On Thursday 12 September, the European Commission launched an in-depth investigation to determine whether the sale of the Nürburgring circuit complex in Germany to Capricorn Nürburgring Besitzgesellschaft GmbH (Capricorn) complies with EU rules on State aid.
The measure was found to comply with state aid rules in October 2014, but the Commission’s decision was annulled by the Court of Justice on 2 September 2021 (see EUROPE 12782/19).
Due to the insolvency of the public companies that owned the Nürburgring circuit complex, the German authorities put the circuit out to tender in 2014 and sold it to Capricorn. In October 2014, the Commission found that some of the measures adopted in favour of the former owners of the complex constituted illegal state aid.
The Commission is therefore continuing its investigation into the sale of the circuit complex to Capricorn by examining:
- whether or not the decision to sell the Nürburgring complex as part of the insolvency proceedings was imputable to the German State;
- whether various aspects of the tender procedure (possibly the non-binding nature of Capricorn’s financial commitment) had an impact on the transparency and non-discriminatory nature of the procedure, resulting in an advantage for Capricorn;
- allegations of possible additional state aid granted to Capricorn after the tender (reduction in the sale price and deferred payment).
The opening of an in-depth investigation gives Germany and interested third parties the opportunity to comment. It does not prejudge the outcome of the Commission’s investigation.
Link to the case: https://aeur.eu/f/df0 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)