Ryanair said today it has lodged a case against the European Commission because of its failure to act on Ryanair's complaint that the Greek government provided illegal state aid to Olympic Airlines.
The Irish airline claims some €500 million of illegal state aid was provided to Greece's national carrier by the Greek government through false arbitration proceedings involving services allegedly provided by Olympic to the Greek Government.
"The Greek government's most recent tranche of state aid to Olympic involves approximately €500 million, mostly for 'unpaid services' allegedly provided by Olympic to the government," Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, said.
"However, the commission has refused to do anything about this since 2006, which left us with no alternative but to challenge the Commission's inaction in the European courts."
The case is being taken to the European Court of First Instance.