The European Commission on
Monday opened a probe to see if the 900-million euro bridge loan
granted to Alitalia by the Italian state constitutes prohibited
State aid to industry, sources said.
Brussels "at the moment is of the view that the State loan
might constitute State aid," a statement said.
The EC fears that "the duration of the loan, which goes from
May 2017 at least until December 2018, surpasses the maximum
duration of six months envisaged by the guidelines on rescue
loans," and that the loan is not limited to the minimum allowed.
The sale of Alitalia will be put off until the end of
October, Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said on April 11.
He said the reimbursement of the bridge loan would be put off
until the end of the year.
"We haven't decided yet, but probably the postponement will
be to the end of October and must happen via a decree," he said.
The three manifestations of interest in Alitalia received
earlier this month show "real interest in the company that is
confirmed and strengthened," the industry ministry said after
meeting the troubled Italian airline's three commissioners.
In particular, it said, one of the three manifestations of
interest "contains concrete steps forward in terms of routes and
personnel".
The following week, the ministry said, a decree will be
issued to extend the airline's bridge loan reimbursement
procedure, to allow the commissioners to negotiate with the
three prospective bidders.
The three extraordinary commissioners met government
ministers to assess the situation after receiving three offers
for the airline.
The bids are said to have come from Lufthansa, from EasyJet
together with a consortium featuring Cerberus-Delta, and from
Wizzair.
Alitalia was put into extraordinary administration last year
after workers voted against a restructuring plan.
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