Your misconception is that the action was "completely legal in the law of the country they were operating in". Belgium is part of the EU and the EU rules on sta

Your misconception is that the action was "completely legal in the law of the country they were operating in". Belgium is part of the EU and the EU rules on state aid are in the Treaty on the Function of the European Union, which is a higher legal source than any national law - even the national constitutional law - of any of the EU's member states.