Injunction to suspend or provisionally recover aid

1.   The Commission may, after giving the Member State concerned the opportunity to submit its comments, adopt a decision requiring the Member State to suspend any unlawful aid until the Commission has taken a decision on the compatibility of the aid with the internal market (‘suspension injunction’).
2.   The Commission may, after giving the Member State concerned the opportunity to submit its comments, adopt a decision requiring the Member State provisionally to recover any unlawful aid until the Commission has taken a decision on the compatibility of the aid with the internal market (‘recovery injunction’), if all the following criteria are fulfilled:
(a)
according to an established practice there are no doubts about the aid character of the measure concerned;
(b)
there is an urgency to act;
(c)
there is a serious risk of substantial and irreparable damage to a competitor.
Recovery shall be effected in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 16(2) and (3). After the aid has been effectively recovered, the Commission shall take a decision within the time limits applicable to notified aid.
The Commission may authorise the Member State to couple the refunding of the aid with the payment of rescue aid to the firm concerned.
The provisions of this paragraph shall be applicable only to unlawful aid implemented after the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 659/1999.