State Aid Uncovered Blog

Introduction On the same day that the General Court ruled on the recapitalisation of SAS, it also ruled on the recapitalisation of Lufthansa in case T-34/21, Ryanair v European Commission.1 In the latter case, Ryanair sought the annulment of Commission decision SA.57153 of June 2020 by which the Commission approved injection of capital in Deutsche Lufthansa [DLH] of the amount […]

Introduction Ryanair has challenged many Commission decisions authorising State aid for its rivals. In 2021 and 2022, the General Court delivered 12 judgments concerning covid-19-related aid granted to other airlines. Of those 12 judgments, Ryanair temporarily won only three. Its wins were transient because the General Court suspended the annulment of the relevant Commission decisions, on the grounds that the […]

Introduction On 24 April 2023, the Commission released the 2022 version of the State aid Scoreboard which this year runs to a record 226 pages.[1] It covers the State aid that was granted in 2021 and contains information on both covid-19 measures and non-pandemic aid. Covid-19 related aid reached EUR 191 billion, or 57% of total aid expenditure. Non-crisis aid […]

Introduction On Thursday, 18 November 2021, the European Commission adopted a sixth amendment to the Temporary Framework [TF] for State aid measures to combat covid-19. The document laying down the new amendments can be accessed here: https://ec.europa.eu/competition-policy/document/download/a822acec-f0c6-4c8c-ab49-fc2dd34188ec_en The TF was scheduled to expire on 31 December 2021. The new amendment extends its validity to 30 June 2022. It also changes […]

Any direct public support of financial institutions affected by covid-19 has to comply with both State aid rules and the rules of the banking union. Introduction The Temporary Framework for State aid to combat covid-19 excludes financial institutions. But it does not mean that banks do not benefit indirectly from State aid granted to other sectors of the economy. This […]

Micro and small enterprises in difficulty are no longer excluded from the Temporary Framework. Undertakings in difficulty as a result of COVID-19 are no longer excluded from the GBER and Guidelines. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published COVID-19 measures, as of 3 July 2020: 185* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 17 Article 107(3)(b): 155; Article 107(3)(c): 16 Five […]

A company is in difficulty if, in practice, its accumulated net losses exceed 50% of its subscribed capital, regardless of whether the subscribed capital is formally written down. The classification of a company as being in difficulty is independent of the sector in which it operates and of whether a private investor would be willing to invest in it. Temporary […]

Member States will be allowed to provide grants, guarantees and loans to companies to alleviate the effects of the corona virus. Introduction At the end of 2009, the European Commission adopted a Temporary Framework of State aid rules to enable Member States to support companies that were harmed by the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. Now, the corona […]

Only EU institutions can provide assurances that aid is granted legally. The amount of State aid in a state guarantee given to a company in difficulty can be equal to the amount of the guaranteed loan. The simultaneity of public and private investments is not enough to ensure that the public investment is at market terms. They must also be […]