2023-05-10 09:18:09
Lufthansa rescue plan canceled by European justice
The impact of this judgment is not yet known, but the recapitalization of Lufthansa by Germany estimated at 6 billion euros will not take place.
The German state sold in September the last shares it still held in the capital of Lufthansa, where it had entered up to 20% in 2020.
AFP/CHRISTOF STACHE
The Court of First Instance of the European Union on Tuesday canceled a recapitalization of Lufthansa by Germany, in the amount of 6 billion euros, to save the company during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The European Commission, which had validated the plan, “made several errors” including that of considering that Lufthansa “was unable to finance itself on the markets” to meet its needs, said the Court in a press release.
The concrete impact of this judgement, which can still be appealed, remains however uncertain. Because the aid mechanism for the German airline, which had seen the German state enter its capital in exchange for fresh money, has already been implemented.
The German state thus sold in September the last shares it still held in the capital of Lufthansa, where it had entered up to 20% in 2020.
“92 million euros in interest”
The company is therefore once once more entirely in the hands of private shareholders.
Lufthansa “will analyze the verdict and then decide how to proceed,” the group responded in a statement sent to AFP.
The carrier recalls that it has already “fully repaid the stabilization measures approved by the European Commission as well as approximately 92 million euros in interest”.
The Brussels executive, which has not yet reacted, can appeal once morest this decision before the European Court of Justice, judge of last instance.
The Court had been seized by the low-cost airlines Ryanair and Condor, who wanted to have the Commission’s decision annulled.
Reproaches from Ryanair
Severe restrictions on the aviation sector during the Covid-19 pandemic had almost paralyzed Lufthansa’s activities, putting it on the brink.
European judges ruled on Wednesday that the Commission had failed to require a “mechanism to encourage Lufthansa to buy out Germany’s stake as soon as possible”.
Ryanair also criticized the Commission for not having provided for a mechanism to increase the remuneration of the German State as long as it was a shareholder of Lufthansa.
On the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the decision made little wave, the Lufthansa title evolving in equilibrium.
AFP/Myrtille Wendling
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