Link: The Commission’s decision declaring aid granted by Portugal to the airline TAP to be compatible with the internal market is annulled because of an inadequate statement of reasons (europa.eu)

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General Court of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 85/21

Luxembourg, 19 May 2021

Judgment in Case T-465/20 Ryanair DAC v Commission (TAP;COVID-19)

The Commission’s decision declaring aid granted by Portugal to the airline TAP to be compatible with the internal market is annulled because of an inadequate statement of reasons

However, the effects of the annulment (including recovery of the aid) are suspended pending a new decision

In June 2020, Portugal notified the Commission of State aid for the airline Transportes Aéreos Portugueses SGPS SA (‘the beneficiary’), the parent company and 100% shareholder in TAP Air Portugal. The notified aid, the maximum budget of which is €1.2 billion, concerns a loan agreement concluded between, in particular, Portugal as lender, TAP Air Portugal as borrower and the beneficiary as guarantor. By that measure, Portugal intended to keep the beneficiary in operation for six months, between July 2020 and December 2020.

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