Finland’s guarantee in favour of Finnair to help secure a €600 million loan from a pension fund to cover Finnair’s working capital requirements following the Covid-19 pandemic is “compatible with EU law”, according to a judgment of the EU General Court delivered on Wednesday 14 April (case T-388/20).
On 13 May 2020, Finland notified the Commission of a State guarantee for Finnair. The guarantee was limited to a maximum duration of three years. The Commission validated this support. Ryanair filed an appeal to have the decision of the Commission annulled.
The General Court found that Finnair’s possible failure would have had serious consequences for the Finnish economy, “so that the State guarantee [...] is appropriate to contribute to remedying the serious disruption to the Finnish economy caused by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
For the General Court, the arrangements for providing Finnair with the guarantee are capable of attaining the objective envisaged, the aid measure is necessary and “Ryanair has not shown how the exclusive character of granting the State guarantee is such as to deter it from providing services from Finland and to Finland, or from exercising its freedom of establishment”.
See the judgment: https://bit.ly/3dhJuIM (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)