EU Opens Detailed Investigation on Support Measures Granted by Romania to Blue Air Aviation
Through a statement released on the same day, the EU Commission said that since 2019, the Romanian airline has been experiencing financial difficulties, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The authority also said that in August 2020, two measures were approved by the Commission for Blue Air, which included a public guarantee of around €28 million to compensate for damages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions imposed by Romania.
Another measure approved by the Commission was a public guarantee of €34 million for a rescue loan with the aim of partially covering Blue Air’s liquidity needs for the next six months.
“Romania committed to ensure that the public guarantee on the rescue loan would be terminated after six months, or that it would communicate either a liquidation plan or a comprehensive restructuring plan for Blue Air to the Commission for State aid assessment,” the statement of EU reads.
As the Commission explains, in April 2021, Romania presented a restructuring plan to the Blue Air Commission covering the period between August 2020 and September 2025, which has been updated several times.
This updated plan includes an extension of the bailout loan guarantee of up to six years, which allows repayment of the aid until 2026, provides for restructuring measures and provides for private financing.
In this regard, in November 2022, the Romanian government paid off the loan and took 75 per cent of the shares of the Blue Air company.
Now the Commission has expressed concern about the restructuring plan and the aid measures put in place to support this plan as they do not comply with EU state aid rules, particularly the Rescue and Restructuring Aid Guidelines.
As for Blue Air’s own contribution or the market’s contributions to the restructuring costs, they are real, effective, and adequate and do not involve the granting of aid, in order to ensure that the restructuring aid is proportionate.
Moreover, based on EU rules on state aid, in particular the guidelines on aid for rescue and restructuring, they aim to allow Member States to provide support to companies in difficulty.
