Brussels, 04/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced on 27 February that it is appealing against the decision taken earlier that day by the European Commission, banning for a second time its attempts to buy up the Aer Lingus airline despite Ryanair's promises to deal with the European Commission's concern about its gaining a virtual monopoly in Ireland (see EUROPE 10795). In a press release on its website, Ryanair says it has been discriminated against and the ban is political, catering for the interests of the Irish government, which is a minority Aer Lingus shareholder. Ryanair says the decision is neither a fair nor a reasonable application of competition rules and flies in the face of earlier decisions allowing airlines to merge in Europe. Ryanair points out all the promises it has made and argues that there were two potential buyers (IAG/British Airways and Flybe) for the 46 routes described as problematic by the European Commission, that the consultation of stakeholders had shown that the majority believed the businesses to be sold to Flybe were sufficient and the same majority backed Ryanair's proposals, the Commission recently approved a similar merger (IAG/BA-BMI) and therefore Ryanair says it has solid arguments for appealing against the decision and has instructed its lawyers to do so forthwith. (FG/transl.fl)