EU court annuls approval of €6bn for Lufthansa

Approval

A European Union court has annulled the approval for German state aid granted to Lufthansa worth €6 billion (6.6 billion dollars) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EU General Court cancelled the decision by the European Commission to approve the state aid, citing “several errors’’ in the process, in a ruling on Wednesday which can be appealed.

The commission wrongly assumed Lufthansa could not borrow from financial markets, misjudged the German airline’s market power at certain airports and agreed conditions which did not ensure effective competition between airlines, the EU court found.

The EU’s usually strict aid rules were loosened at the outbreak of the pandemic to allow governments to support struggling companies but still required commission approval.

(dpa/NAN)