VG Köln, press release of 16.09.2024 on the judgment 16 K 5228/22 of 13.09.2024
The limitation of the Corona Bridging Aid III Plus and Corona Bridging Aid IV funding programs to 54.5 million euros per applicant is lawful. This was decided by the Cologne Administrative Court in its judgment of September 13, 2024, thereby dismissing a lawsuit against the state of North Rhine-Westphalia brought by a financial holding company, which also includes the Dorint Hotel Group.
Due to the pandemic-related restrictions and the resulting collapse in economic life, the federal and state governments made the Corona Bridging Aid funding programs available. This was intended to help small and medium-sized companies in particular to secure their existence. The Corona Bridging Aid III Plus and Corona Bridging Aid IV programs provided for a maximum funding of 54.5 million euros per applicant.
The plaintiff objected to this with her lawsuit, in which she asserted a claim to higher grants. In particular, she argued that larger companies were disadvantaged by these upper limits in a way that was unfair to all. Smaller companies were usually able to cover 80 to 90 percent of their running costs through the bridging aid. Larger companies such as the plaintiff, whose losses were significantly higher than the upper limits provided for, were only compensated to a much lesser extent. This distorts competition. Since the plaintiff’s losses were due to state intervention, they should also be borne by the general public.
The court did not agree with this. In its justification, it stated: The upper limits of the funding programs do indeed disadvantage larger companies. However, this disadvantage is objectively justified. It is legitimate that, given the limited state financing options, unlimited funding has not been made possible. In view of the objective of the bridging aid, which is to secure the existence of small and medium-sized companies in particular, funding of up to 54.5 million euros is usually sufficient. For larger companies, alternative aid in the form of guarantees and subsidized loans was available. Due to their greater performance, larger companies can be expected to bear greater burdens even during the pandemic and, if necessary, to obtain additional funds on the credit and capital markets. The state is not obliged to fully compensate for all pandemic-related losses.
The parties can file an application for leave to appeal against the judgment, which would be decided by the Higher Administrative Court in Münster.
Source: Administrative Court of Cologne
