natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The third parties all submit that the production and provision of free digital resources by a state-run entity such as the NDLA is unfair state-subsidised competition and should be found to be unlawful aid.
Če teh pogojev ne izpolnjuje, podpora podjetju NDLA ne spada na področje uporabe člena 61(1) Sporazuma EGP.
The FEP and the IPA submitted more extensive comments, which are summarised below:
V skladu z ustaljeno sodno prakso pojem „podjetje“ zajema „[…] vse subjekte, ki opravljajo gospodarsko dejavnost, ne glede na njihovo pravno obliko in njihov način financiranja“ [64].
Unfair competition arising from the aid granted to the NDLA will substantially undermine the ability of private sector publishers to continue to provide high-quality resources for this market.
Nadzorni organ ugotavlja, da podjetje NDLA v bistvu predstavlja sodelovanje med različnimi okrajnimi organi.
Such unfair competition will negatively affect education in Norway and have a harmful effect on both teacher and student performance; and
Zato prejemnik državnih sredstev ni podjetje NDLA, temveč posamezni okrajni organi, ki sodelujejo v projektu NDLA.
The most effective strategy for allocating state funding is to focus on the demand (school budget) side and not to implement a supply-side subsidy of free material that is not subject to competition (as is the case for the NDLA).
Kot je bilo navedeno, pa je lahko kateri koli subjekt podjetje v smislu pravil o državni pomoči, ne glede na njegovo pravno obliko in način financiranja.
In the former case, teachers have the funds to choose freely from a range of high-quality resources including OER and professionally published material.
Odločilno vprašanje je torej, ali se lahko zadevna dejavnost šteje za dejavnost gospodarske narave.
COMMENTS OF THE NORWEGIAN AUTHORITIES
Kot je podrobno opisano v oddelku II.1.1.2, je Nadzorni organ proučil, ali je sprememba statusa podjetja NDLA, pri čemer je od ad hoc sodelovanja ob ustanovitvi napredovalo do uradnega medobčinskega sodelovanja, ki se je začelo izvajati 1. julija 2009, kakor koli vplivala na razvrstitev njegovih dejavnosti.
The Norwegian authorities' position is that that the financing of the provision of free public upper secondary school may not be considered as state aid within the meaning of Article 61 of the EEA Agreement.
Nadzorni organ je sklenil, da sprememba statusa ni imela nobenega vpliva, saj ni povzročila nobenih pomembnih razlik v postopku sprejemanja odločitev, financiranju ali avtonomiji podjetja NDLA.
The Norwegian authorities underline the fact that the NDLA primarily purchases learning materials via public procurement procedures in the market.
Podjetje NDLA kupuje, razvija in objavlja digitalno učno gradivo.
It is only when the NDLA is unable to procure material of sufficient quality that it develops these materials in collaboration with teachers and the county authorities.
Pritožnik trdi, da so to dejavnosti gospodarske narave.
ASSESSMENT
V zvezi s tem poudarja, da so digitalno učno gradivo do zdaj razvijali in objavljali zasebni ponudniki.
THE PRESENCE OF STATE AID
Pritožnik trdi, da podjetje NDLA z razvijanjem in objavljanjem lastnega digitalnega učnega gradiva neposredno konkurira tem zasebnim ponudnikom.
According to Article 61(1) EEA ‘[s]ave as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States 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 Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement.’
Nadzorni organ ugotavlja, da je gospodarska dejavnost dejavnost, ki vključuje ponujanje blaga in storitev na trgu [65].
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Obstoj trga je lahko odvisen od načina njegove organizacije v zadevni državi [66], pri čemer se torej lahko razvrstitev posamezne dejavnosti kot gospodarske spreminja.
It follows from the above that state aid rules only apply to advantages granted to undertakings.
Nadzorni organ priznava, da številna podjetja ponujajo digitalno učno gradivo v okviru svojih gospodarskih dejavnosti.
Prior to examining whether the conditions for state aid are met in this case, it is necessary first to examine whether the NDLA qualifies as an undertaking within the meaning of Article 61(1) EEA.
Na podlagi sodbe Sodišča Efte v zadevi Private Barnehagers Landsforbund [67] je sicer mogoče sklepati, da dejstvo, da lahko zasebni izvajalci ponujajo dejavnost kot gospodarsko dejavnost, ne izključuje tega, da jo lahko tudi država ponuja kot negospodarsko dejavnost.
If this is not the case, then the support to the NDLA does not fall within the scope of Article 61(1) EEA.
V zadevi Private Barnehagers Landsforbund je moralo Sodišče Efte oceniti, ali poslovanje občinskih vrtcev na Norveškem pomeni gospodarsko dejavnost.
It is established case law that the concept of an undertaking comprises ‘(…) any entity engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal status and the way in which it is financed’ [64].
Pritožnik je v tem primeru trdil, da je edino pomembno vprašanje v zvezi s tem to, „[…] ali občine na zadevnem trgu opravljajo storitve, ki bi jih lahko vsaj načeloma izvajali zasebni udeleženci za namene ustvarjanja dobička“.
The Authority notes that the NDLA is essentially a cooperation between different county authorities.
Vendar je Sodišče Efte v svoji sodbi poudarilo, da „[k]adar se narava dejavnosti, ki jo izvaja javni subjekt, ocenjuje ob upoštevanju pravil o državni pomoči, ni pomembno, ali bi dejavnost načeloma lahko opravljal zasebni izvajalec.
Thus the recipient of the state funds is not the NDLA itself but rather the individual county authorities cooperating in the NDLA project.
Na podlagi takšne razlage bi dejansko vsaka dejavnost države, ki ne vključuje izvajanja javnega organa, pomenila gospodarsko dejavnost“ [68].
However, as indicated above, any entity can be an undertaking within the meaning of the state aid rules irrespective of its legal status and the way it is financed.
Pravzaprav bi takšna razlaga neupravičeno omejevala diskrecijsko pravico držav do zagotavljanja nekaterih storitev prebivalcem.
The decisive question is therefore whether the activity in question, can be considered to be of an economic nature.
V številnih primerih je bilo ugotovljeno, da se lahko podobne dejavnosti izvajajo kot negospodarske ali kot gospodarske dejavnosti, pri čemer le za slednje veljajo pravila o državni pomoči.
As detailed below in section II.1.1.2, the Authority has considered whether the NDLA's change in status, going from an ad hoc cooperation at its inception to a formal inter-municipal cooperation starting on 1 July 2009, had any impact on the classification of the NDLA's activities.
Evropska sodišča to priznavajo v zadevah v zvezi z zdravstvenimi sistemi (npr. zasebna in javna zdravstvena zavarovanja [69]), sistemi pokojninskih skladov (npr. zasebni in javni pokojninski skladi [70]) in sektorji izobrazbe (npr. zasebni in javni vrtci [71]).
The Authority has concluded that the change in status had no impact, since there were no material differences in the decision-making, the financing or the autonomy of the NDLA when it changed its status.
Sodišče Efte je v sodbi v zadevi Private Barnehagers Landsforbund [68] Prav tam, točka 80.
The NDLA purchases, develops and publishes digital learning material.
tudi pojasnilo, da bi se lahko v primerih državne pomoči za ugotovitev, ali je neka dejavnost gospodarska, uporabilo razlogovanje Sodišča v sodbi v zadevi Humbel [72] v zvezi s pojmom „storitve“ v smislu temeljnih svoboščin.
The complainant submits that these activities are of an economic nature.
Evropska sodišča so zlasti na področju izobraževanja in raziskav razsodila, da zagotavljanje določenih storitev s strani ustanov, ki so del javnega šolskega sistema in se financirajo iz državne blagajne, ne izpolnjuje pogojev za razvrstitev kot zagotavljanje storitev v skladu s členom 50 Pogodbe ES (zdaj člen 57 PDEU).
In that regard the complainant emphasises that, until now, private suppliers have developed and published digital learning material.
Sodišče je v zadevi Komisija proti Nemčiji [73] na podlagi sodbe v zadevi Humbel razsodilo zlasti, da „z vzpostavitvijo in ohranjanjem takega javnega šolskega sistema, običajno financiranega iz državne blagajne […], država nima namena sodelovati v pridobitnih dejavnostih, temveč izpolnjuje naloge, ki jih ima do svojih prebivalcev na socialnem, kulturnem in izobraževalnem področju“ [74].
The complainant argues that by developing and publishing digital learning material of its own, the NDLA has entered into direct competition with these private suppliers.
Poleg spremembe Zakona o šolstvu (glej uvodno izjavo 20) je Norveška sklenila, da bo zagotavljanje učnega gradiva, vključno z digitalnim učnim gradivom, za učence brezplačno.
The Authority observes that an economic activity is any activity consisting in offering goods and services on a market [65].
Ta nova določba je sestavni del javnega šolskega sistema.
Whether a market exists or not may be dependent upon the way it is organised in the State concerned [66] and the classification of a particular activity as economic or not may thus change over time.
Vprašanje, na katerega je torej treba odgovoriti, se nanaša na izvajanje te določbe v praksi, tako da bo razvrstitev zadevne dejavnosti kot gospodarske ali negospodarske odvisna od (i) njenega cilja in (ii) načina izvajanja.
The Authority recognises that a number of companies offer digital learning material as part of their economic activities.
Cilj
However, it follows from the judgment of the EFTA Court in Private Barnehagers Landsforbund [67], that the fact that an activity can be offered by private operators as an economic activity does not exclude the fact that it can also be offered by the State as a non-economic activity.
Pri vzpostavitvi in ohranjanju zadevnega subjekta si država ne sme prizadevati za izvajanje dobičkonosne dejavnosti, temveč mora izvajati svoja pooblastila, da bi izpolnila svoje obveznosti do prebivalcev [75].
In the Private Barnehagers Landsforbund case, the EFTA Court had to assess whether the operation of municipal kindergartens in Norway constituted an economic activity.
V skladu z ustaljeno sodno prakso, ki je izražena tudi v praksi sprejemanja odločitev Evropske komisije, država z vzpostavljanjem in ohranjanjem državnega šolskega sistema izpolnjuje svoje obveznosti do prebivalcev na socialnem, kulturnem in izobraževalnem področju [76].
The complainant in this case had argued that the only relevant question in that regard was ‘(…) whether the municipalities are providing services on a given market which could, at least in principle, be carried out by private actors in order to make a profit’.
Norveška vlada je v zvezi s tem v času šolske reforme leta 2006 sklenila, da bo država brezplačno zagotavljala učno gradivo, pri čemer so to določbo razen Osla podprli vsi okrajni organi, tako da so združili svoja sredstva in ustanovili podjetje NDLA.
However, in its judgment the EFTA Court pointed out that ‘[w]hen the nature of an activity carried out by a public entity is assessed with regard to the State aid rules, it cannot matter whether the activity might, in principle, be pursued by a private operator.
Kot so navedli norveški organi, je cilj podjetja NDLA zagotavljanje digitalnega učnega gradiva.
Such an interpretation would basically bring any activity of the State not consisting in an exercise of public authority under the notion of economic activity’ [68].
Pri opravljanju svoje naloge si podjetje NDLA prizadeva predvsem za nakup učnega gradiva prek postopkov oddaje javnega naročila na trgu.
Indeed, such an interpretation would unduly limit the discretion of states to provide certain services to their population.
Če podjetje NDLA ne more kupiti primernega gradiva, ga razvije v tesnem sodelovanju z učitelji in sodelujočimi okrajnimi organi [77].
There are a number of cases in which it has been recognised that similar activities can be carried out both as non-economic as well as economic activities and where only the latter are subject to state aid rules.
Po mnenju pritožnika je na podlagi sodb Sodišča v zadevah Humbel in Private Barnehagers Landsforbund razvidno, da medtem ko dejavnosti, obravnavane v teh sodbah (tj. poučevanje predmetov in zagotavljanje mest v vrtcih), spadajo na področje javnega šolskega sistema, druge dejavnosti (kot so nakupovanje, razvoj in dobava digitalnega učnega gradiva) ne spadajo na področje javnega šolskega sistema, zlasti če je trg za te dejavnosti že obstajal, preden jih je začela izvajati država.
This has been accepted by the European courts in cases concerning health systems (e.g. private and public sickness insurances [69]), pension fund systems (e.g. private and public pension funds [70]) and the education sector (e.g. private and public kindergartens [71]).
Vendar Nadzorni organ ni prejel nobenih navedb, da je Sodišče ali Sodišče Efte nameravalo omejiti področje dejavnosti, ki spadajo na področje javnega šolstva, na način, na katerega se sklicuje pritožnik (tj. na samo poučevanje in opravljanje storitev predšolske vzgoje).
In Private Barnehagers Landsforbund [68] Ibid., paragraph 80.
Nadzorni organ ravno nasprotno ugotavlja, da imajo države Efte na splošno široko polje proste presoje pri izbiri dejavnosti, ki jih nameravajo ponuditi svojim prebivalcem na področju socialne, kulturne in izobraževalne politike [78].
, the EFTA Court further explained that, in order to establish whether a given activity is economic or not, the reasoning of the Court of Justice in its Humbel judgment [72], which concerned the notion of ‘service’ within the meaning of the fundamental freedoms, could be applied to state aid cases.
Nadzorni organ ugotavlja, da so nakup, razvoj in dobava učnega gradiva povezani z zagotavljanjem učne vsebine in so zato tesno povezani s samim poučevanjem.
In the field of education and research specifically, the European courts have held that the provision of certain services by establishments forming part of a system of public education and financed by the public purse did not qualify as the provision of services under Article 50 EC (now Article 57 TFEU).
Nadzorni organ ugotavlja, da so dejavnosti, ki jih izvaja podjetje NDLA, da bi lahko okrajni organi opravljali svoje izobraževalne funkcije, prepletene s socialnimi obveznostmi, ki niso primerljive s ponudbo trgovinske narave, in da se subvencije dodeljujejo le z namenom opravljanja zelo specifične izobraževalne funkcije.
The Court of Justice held in Commission v Germany [73], relying on the Humbel judgment in particular, that ‘by establishing and maintaining such a system of public education, normally financed from the public purse […], the State does not intend to become involved in activities for remuneration, but carries out its task towards its population in the social, cultural and educational areas’ [74].
Gradivo, ki ga kupuje in proizvaja podjetje NDLA, je dejansko posebej prilagojeno potrebam državnega učnega načrta učencev in učiteljev srednjih šol.
Further to the amendment of the Education Act (see paragraph 20 above), the Norwegian State has decided that the provision of learning materials, including digital learning materials, will be provided free of charge to students.
Pritožnik pa je navedel, da je treba razlikovati med dejavnostmi, ki so nujne za zagotavljanje javnega šolstva, in dejavnostmi, ki za to niso nujne – pritožnik v zvezi s tem kot primer navaja, da bi lahko podjetje NDLA začelo proizvajati pohištvo za šole, kar po mnenju pritožnika ne bi bilo v okviru njegovih pristojnosti na področju javnega šolstva.
This new provision forms an integral part of the system of public education.
Pritožnik v zvezi s tem navaja, da proizvodnja digitalnega učnega gradiva ni sestavni del obveznosti javne službe in jo je zato treba obravnavati kot gospodarsko dejavnost [79].
The question then to be answered relates to the implementation of this provision in practice, thus the qualification of the activity in question as economic or non-economic will depend on (i) its objective and (ii) the way it is carried out.
Nadzorni organ v nasprotju z mnenjem pritožnika ugotavlja, da proizvodnje pohištva ni mogoče primerjati s proizvodnjo učnega gradiva, katere namen je podpreti državni učni načrt.
Objective
Proizvodnja učnega gradiva je dejansko tesno povezana z dejavnostmi poučevanja javnega šolskega sistema, kar pa verjetno ne velja za proizvodnjo pohištva.
The State, in establishing and maintaining the entity in question, must not seek to engage in gainful activity, but must rather exercise its power in order to fulfil its duties towards its population [75].
Javna narava spletišča
It is established case law, which is also reflected in the European Commission's decisional practice, that in setting up and maintaining the national education system the State fulfils its duties towards its own population in the social, cultural and educational fields [76].
Pritožnik in tretje osebe so v zvezi z javnim značajem spletišča trdili, da predstavlja težavo, pri čemer so navedli, da: „[i]ronično, lahko programi OER, ki jih financira država, učiteljem in učencem omejijo izbiro, ker ogrožajo konkurenčnost ponudnikov iz zasebnega sektorja in s tem njihovo pripravljenost za naložbe, da bi se ti ponudniki postopno umaknili s trga“ [80].
In that regard, the Norwegian government decided in the course of the 2006 educational reform that the State would provide learning material free of charge and all the county authorities except Oslo decided to comply with this obligation by pooling their resources through the setting up of the NDLA.
Kot je podrobneje pojasnjeno v nadaljevanju, javni značaj ne spremeni mnenja Nadzornega organa, ki je gradivo na spletišču ocenil kot negospodarsko.
As stated by the Norwegian authorities, the NDLA's objective is to provide digital learning materials.
Nadzorni organ ugotavlja, da pogodbenice na področju šolstva nimajo precej širokega polja proste presoje le pri določitvi cilja svojih nalog, temveč tudi pri določitvi načina doseganja tega cilja.
In order to fulfil this duty, the NDLA primarily seeks to purchase the learning materials through public procurement procedures in the market.
Norveški organi so se odločili, da bo spletišče podjetja NDLA ostalo javno dostopno.
When the NDLA is unable to procure suitable material, it will develop this in close collaboration with the teachers and the participating county authorities [77].
Posledično distribucija digitalnega učnega gradiva ni omejena na učence, vpisane v zadevne šole v zadevnih okrajih.
According to the complainant, it follows from the judgments in Humbel and Private Barnehagers Landsforbund, that, while the activities dealt with in these judgments (i.e. giving courses and offering places in kindergartens) fall within the scope of the public education system, other activities (such as the purchase, development and supply of digital learning material) do not fall within the scope of the public education system, in particular, if a market for such activities was already in existence prior to the State's activities.
Vendar je širjenje znanja zunaj neposrednega kroga načrtovanih naslovov običajna praksa na področju evropskih tradicij poučevanja.
The Authority, however, does not see any indications that the Court of Justice or the EFTA Court intended to limit the scope of activities falling within the scope of public education in such a manner as suggested by the complainant (i.e. to actual teaching and the provision of kindergarten services).
Predavanja na evropskih javnih univerzah so običajno dejansko odprta za splošno javnost in univerze v spletu redno zagotavljajo avdio in avdiovizualne predstavitve predavanj.
On the contrary, the Authority notes that EFTA States generally have a wide margin of discretion when choosing the activities they intend to offer to their population in matters of social, cultural and educational policy [78].
Te prakse se lahko obravnavajo kot podaljšek izobraževalne misije, kar ne pomeni samodejno, da so dejavnosti gospodarske narave.
The Authority observes that the purchase, development and supply of learning material is linked to the provision of teaching content and is thus closely linked to the actual teaching itself.
Pravzaprav v tem določenem primeru učno gradivo predstavlja podlago in okvir poučevanja.
The Authority finds that the activities that are being carried out by the NDLA in order for the county authorities to fulfil their educational functions are intertwined with social obligations, which are not comparable to an offer of a commercial character, and that subsidies are only granted in order to fulfil a very specific educational function.
To poudarja tudi dejstvo, da je razvoj učnega gradiva odvisen od učnega načrta, ki ga določijo javni organi.
Indeed, the material being bought and produced by the NDLA is specifically tailored to meet the needs of the national curriculum of secondary school students and teachers.
Tako stališče je izraženo tudi v obsegu dejavnosti podjetja NDLA v statutu, ki se sklicuje na cilj zagotavljanja digitalnega učnega gradiva, prilagojenega potrebam učencev in učiteljev.
The complainant has, however, argued that it is important to distinguish between activities that are necessary for the provision of public education and those that are not — the complainant illustrates this point by stating that the NDLA could start producing furniture for schools, which the complainant submits would not be part of the public education remit.
Dejstvo, da so bile dejavnosti prepuščene trgu, preden je dejavnosti začela izvajati država, ne vpliva na to oceno, saj ne more biti pomembno, ali je dejavnost morda (ali dejansko) opravljal zasebni ponudnik [81].
In that respect, the complainant states that the production of digital teaching material is not an inherent part of the public service obligation and thus should be considered as an economic activity [79].
Nadzorni organ je zato sklenil, da javni značaj spletišča ne pomeni, da so dejavnosti podjetja NDLA gospodarske narave.
The Authority finds, contrary to the view of the complainant, that the production of furniture cannot be compared to the production of teaching materials designed to support a national curriculum.
Sprememba pravnega statusa z ad hoc sodelovanja na medobčinsko sodelovanje ni imela nobenega učinka na postopek sprejemanja odločitev in ne more vplivati na razvrstitev dejavnosti kot negospodarske dejavnosti
Indeed, the production of teaching materials is closely linked to the teaching activities of the public educational system, whilst that is unlikely to be the case with the production of furniture.
Sodišče Efte je v sodbi, ki razveljavlja Odločbo, obravnavalo več vidikov, ki se ne nanašajo na naravo same dejavnosti, temveč na organizacijske vidike podjetja NDLA, njegovo financiranje in avtonomijo.
Open nature of the website
Ti vidiki se nanašajo na praktično izvajanje zahteve glede zagotavljanja brezplačnega učnega gradiva in so obravnavani v nadaljevanju.
With regard to the open nature of the website the complainant and third parties have argued that this is a problematic element by stating that: ‘[i]ronically, government-funded OER programmes can restrict choice for teachers and learners, because they undermine the ability of private sector providers to compete and thus to have the confidence to invest, so that these providers progressively withdraw from the market’ [80].
Sprememba pravnega statusa z ad hoc sodelovanja na uradno medobčinsko sodelovanje v skladu z oddelkom 27 Zakona o lokalni samoupravi ni imela nobenega učinka na postopek sprejemanja odločitev (prav tako ni sprememba financiranja na noben način vplivala na organizacijo podjetja NDLA).
As detailed below, the open nature does not change the Authority's assessment of the website material as non-economic.
Pritožnik ni navedel, da se je področje dejavnosti podjetja NDLA od faze ad hoc sodelovanja do uradne vzpostavitve kot medobčinskega sodelovanja spremenilo.