Court of Justice sets aside General Court judgment annulling Commission approval of restructuring aid to Condor
In July 2021, the Commission had approved EUR 321 million in German restructuring aid to support Condor following the insolvency of its former parent company, Thomas Cook, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic (SA.63203). The measure included, among other elements, a partial write-off of debt arising from Covid-19 loans. In May 2023, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision (Joined Cases T-34/21 and T-87/21), finding that the Commission should have opened a formal investigation and examined whether the aid complied with the requirement of adequate burden sharing., finding that the Commission should have opened a formal investigation and examined whether the aid complied with the requirement of adequate burden sharing.
The Court of Justice has confirmed that the burden-sharing requirement may also apply to debt write-offs and is not limited to state capital injections. It also confirmed that the General Court was entitled to review the Commission’s interpretation of that requirement rather than merely accepting it because it was plausible.
However, the Court held that the General Court had erred in finding that the Commission should have opened a formal investigation. In particular, it had failed to take into account the Commission’s implicit assessment that no further burden-sharing examination was necessary because Condor’s existing investors had already absorbed the company’s losses and no equity remained to be protected.
The Court therefore set aside the General Court’s judgment and, considering that the state of the proceedings permitted a final ruling, dismissed Ryanair’s action in its entirety.
For more information, see the Court’s PR and judgment.