Bonn, 27 September 2021. Following intensive negotiations with Germany, the EU Commission has approved EUR 525 million in state aid for the airline Condor. The state aid package consists of measures to com‑pensate Condor for damage caused by the Corona crisis and restructuring aid to restore Con‑dor's profitability. Following an action by Ryanair, the European Court had on 9 June 2021 annulled an earlier Commission approval of Corona aid in the form of two loans totalling EUR 550 million (T‑665/20).
The Commission approved the compensation measures on the basis of Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the so‑called Temporary Framework on State Aid for Business Support in view of the current outbreak of COVID‑19. Under Article 107(2)(b) of the TFEU, the Commission may authorise state aid granted by Member States to certain undertakings or sectors of the economy which have suffered dam‑age as a result of extraordinary events. In the view of the Commission, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic constitutes such an extraordinary event, as this unprecedented situation could not have been foreseen and has a significant impact on the economy.
The approval of the restructuring state aid is based on Article 107(3)(c) of the TFEU and the Commission Guidelines on State Aid for Rescuing and Restructuring Non‑financial Under‑takings in Difficulty. The restructuring of Condor is to involve among other things modernisa‑tion of the fleet. In this connection, the Commission has found that modernisation of the fleet contributes to the Commission's objectives set out in the Green Deal by replacing Condor's ageing aircraft with efficient new aircraft, thereby reducing fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
In the negotiations with the Commission, the new Condor majority owner Attestor was repre‑sented by state aid law specialists Dr Andreas Rosenfeld and Dr Simone Lünenbürger from the law firm Redeker Sellner Dahs.
Decisions by the Commission:
Select reports:
Closing completed: Attestor becomes the new majority shareholder of Condor (Condor Newsroom)
EU Commission allows 525 million in state aid for Condor (Handelsblatt)
EU once again approves Condor aid (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
EU Commission approves state aid for Condor (Der Spiegel)
Condor: EU Commission approves German state aid (WirtschaftsWoche)
Condor receives EUR 525 million (LTO)
On the upswing: Condor with new investor and new head of legal (Juve)
