SELLING SHARES OF STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES – METHODS APPLIED IN PRIVATIZATION PROCESS AND OPEN ISSUES

Suvremeni trendovi u državama članicama Europske unije i u Republici Hrvatskoj ukazuju na trend prodaje dionica iz državnog portfelja. U provedbi prodaje pojavljuju se različita pitanja: od odabira prikladnog modaliteta prodaje do postizanja najbolje prodajne cijene. Kako EU pod povećalom prati odabire li država modalitet prodaje u skladu s pravom o državnim potporama i slobodom kretanja kapitala, pred autorice se postavilo pitanje na koji način zaštititi nacionalne interese prilikom prodaje, pogotovo ako se radi o društvima od strateškog interesa za Republiku Hrvatsku. Autorice su ustanovile da je u hrvatskom pravu predviđeno sedam modaliteta prodaje, od kojih neki dozvoljavaju daljnje modeliranje uvjeta. Pri izboru pojedinog modaliteta, potrebno je voditi računa o Vodiču kojega je donijela Komisija, odnosno ponašati se u skladu s načelom Market Economy Vendor Principle. U protivnom se država izlaže opasnosti da navedena prodaja bude smatrana nedopuštenom državnom potporom te bi bio naređen njen povrat. U kontekstu potrebe zaštite nacionalnih interesa, autorice ukazuju na mogućnost da se o njima povede računa pozivom na izuzeća od slobode kretanja kapitala, kada se provode postupci privatizacije. U radu se daje prikaz recentne akvizicije Alstoma od strane General Electricsa kojom prigodom je Republika Francuska, donošenjem posebnog propisa, uspjela zaštititi svoje nacionalne interese. Iako je usvojeno rješenje još uvijek „u sustavu praćenja Komisije“ postavlja se pitanje treba li i Republika Hrvatska ići tim putem.Recent trends in the EU Member States, as well as in the Republic of Croatia, show an increase in the sale of shares of state owned enterprises. In this paper authors sought to investigate permissive and available techniques of selling those shares. The dilemma is how to achieve the best selling price by choosing one of the prescribed methods without being in breach of the rules concerning state aid and free movement of capital. Moreover, since many state owned enterprises are playing vital role in the Croatian economy, the question arises how to protect national interests and in the same time stay in line with principles of free movement of capital and state aid rules. The Croatian law provides seven methods of selling the shares. When selecting the method, in order to be in compliance with state aid rules, it is necessary to take into account Market Economy Vendor Principle as spelled out in the Guidance Paper adopted by the Commission. Although this Guidance Paper does not represent an official position of the Commission on the issue, its importance is highlighted in the Commission’s decisions and court practices in the European Union. As far as principle of the free movement of capital is concerned, the question arises, whether some permissible exceptions as to it could be a source to protect national interest in companies that are of strategic interest. The paper gives an overview of the recent acquisition of Alstom by General Electric in which France protected its national strategic interests by issuing special decree in which it evokes the application of the permissive exceptions to the principle of the free movement of capital. Although the case is still “in the monitoring of the Commission”, authors explore viability of that method in the Republic of Croatia