The Court of Justice of the European Union has restored the Commission’s approval of €321 million in German restructuring aid for Condor Flugdienst, setting aside the General Court’s earlier annulment and dismissing Ryanair’s challenge in full.
The Commission approved the aid in July 2021 without opening a formal investigation. The measure was designed to support Condor after the insolvency of its former parent, Thomas Cook, and the disruption caused by the pandemic. The General Court later held that the Commission should have had doubts about the measure and should have begun a formal procedure.
In its final appellate judgment on 5 November, the Court agreed with the General Court on one point: the requirement of adequate burden sharing can apply where restructuring aid takes the form of a debt write-off, not only a state capital injection. Judicial review of the Commission’s interpretation of its own guidelines was therefore not limited to asking whether that interpretation was merely plausible.
The General Court nevertheless erred in finding that the Commission had failed to assess the requirement. The approval decision implicitly concluded that no further burden-sharing analysis was needed because Condor had no remaining equity after existing investors absorbed losses.
The Court found the case ready for final determination. It rejected Ryanair’s remaining arguments concerning the measure’s competitive effects, discrimination, freedom to provide services, freedom of establishment and the adequacy of the Commission’s reasons. The Commission’s approval consequently stands.
Official Court of Justice release and judgment link
