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Luxembourg (dpa) - In the long dispute over the sale of the Nürburgring race track in the Eifel, the unsuccessful bidders can hope for a legal success before the European Court of Justice.
The responsible ECJ expert on Thursday was of the opinion that a first instance judgment against the plaintiffs would have errors of law.
Whether the ECJ sees it the same way and what follows from it should become clear in a few weeks, when the top EU judges give a verdict.
The plaintiffs are the “Yes to the Nürburgring” association and the US company Nexovation. The dispute is about the question of whether the once state race track in the Eifel was initially illegally subsidized by the state and then sold to the auto supplier Capricorn too cheaply and in an opaque process. For around 77 million euros, he was awarded the contract for the property in which the state of Rhineland-Palatinate had previously invested almost half a billion euros. The plaintiffs wanted to purchase the route themselves, but did not get a chance.
In response to their complaints, the EU Commission decided in October 2014 that certain subsidies were inadmissible but could not be reclaimed.
The bidding process for the sale was open, transparent and non-discriminatory and the price was in line with the market.
The EU court essentially confirmed this in 2019.
The plaintiffs then went to the ECJ.
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At the request of the Court of Justice, ECJ Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella only examined a few points in the judgment of the first instance in his opinion.
The question was whether the purchase price, which was too low from the plaintiff's point of view, constituted state aid for the buyer.
Here the EU court did not address some of the plaintiffs' arguments, explained Pitruzzella.
The judgment under appeal has deficiencies in reasoning.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-401957 / 2