Court of Justice (Second Chamber) 21 November 2013, C‑284/12 (Deutsche Lufthansa AG v Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH.)

Also known as

In a preliminary ruling requested by the Oberlandesgericht Koblenz (Koblenz Higher Regional Court), the Court of Justice (Second Chamber) held that where the European Commission has initiated a formal examination procedure under Article 108(2) TFEU with respect to an unnotified and implemented State measure, a national court hearing an application for cessation of that measure and recovery of payments already made is required to adopt all necessary measures to draw the appropriate conclusions from the infringement of the standstill obligation under Article 108(3) TFEU. The national court may suspend implementation of the measure, order recovery of payments made, and impose provisional measures to safeguard the interests of the parties and the effectiveness of the Commission's decision to initiate the formal examination procedure. Where the national court entertains doubts as to whether the measure constitutes State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, or as to the validity or interpretation of the Commission's decision, it may seek clarification from the Commission or refer a question to the Court of Justice pursuant to Article 267 TFEU.AI