25/01/2019 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission called on Athens by means of a letter of formal notice on Thursday 24 January to recover €135,8 million in State aid from Larco General Mining and Metallurgical Company S.A. This formal notice follows a 2014 Commission decision concluding that the aid in question is incompatible with EU law (see EUROPE 11049). As Greece did not recover this amount, the Court of Justice had also ordered it to do so in 2017. But the Commission notes that the aid has still not been recovered. Athens now has two months to respond to the letter of formal notice and show that the aid has been recovered. In the absence of such action, the Hellenic Republic is liable to action for failure to fulfil obligations, which could result in financial penalties. (LT)