The German Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg supports the German government’s attempt to make recovery of unlawful State aid more effective (Kvaerner Warnow Werft)

Background The Member States of the European Union are required to recover unlawful (i.e. non notified) State aid following a negative decision by the European Commission (“Commission”), declaring an aid incompatible with the common market. Under German law, the Verwaltungsakt (administrative act) provides the administration with the appropriate means for recovering unlawful aid. The Verwaltungsakt allows the administration to order the aid beneficiary to repay the unlawful aid. In addition, the administration may declare that the Verwaltungsakt is immediately enforceable (“sofort vollziehbar”), meaning that an appeal by the aid beneficiary challenging the Verwaltungsakt does not have