The Italian government's €300 million loan to ailing flag carrier Alitalia is in line with EU law, its chairman said Wednesday. Aristide Police said: 'The funds are compatible with EU law.'
The European Commission announced that it was launching an illegal state aid probe into the government loan yesterday. The EU competition watchdog warned that 'at this stage' it believed that the loan, which Alitalia has the option of converting into equity capital, was 'incompatible' with EU state aid rules.
However, Mr Police said: 'It's not a coincidence that it was called a bridging loan. It is not aid, it's a loan with terms and pretty high interest rates.' It is 'even less illegitimate aid, but an instrument to help the privatisation succeed, to be within the market and not outside with a state subsidy,' he said.
EC Spokesman Mark English said that the commission had up to a maximum 18 months to carry out its investigation and that in the meantime Alitalia could use the funding. He said that the commission said its probe into the loan would focus on whether it was made on the same terms as a private investor and would allow all interested parties to voice their opinion.
The move came after a number of European airlines wrote to the Commission last week demanding an investigation in to what they consider is illegal support for the failing flag carrier. |
