The EU Court of Justice outlines the principles that apply to recovery of incompatible aid (Commission / Germany)

i) Domestic Legal Problems Do Not Make the Recovery of Incompatible Aid Absolutely Impossible ii) Role of National Courts in Cases of Non-notified Aid* Main points The only defence for non-recovery of incompatible State aid is absolute impossibility. Obstacles in domestic legal proceedings may result in absolute impossibility, but Member States have an obligation to inform the Commission and national courts have to seek guidance from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Introduction This article deals with two aspects of the recovery of incompatible State aid. The first aspect is how Member States should handle legal complications that habitually arise whenever they attempt to recover incompatible aid. A recent judgment of the Court of Justice involving Germany addressed this