Notices for publication in the OJ nº T-643/20 of Tribunal General de la Unión Europea, November 20, 2020

• Resolution Date: November 20, 2020
• Issuing Organization: Tribunal General de la Unión Europea
• Decision Number: T-643/20

Action brought on 23 October 2020 - Ryanair v Commission

(Case T-643/20)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Ryanair DAC (Swords, Ireland) (represented by: F. Laprévote, V. Blanc, E. Vahida, S. Rating and I. Metaxas-Maranghidis, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

annul the European Commission’s decision (EU) of 13 July 2020 on State aid SA. 57116 - The Netherlands - COVID-19: State loan guarantee and State loan for KLM; and

order the European Commission to pay the costs.

The applicant has also requested that its action be determined under the expedited procedure as referred to in Article 23a of the Statute of the Court of Justice.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on five pleas in law.

First plea in law, alleging that the European Commission wrongly excluded aid to Air France from the scope of the decision.

Second plea in law, alleging that the European Commission violated specific provisions of the TFEU and the general principles of European law regarding the prohibition of discrimination, free provision of services and free establishment that have underpinned the liberalisation of air transport in the EU since the late 1980s. The liberalization of the air transport market in the EU has allowed the growth of truly pan-European low-fares airlines. The European Commission ignored the damage caused by the COVID-19 crisis to such pan-European airlines and their role in the air connectivity of the Netherlands by authorising the Netherlands...