This European Commission made several mistakes. lufthansa could not find funding denying that Lufthansa has significant market power at some airports and commitments that do not guarantee the protection of competition effective in the market.
These are the conclusions of the EU General Court in a decision this Wednesday. deal with airlines ryanair and the vulture and the Community Manager’s decision to approve the German Government’s 6,000 million recapitalization plan for the airline.
The case dates back three years. On 12 June 2020, the German Government notified the European Commission of individual assistance to the airline in the form of recapitalization of 6,000 million euros. This was part of the recapitalization Comprehensive package of measures in favor of the group to restore equity status and liquidity As a result of the situation created by the covid-19 pandemic, group companies
Controversial measure divided into three parts: approximately €300 million equity interest, approximately €4,700 million non-voting non-voting shares and €1,000 million non-voting shares with convertible notes. All of this was funded by the then-Angela Merkel Government through the Economic Stabilization Fund, created to support companies affected by the crisis caused by the coronavirus, particularly in sectors like aviation, where almost the entire European fleet was stranded after border closures and hard travel. restrictions to try to contain the pandemic.
As verified by the European court, European competition services failed to initiate the usual formal investigation and several companies – Ryanair and Condor – appealed to the EU General Court for the annulment of the aid, claiming that: Brussels had not taken into account the various requirements and demands. created by the interim framework for aid approved during the pandemic. The court now upholds both airlines’ appeals, but the Community Manager can challenge the decision on appeal.