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In this file photo taken on October 4, 2017 EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager addresses a press conference on two state aid cases at the European Commission in Brussels.
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BRUSSELS— Apple Inc.’s legal battle in Europe over a $15.2 billion tax bill will continue, potentially for years, after the European Union appealed a court ruling that sided with the tech giant.
EU officials doubled down Friday on their ruling from 2016, which alleged that Ireland had granted illegal tax breaks to Apple. This followed the company’s unexpected win in July at the bloc’s second-highest court, where judges said the European Commission—the EU’s competition enforcement arm—didn’t bring enough evidence that Ireland had granted illegal tax breaks to Apple between 2003 and 2014.
European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager on Friday said the second-highest court had “made a number of errors,” prompting the appeal. She also said the court had confirmed that EU governments need to respect the bloc’s strict state-aid rules when determining their taxation policies. “Making sure that all companies, big and small, pay their fair share of tax remains a top priority for the commission,” Ms. Vestager said.
Apple didn’t immediately comment on the decision.
The total sum of 14.3 billion euros, equivalent to $16.7 billion, which includes interest, will remain parked in escrow until the European Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest court, renders its judgment.
An expanded version of this story can be found at WSJ.com
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