EU COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY IN THE TOURISM SECTOR 77 the aviation sector298. It is likely that other Member States will follow their lead. The State Aid Temporary Framework will remain applicable only until 31 December 2020, with an exception for recapitalisation measures which may be granted until 30 June 2021299. Recapitalisation measures, the latest addition to the Commission’s state aid toolbox, come with strict conditions (ban on pay-outs, acquisition ban, reporting obligation, stepping up of the State’s remuneration after four to six years) to incentivise the beneficiary to buy back the equity stake of the State as soon as possible. Although the Commission loosened a certain number of its conditions following negotiations with Member States, recapitalisation measures may still come with a price tag too high for Member States or for the beneficiary. 8. CONCLUSION: TRENDS AND EXPECTATIONS As the previous chapter’s overview demonstrates, the application of EU competition rules in the tourism sector concerns multiple players and markets, further convoluted by the evolving regulatory framework. Tourism policy does not constitute a separate consideration in the enforcement of EU competition legislation, driven by its inherent objectives of advancing consumer welfare and competitive process in the internal market. However, considerations of the EU’s global competitiveness, sustainability and digitalisation take a more prominent role in shaping the block’s competition policy, including in the tourism sector. Besides, recently enacted regulation will affect both offline (the Package Travel Directive) and online (the Platform-to-Business Regulation, the Geo-blocking Regulation) travel service providers. As for the key pillars of the EU competition law, the rules on market definition normally apply in the tourism-related offline markets. Nonetheless, their application to digital platforms (such as online travel intermediaries) has caused much academic and practical debate. With the incoming Commission, we have 298 EC Press Release of 31 March 2020, State aid: Commission approves French scheme deferring payment by airlines of certain taxes to mitigate economic impact of coronavirus outbreak, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/ commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_514; EC Press Release of 15 April 2020, State aid: Commission approves Danish public guarantee of up to €137 million to compensate airline SAS for damage caused by coronavirus outbreak, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_667. 299 Communication from the Commission – Amendment to the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak, 08.05.2020, C(2020) 3156 final, available at: https:// ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/what_is_new/sa_covid19_2nd_amendment_temporary_framework_en.pdf.
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