EU court overturns EC OK to Italy's COVID airline aid

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 24 - The European Court of Justice said Wednesday that it has annulled the European Commission's decision to approve a 130-million-euro aid package Italy paid to Italian airlines in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    In upholding a Ryanair petition against the package, the court said the Commission had failed to provide a statement of reasons for its finding that the measure was not contrary to EU law provisions other than those governing State aid.
    "According to settled case-law, a decision not to initiate the formal investigation procedure in respect of notified aid must set out the reasons for which the Commission takes the view that it is not faced with serious difficulties in assessing the compatibility of the aid at issue with the internal market," the court said.
    "Although a succinct statement of reasons is sufficient for that purpose, it must disclose in a clear and unequivocal fashion the reasons for which the Commission considered that it was not faced with such difficulties.
    "The General Court finds that that has not been done here".
    (ANSA).