Europees Hof van Justitie heeft Griekenland een boete opgelegd wegens weigering terugvordering illegale staatssteun (en)

Met dank overgenomen van EUobserver (EUOBSERVER) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 8 juli 2009, 8:36.

The EU's top court has ruled Greece should pay extra fines worth €2 million for failing to recover illegal aid to the ailing Olympic Airlines, stressing that Athens had ignored the bloc's legal authorities for more than four years.

In a verdict announced on Tuesday (7 July), the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg stated that Greece did not claim back the remaining part of the country's €850 million subsidy to the carrier, seen as illegal state aid under EU rules.

The court ordered the Greek government to pay a daily penalty of €16,000 until it claws back the funds from the company, previously called Olympic Airways, "counting from one month after the delivery of the present judgment, in order to allow Greece to demonstrate that it has ended the failure to fulfil obligations."

The money should be paid to the common budget of the 27-member EU.

Back in 2005, Greece already received a daily fine of €10,000 for the same case although the amount of unfair state aid to be repaid was reduced by judges in previous trials, AFP reported.

Ahead of this week's ruling, the EU executive had sought higher penalties of €50,000 a day, pressing for €105 million to be recovered, from both restructuring aid given to the company, as well as cash from tax paid by passengers and rentals for certain airports.

However, the Luxembourg tribunal took into account Athens' evidence that a major part of those funds had been repaid.

The aid issue had previously complicated the Greek government's efforts to find investors ready to take over the airline – founded in 1956 by late magnate Aristotle Onassis and state-owned since 1975.

Brussels only approved its privatisation last year on the condition of reimbursement of the illegal aid.

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