The EU Court of Justice states that the French aid schemes adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic do not infringe competition law in the airline market (Ryanair)

State Aid May be Limited to Undertakings with Close Links with the National Economy (Part II)* Introduction The European Commission acted swiftly to adopt a fairly accommodating and wide-ranging “Temporary Framework” to regulate State aid for the purposes of counter-acting the impact of covid-19. The Temporary Framework was welcomed by both Member States and businesses. However, soon afterwards it became clear that the vast amounts of State aid granted on the basis of the Temporary Framework were bound to cause controversy. Indeed, barely a year later, the General Court delivered two judgments on cases brought by Ryanair against Swedish and French measures for the support of their airlines. Both judgments were delivered on 17 February 2021 and both rejected Ryanair’s applications for