Antonio Tajani, the EU Transport commissioner nominated by Silvio Berlusconi in June, has publicly backed the operation, which involves merging Alitalia with Air One, Italy’s second biggest airline.
"The plan is valuable concerning the participation of private actors, favouring the market and competition," Tajani told Italian news agencies after an informal meeting of EU Transport ministers in Avignon on 2 September.
But Brussels officials dealing with the merger showed much less enthusiasm towards the rescue plan. “It is very tricky”, said a transport expert at the Commission. Indeed, the Italian government decided to freeze national competition rules to allow the merger, raising questions as to whether the plan is in full compliance with EU rules.
According to the plan, the merged company will be split in two, with a so-called ‘bad company’ acquiring all the debts of the buried Alitalia, which could then be paid back by the Italian State. The main assets, air slots and employees will be absorbed by one of the two companies, with big job cuts avoided for now.
However, under this scenario, an EU procedure for irregular state aids seems inevitable, officials said. A first meeting yesterday (3 September) between the Commission and the president of the society created to acquire the ‘good’ Alitalia, Roberto Colaninno, focused mainly on the plan’s compliance with EU state aid rules. Discussions about a €300 million emergency loan received from the Italian State last April were also on the menu (EurActiv 23/07/08).
The meeting did not involve experts from the Commission Competition DG because Brussels is still evaluating whether it has competence in the planned merger between Alitalia and Air One. According to the EU Treaties, the Commission has a role in this national merger only if at least one of the companies involved has more than one third of its turnover outside its borders, which seems at first sight unlikely since both Alitalia and Air One operate mainly in Italy.
If this is the case, it would be up only to the Italian competition authority to intervene. And since the government has just approved a decree freezing national competition rules on the case, the merger could be accepted as it would fall into a legal vacuum.
Foreign airlines and Italian consumers might not like such a scenario, however. Ryanair in particular could oppose the settlement which would keep it out of the most profitable Italian internal air route, between Rome and Milan. Its argument there is that the merged Alitalia would turn into a natural monopoly, with potential damaging effects on ticket prices and consumers.
The European Parliament Transport Committee has invited commissioner Tajani to explain the complex issue during a hearing next Tuesday in Brussels (9 September).
