Commission’s approval of State aid to TAP

26.6.2020

Question for written answer E-003795/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar (PPE), Paulo Rangel (PPE), Álvaro Amaro (PPE), Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE)

The Portuguese Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, has said in statements that the aid plan for TAP, which the Commission approved under decision SA.57369, was imposed by the Commission as the only option available under the Guidelines on State Aid for rescuing and restructuring (TFEU Article 107(3)(c)). The plan was not assessed under the temporary framework for State aid in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Antonoaldo Neves, the CEO of TAP Air Portugal, said in a hearing before the Portuguese Parliament that the Commission's demands were very exacting and impossible to meet, and he regretted the fact that the State aid had not been granted in the form of guarantees on private bank loans.

In view of the above:

• 1.What aid options did the Commission offer the Portuguese Government for TAP?
• 2.How is TAP's situation different from that of other European companies granted approval under the temporary framework introduced for the pandemic?