Wednesday, December 20, 2023
On December 20th, Ryanair expressed satisfaction with the EU General Court’s decisions deeming the €7 billion Covid-19 State aid provided to Air France-KLM in 2020 and the €4 billion in 2021 as unlawful. The airline is now urging the European Commission to instruct France to promptly retrieve this multi-billion euro illicit State aid package from Air France-KLM. Additionally, Ryanair calls for the implementation of appropriate measures to mitigate some of the adverse effects on competition caused by this extensive State bailout.
A spokesperson for Ryanair stated:
“The European Union’s accomplishment of establishing a genuine single market for air transport is significant. The European Commission’s endorsement of French State aid to Air France-KLM contradicted fundamental principles of EU law, such as the principle of non-discrimination based on nationality. The recent court rulings validate the necessity for the Commission to uphold a fair playing field in air transport, refraining from approving discriminatory State aid dispensed by national governments. The court’s intervention marks a victory for fair competition and consumers throughout the EU.
The EU Commission’s passive stance on State aid from the onset of the Covid-19 crisis permitted Member States to provide unrestricted financial support to their inefficient national carriers, under the guise of faded national prestige. A staggering €40 billion in discriminatory State subsidies were granted to EU flag carriers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The EU General Court has already adjudicated in other cases related to Covid-19 State aid, finding billions of euros in aid to SAS, Lufthansa, and certain Italian airlines as unlawful.
The European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition has yet to take action to compel the recovery of the unlawful aid or institute measures to rectify the damage to competition caused by the preferential treatment of local airlines by the Swedish, Danish, German, and Italian governments—actions that contravene EU law. The recent judgments underscore the urgency for the European Commission to promptly address and rectify these instances of illegal State aid, instituting remedies to alleviate the impact on competition.
Unhampered competition eliminates inefficiencies and benefits consumers by offering affordable fares and choices. Conversely, unwarranted subsidies foster inefficacies and pose long-term harm to consumers.”
Tags: Air France, klm, Ryanair, SAS
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