A two million euro fine has been imposed on Greece by the European Court of Justice for ignoring a 2005 order to take back millions in subsidies given to Olympic Airways.

The court has also given the Greek government one month to recover the subsidies or face daily fines of 16 000 euros until it recovers the subsidies.

The case is part of a long-running battle between the European Commission and the Greek government over support for the airline.

At issue is 41 million euros of government subsidies to Olympic Airways as part of an unsuccessful restructuring, as well as an as-yet unaccounted for amounts of unpaid taxes, fees and social security contributions.