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PARALLEL TEXTS
Aiuti di Stato: la Commissione dispone il recupero parziale degli aiuti di Stato concessi alle società di assicurazione del credito all'esportazione a breve termine Ducroire (Belgio) e SACE BT (Italia)
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-253_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-253_it.htm
Data documento: 20-03-2013
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State aid: Commission orders partial recovery of state aid granted to short-term export-credit insurance companies Ducroire of Belgium and SACE BT of Italy
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Aiuti di Stato: la Commissione dispone il recupero parziale degli aiuti di Stato concessi alle società di assicurazione del credito all'esportazione a breve termine Ducroire (Belgio) e SACE BT (Italia)
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The European Commission has concluded two separate in-depth investigations into support measures granted to Ducroire of Belgium and to SACE BT of Italy by their respective state-owned parent entities, Office National du Ducroire (ONDD) and SACE.
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La Commissione europea ha concluso due distinte indagini approfondite relative alle misure di aiuto che la società belga Ducroire e la società italiana SACE BT hanno ricevuto dalle rispettive società madre di proprietà dello Stato, Office National du Ducroire (ONDD) e SACE.
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In the case of SACE BT, the Commission found part of the aid to be in line with EU state aid rules, because it was granted on market terms.
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Per quanto riguarda SACE BT, la Commissione ha constatato che una parte degli aiuti è stata concessa conformemente alle norme UE sugli aiuti di Stato, essendo stata accordata a condizioni di mercato.
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For Ducroire, the Commission found that part of the measure supported activities that were not open to competition and therefore did not constitute state aid.
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Per quanto riguarda Ducroire, la Commissione ha concluso che una parte degli aiuti, essendo destinata ad attività che non erano aperte al gioco della concorrenza, non costituiva un aiuto di Stato.
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However, in both cases part of the state support was granted in breach of EU state aid rules because it subsidised insurance products that were readily available from private operators on the market. This procured an undue economic advantage to the beneficiaries, which they now have to pay back to the Italian and Belgian States.
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Tuttavia, in entrambi i casi, una parte delle misure di sostegno statale è stata concessa infrangendo le norme dell'Unione europea in materia di aiuti di Stato, essendo andata a sovvenzionare prodotti assicurativi che erano facilmente reperibili presso gli operatori privati presenti sul mercato e conferendo in questo modo un indebito vantaggio economico ai beneficiari, che questi ultimi sono ora tenuti a restituire allo Stato belga e allo Stato italiano, rispettivamente.
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“Short-term export credit insurance is a market in which private and state-controlled operators compete alongside each other.
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"Quello dell'assicurazione del credito all'esportazione a breve termine è un mercato in cui gli operatori privati competono accanto a soggetti pubblici.
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Using state aid to artificially create a new player or keep alive a less efficient player leads to crowding out viable competitors that have to operate without state subsidies. This is eventually detrimental to the level of price, quality and service offered by the sector" said Joaquín Almunia Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy.
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Utilizzare gli aiuti di Stato per creare artificialmente un nuovo operatore o mantenere in attività un operatore meno efficiente comporta l'esclusione di concorrenti validi che devono operare senza sovvenzioni statali ed esercita in ultima analisi un effetto nocivo sul livello dei prezzi, sulla qualità e sui servizi offerti dal settore" ha dichiarato Joaquín Almunia, vicepresidente della Commissione responsabile della politica di concorrenza.
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SACE BT
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SACE BT
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The Commission found an initial capital allocation of €105.8 million granted to SACE BT in 2004 to be in line with EU state aid rules, because the capital was injected into a newly created subsidiary with the objective of offering short-term export-credit insurance on market terms as well as other commercial activities.
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La Commissione ha constatato che il conferimento di capitale iniziale di 105,8 milioni di EUR concesso a SACE BT nel 2004 risulta conforme alle norme dell'Unione europea in materia di aiuti di Stato in quanto il capitale è stato conferito ad una controllata di nuova costituzione con l'obiettivo di offrire, oltre alla possibilità di svolgere altre attività commerciali, la possibilità di assicurazione del credito all'esportazione a breve termine a condizioni di mercato.
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However, for additional capital injections in 2009 to cover losses and a reinsurance cover in favour of SACE BT, totalling €70.2 million, the state-owned parent entity did not take into consideration the risk profile of the investment and therefore did not behave as a market economy investor would have, giving SACE BT an undue economic advantage.
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Tuttavia, nei casi delle ulteriori iniezioni di capitale del 2009, destinate a coprire le perdite subite, e della copertura riassicurativa di cui SACE BT ha beneficiato — misure il cui importo complessivo è stato pari a 70,2 milioni di EUR — la società madre di proprietà dello Stato non ha tenuto conto del profilo di rischio degli investimenti e non si è pertanto comportata come un investitore operante in un'economia di mercato, conferendo a SACE BT un indebito vantaggio economico.
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Ducroire
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Ducroire
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The Commission cleared €113.4 million of an initial capital injection totalling €150 million which was granted to Ducroire in 2004. This is because it benefitted products that were not offered – or offered in limited quantity - by private operators.
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Dei 150 milioni di EUR del conferimento di capitale iniziale concessi a Ducroire nel 2004, la Commissione ha autorizzato 113,4 milioni di EUR in quanto destinati a prodotti che non erano offerti — o che lo erano soltanto in quantità limitata — da operatori privati.
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However, for the remaining €36.6 million which supported activities that were open to competition, the Commission's investigation found that the expected profitability of the investment was not sufficient.
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Perquanto riguarda i restanti 36,6 milioni di EUR, tuttavia, che sono stati utilizzati per sostenere attività aperte al gioco della concorrenza, l'indagine della Commissione ha concluso che la redditività prevista dell'investimento non era sufficiente.
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The state-owned parent entity did not behave as a market economy investor would have and therefore gave Ducroire an undue economic advantage.
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La società madre di proprietà dello Stato non si è comportata come avrebbe fatto un investitore operante in un'economia di mercato, conferendo a SACE BT un indebito vantaggio economico.
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Background
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Contesto
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Ducroire and SACE BT provide insurance for short-term export-credit risks to businesses in Belgium and Italy.
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Sia Ducroire che SACE BT forniscono alle imprese che operano in Belgio e in Italia, rispettivamente, copertura assicurativa dei rischi di credito all'esportazione a breve termine.
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Following a complaint from a competitor, the Commission opened in-depth investigations in February 2011 (see IP/11/213).
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A seguito di una denuncia presentata da un concorrente, nel febbraio 2011 la Commissione ha avviato indagini approfondite (cfr. IP/11/213).
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Under EU state aid rules, interventions by State entities in companies carrying out economic activities can be considered to be free of aid if they are made on terms that a private agent operating under market conditions would have accepted (the so-called "market economy investor principle" or MEIP).
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Conformemente alle norme dell'Unione europea in materia di aiuti di Stato, gli interventi di soggetti pubblici in società che svolgono attività economiche possono essere considerati privi di elementi di aiuto se effettuati a condizioni che sarebbero accettate da un privato operante a condizioni di mercato ("principio dell'investitore operante in un'economia di mercato").
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If the MEIP is not respected, the state intervention involves state aid in the meaning of the EU rules, because it gave the beneficiary an undue economic advantage that its competitors did not receive.
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Se tale principio non viene rispettato, l'intervento statale comporta un aiuto di Stato ai sensi della normativa dell'Unione europea, in quanto conferisce al beneficiario un vantaggio economico indebito di cui non beneficiano i concorrenti.
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The Commission will then verify whether such aid can be found compatible with common EU rules that allow certain categories of aid.
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La Commissione verifica allora se tale aiuto possa essere considerato compatibile con le norme comuni dell'Unione europea che autorizzano determinate categorie di aiuto.
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The insurance of short-term export-credit has developed into a competitive market since the late 90s, when the Commission adopted a Communication aimed at removing distortions of competition brought about by the granting of state support to the sector (see IP/97/538).
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Il settore dell'assicurazione del credito all'esportazione a breve termine è diventato un mercato concorrenziale alla fine degli anni '90, quando la Commissione ha adottato una comunicazione intesa a eliminare le distorsioni della concorrenza determinate dalla concessione di aiuti statali al settore (v. IP/97/538).
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This does not prevent Member States from granting aid, for example, in the form of guarantees when insurance cover for export credit risks becomes temporarily unavailable on the market, as was the case during the financial crisis (see IP/10/1636) or in respect of buyers established in non-OECD countries.
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Ciò non impedisce agli Stati membri di concedere aiuti, ad esempio sotto forma di garanzie, allorché la copertura dei rischi di credito all'esportazione risulti temporaneamente indisponibile sul mercato, come si è verificato durante la crisi finanziaria (v.IP/10/1636), o a favore di acquirenti stabiliti in paesi non OCSE.
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The non-confidential versions of the decisions will be made available under the case numbers SA.23420 and SA.23425 and in the State Aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
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Una volta risolti eventuali problemi di riservatezza, le versioni non riservate della decisione saranno disponibili sul sito web della DG Concorrenza, nel Registro degli aiuti di Stato con i numeri SA.23420 e SA.23425.
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New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.
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Le nuove decisioni in materia di aiuti di Stato pubblicate su Internet e nella Gazzetta ufficiale figurano nel bollettino elettronico di informazione settimanale in materia di aiuti di Stato (State Aid Weekly e-News).
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
State aid: Commission orders partial recovery of state aid
granted to short-term export-credit insurance companies Ducroire of Belgium and
SACE BT of Italy
The European Commission has concluded two separate in-depth
investigations into support measures granted to Ducroire of Belgium and to SACE
BT of Italy by their respective state-owned parent entities, Office National du
Ducroire (ONDD) and SACE.
In the case of SACE BT, the Commission found part of the aid
to be in line with EU state aid rules, because it was granted on market terms.
For Ducroire, the Commission found that part of the measure
supported activities that were not open to competition and therefore did not
constitute state aid.
However, in both cases part of the state support was granted
in breach of EU state aid rules because it subsidised insurance products that
were readily available from private operators on the market. This procured an
undue economic advantage to the beneficiaries, which they now have to pay back
to the Italian and Belgian States.
“Short-term export credit insurance is a market in which
private and state-controlled operators compete alongside each other.
Using state aid to artificially create a new player or keep
alive a less efficient player leads to crowding out viable competitors that have
to operate without state subsidies. This is eventually detrimental to the level
of price, quality and service offered by the sector" said Joaquín Almunia
Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy.
SACE BT
The Commission found an initial capital allocation of €105.8
million granted to SACE BT in 2004 to be in line with EU state aid rules,
because the capital was injected into a newly created subsidiary with the
objective of offering short-term export-credit insurance on market terms as well
as other commercial activities.
However, for additional capital injections in 2009 to cover
losses and a reinsurance cover in favour of SACE BT, totalling €70.2 million,
the state-owned parent entity did not take into consideration the risk profile
of the investment and therefore did not behave as a market economy investor
would have, giving SACE BT an undue economic advantage.
Ducroire
The Commission cleared €113.4 million of an initial capital
injection totalling €150 million which was granted to Ducroire in 2004. This is
because it benefitted products that were not offered – or offered in limited
quantity - by private operators.
However, for the remaining €36.6 million which supported
activities that were open to competition, the Commission's investigation found
that the expected profitability of the investment was not sufficient.
The state-owned parent entity did not behave as a market
economy investor would have and therefore gave Ducroire an undue economic
advantage.
Background
Ducroire and SACE BT provide insurance for short-term
export-credit risks to businesses in Belgium and Italy.
Following a complaint from a competitor, the Commission opened
in-depth investigations in February 2011 (see IP/11/213).
Under EU state aid rules, interventions by State entities in
companies carrying out economic activities can be considered to be free of aid
if they are made on terms that a private agent operating under market conditions
would have accepted (the so-called "market economy investor principle" or MEIP).
If the MEIP is not respected, the state intervention involves
state aid in the meaning of the EU rules, because it gave the beneficiary an
undue economic advantage that its competitors did not receive.
The Commission will then verify whether such aid can be found
compatible with common EU rules that allow certain categories of aid.
The insurance of short-term export-credit has developed into a
competitive market since the late 90s, when the Commission adopted a
Communication aimed at removing distortions of competition brought about by the
granting of state support to the sector (see IP/97/538).
This does not prevent Member States from granting aid, for
example, in the form of guarantees when insurance cover for export credit risks
becomes temporarily unavailable on the market, as was the case during the
financial crisis (see IP/10/1636) or in respect of buyers established in
non-OECD countries.
The non-confidential versions of the decisions will be made
available under the case numbers SA.23420 and SA.23425 and in the State Aid
Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been
resolved.
New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in
the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.
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