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Brussels closes investigation for alleged illegal aid to Air Nostrum after the airline resigns

 

The European Commission has reported this Tuesday that it has closed the investigation started a year ago by alleged illegal aid from the Valencian Community to the Air Nostrum airline, when verifying that the airline has reviewed its strategy due to the coronavirus crisis and renounces the 9 million euros that it was going to receive for the renewal of its fleet.

“Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Air Nostrum has decided to review its investment plan and renounce aid for the renewal of your fleet. None of the aid has been disbursed and Spain has accepted the resignation and withdrawn the support measures, “Brussels explained in a statement.

As a consequence of this shift in the company’s strategy, the Commission clarifies, lopen in-depth investigation remains without purpose so the institution has decided to close it.

The file opened in October last year tried to clarify the doubts that the Community Executive had about the 2018 Valencian Government plan of up to 3 million euros for the regional airline and also on a second subsidy of 6 million euros planned for the period 2019-2020.

In both cases, Spain argued that were in line with the general block exemption regulation (RGEC) as they are measures focused on the purchase of aircraft that are more respectful of the environment.

But community services they had doubts about the “incentive effect” since the supports were related to the purchase of ten more efficient consumer aircraft of the Bombardier CRJ-1000 model that Air Nostrum carried out two years earlier.

 

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