Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné has declined to reopen the Commission's authorisation of a €53 million Spanish state bailout for Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, despite a Spanish court charging former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over the aid. In a written answer to a parliamentary question from MEPs Nora Junco García and Diego Solier (both ECR), Séjourné stated that the Commission currently has no information justifying either reopening the case or revoking its 31 July 2020 decision approving the recapitalisation aid scheme under the COVID-19 Temporary Framework. The answer pushes back against calls for recovery of the aid, referral to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), or infringement proceedings against Spain.
The question, submitted on 19 May 2026, cited a Spanish National High Court indictment of Zapatero for criminal association, influence peddling, money laundering and forgery in connection with the Plus Ultra bailout. The MEPs also noted a 2024 Spanish Court of Auditors finding that the state-owned holding company SEPI had breached its obligation to report to the Commission on the Solvency Support Fund for Strategic Companies in 2022. They asked whether the Commission would reopen case SA.59371, refer the matter to the EPPO, or open infringement proceedings for failure to provide information.
Séjourné's answer provides no concrete proposals or timelines. He emphasised that the Commission does not wish to speculate on ongoing judicial inquiries and that the legality of the 2020 decision has been confirmed by the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. On the EPPO question, he noted that the EPPO's material competence is limited to criminal offences affecting the EU's financial interests, and that the aid scheme was funded from the Spanish state budget, not EU funds. He also stated that the question of whether a criminal offence may have been committed does not seem relevant in light of the ongoing inquiries.
the Commission will not revisit approved COVID-19 state aid cases based on national judicial proceedings unless new evidence directly undermines the original decision. This stance protects the legal certainty of past Commission decisions but leaves MEPs and critics concerned about potential fraud in the use of state aid. No further institutional follow-up is expected unless the Spanish courts produce evidence that directly contradicts the information on which the Commission based its 2020 approval.