The European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed the annulment of a previous decision issued by the EU Commission, which had approved billions in aid for Lufthansa during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initially, the Commission had classified the €6 billion recapitalization as state aid compatible with the internal market, allowing it to proceed without conducting a formal review process. However, the aviation companies Ryanair and Condor filed a lawsuit against this decision. Following their complaint, the initial EU court annulled the Commission’s ruling in May 2023. Lufthansa subsequently appealed this decision, and it was this appeal that the Court of Justice now dismissed.
The Court of Justice determined that the Commission had violated the limited framework by accepting the modalities for setting the share price when converting the indirect participation II into equity. While critics noted that the judges in Luxembourg applied overly strict standards in certain areas, the Court ultimately upheld the annulment of the Commission’s original decision.