Cleary Gottlieb successfully assisted Ryanair before the EU General Court in winning its appeals against the European Commission decisions authorizing a total of €4.6 billion in aid to TAP and KLM—up to €1.2 billion for TAP and €3.4 billion for KLM—on the grounds of inadequate reasoning.
In order to avoid immediate recovery of the measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Court decided to suspend the effects of the annulment of the contested decisions pending the adoption of new decisions by the Commission.
The judgments mark the first time the EU General Court has annulled COVID-19 State aid measures.
Cleary is assisting Ryanair before the EU Courts in a total of 21 appeals against Commission decisions authorizing State aid granted by a number of Member States to rival air carriers.
The judgements for cases T-465/20 and T-643/20 were issued on May 19, 2021.