The Court of Justice confirmed that Greece has failed to comply with a Commission decision adopted in 2005 finding that it had granted illegal and incompatible aid to Olympic Airways Services and Olympic Airlines, and asking for such aid to be recovered. Vice-President Jacques Barrot, Commissioner in charge of transport, said in a statement: “I […]
Greece failed to comply with a European Commission decision that aid the government gave to Greek carrier Olympic Airlines was illegal and should be recovered, a top European Union court ruled on Thursday. “By not taking within the prescribed period all measures necessary to put an end to aid declared unlawful and incompatible with the […]
ATHENS, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Greece wants a foreign airline to invest in Olympic Airlines [OLY.UL] as part of its attempt to privatise the ailing carrier, Transport Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said in an interview published on Saturday. Greece has been trying for years to sell the airline, renamed from Olympic Airways, but repeated calls for […]
A little history on the Olympic Airlines/European Commission conflict ATHENS, Jan 14 (IPS) – The European Commission (EC) announced a formal investigation Dec. 20 into complaints that the Greek state is illegally subsidising its national air carrier. This is the third time that the EC is taking up this case. The national carrier comprises two […]
Greece’s transport minister has warned that national carrier Olympic Airlines faces a dim future as speculation increases that the airline will be closed within a few months. In a series of carefully worded statements late Friday and over the weekend, Costis Hadzidakis reaffirmed the government’s commitment to keep the airline aloft. But he also stressed […]
Olympic Airlines, the loss-making Greek carrier, faces a fresh blow Wednesday when the European Commission opens new investigations into whether it is receiving illegal state aid. The Commission, which has accused Athens of funnelling about €600m ($865m) to the airline from 1994 to 2005, will now examine payments after that date. It suspects that the […]
Dec 11, 2007, 9:56 GMT Athens – All flights are expected be grounded, ships to be docked and urban transport and public services are expected to grind to a halt across Greece when labour unions Wednesday stage a 24-hour-strike to protest proposed pension reforms. No flights would be leaving or arriving at Athens International Airport […]