The General Court of the European Union has ruled against Spain and telco Cellnex, upholding an EU decision that requires both the national government and regional authorities to recover €260 million in public funds granted to TV operators for rolling out DTT in remote areas.According to the Commission, the subsidies handed out between 2005 and 2008 amounted to illegal state aid. During that period, Spain supported DTT operators to extend coverage to rural and hard-to-reach zones. But, following a complaint by satellite operator SES Astra, Brussels launched an investigation in 2010. In 2013, it concluded that the financial support for deploying, maintaining and operating the DTT network violated EU state aid rules and ordered Spain to recover the funds.The European courts had previously backed the Commission in 2017 regarding the aid given in the Basque Country, Catalonia and Navarre, though they exempted Galicia. That led the Commission to reopen the case, and in 2021 it reaffirmed its position: the €260 million must be returned. Spain and Cellnex appealed the decision – but their efforts have now been definitively rejected.The Spanish government has said it respects the court’s ruling but defended the original subsidies as “the best decision” to ensure that people living in those areas wouldn’t lose access to a basic public service such as terrestrial TV.
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