The European Commission has decided on Wednesday 27 November to refer Greece to the EU Court of Justice for failure to comply with a 2017 judgment and to request the imposition of financial penalties.
In that judgment, the Court condemned Greece for failure to implement a 2014 Commission decision requiring it to recover from Larco General Mining & Metallurgical Company SA incompatible aid amounting to €135.8 million (see EUROPE 12180/26).
While more than 5 years have passed since the adoption of the Commission’s decision and despite the Court’s judgment and the Commission’s letter of formal notice, Greece has still not recovered from Larco the state aid declared incompatible, the Commission explains.
The Commission asks the Court to impose financial penalties on Greece: – the payment of a lump sum of approximately €3,709 per day for the period between 9 November 2017 (first judgment of the Court) and the date on which Greece complies with that judgment. In total, the minimum lump sum should not be less than €1.3 million; – a daily penalty payment of €26,697 from the day of the Court’s judgment until the date on which Greece puts an end to the infringement. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)