Although a verdict has not yet been reached, the state and the L-Bank also appear to be losing out in the second test case concerning the recovery of Corona aid for small businesses and freelancers. The Stuttgart administrative judges made it clear in the oral hearing that they consider the entrepreneurs’ complaints against the recovery of the emergency aid to be justified, not least because the criteria as to who can apply for the support in which situation were unclear.
Now it would be easy to castigate the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the L-Bank for technical errors that were undoubtedly made. But the early days of the corona pandemic with its challenges were – as a former chancellor would say – new territory for all of us. And it had to be done quickly because the state wanted to help the companies affected by the lockdown as quickly as possible. Some things were unclear or vaguely worded.
However, the L-Bank must accept criticism for the fact that, in the judges’ opinion, the repayment procedures were also tainted with significant deficiencies, as was the handling of objections to the repayment notices. This is because these procedures were not initiated until one and a half years later, when the pandemic was already under control. There would have been enough time to set up these procedures properly and to comply with the usual regulations for public administrative procedures. But this week’s trial in Stuttgart suggests that this did not happen.
