In two joined cases (C-209/21 and C-210/21 P), the low-cost Irish airline Ryanair is challenging before the Court the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of February 2021 dismissing its first actions against two State aid measures granted in the spring of 2020 by France and Sweden with a view to helping airlines established on their territory to cope with the consequences of the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (see EUROPE 12660/3).
Both approved by the European Commission, the French public aid consisted of a moratorium on the payment of the civil aviation tax, while the Swedish aid made it possible to grant public guarantees of up to SEK 5 billion on loans taken out by the airlines.
In its judgement, the Court of Justice rejects all the arguments put forward by Ryanair. Relying in particular on recent case law (see EUROPE 13260/19 – cases T-320/21 & T-321/21 P), it states that aid cannot be considered incompatible with the internal market solely on the grounds that it is selective or distorts competition.
See the Court’s judgement: https://aeur.eu/f/9pu (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)