“EC exploring options after General Court cancels state aid for Lufthansa and SAS during pandemic”

The European Commission (EC) is examining various options for dealing with the decision of the General Court of the European Union (EU) to cancel the decisions with which the commission supported the granting of state aid to the German airline Lufthansa and the Nordic airline SAS to survive the restrictions caused by the pandemic.

In an interview with “Delfi Bizness” on Thursday, EC executive deputy, competition commissioner Margrēte Vestagere, who is visiting Latvia, said this. Several airlines received state aid, the provision of which requires a green light from the EC so that competition in the EU single market is not distorted during the pandemic. Vestager is convinced that they needed state support, and states should have provided support to businesses and residents when they asked some to shut down and others to stay at home.

Vestager, who herself has not yet familiarized herself with the judgments, stated that there are several options for further action.

“If we have a negative verdict, then we could appeal it. We can review the decision and evaluate whether we can adjust it,” said Vestager, explaining that if the court has said that the EC should have acted differently, then the commission