On February 7, the General Court of the European Union struck down the approval that the European Commission had granted to the billions in aid to KLM. According to the court, the committee should have investigated more carefully whether the support given really only ended up with KLM, and not also with the French parent or sister company.
As a result of the ruling, the aid provided is no longer lawful. It is still unclear what consequences this may have, because the support was provided in the form of loans guaranteed by the government and which have now been paid off. Van Weyenberg says he cannot say more about the case at this time.
Conditions
Both the minister and many MPs have a bad taste in their mouths about the state support for KLM. The previous government imposed strict conditions on this, but according to the state agent who was appointed to monitor this, the company did not adhere to them. The government investigated whether legal action was possible, but was told that the chance of success was small.
Member of Parliament Tom van der Lee of GroenLinks-PvdA regrets that KLM has failed to fulfill agreements with such impunity. He is particularly concerned that the airline has not fulfilled its promise to combat tax avoidance by pilots.
But Van Weyenberg sticks to his decision. “You’re not going to win this,” two independent advisors told him. “Then I can do it on stage, but that will only make a few law firms very happy.” The minister agrees with the House that a good and independent evaluation is necessary, so that this does not go wrong again in future support operations.
Tags: Netherlands Brussels appealing KLMs corona support ruling
