, da bi bila zakupna cena, ki jo plača družba Vodafone, primerljiva s ponudbo družbe Míla.