Brussels, 17/11/2014 (Agence Europe) -An investigation into Etihad Airways share of Alitalia is still open at the European Commission, despite a positive ruling regarding its competition implications.
On Friday 14 November, the European Commission approved the 49% share of the Italian Alitalia airline by the United Arab Emirates' Etihad Airways (EUROPE 11197). An investigation carried out at the same time, on the subject of this share, is still continuing at DG Transport level, in light of transport legislation. This is seeking to work out whether the share in Alitalia is still controlled by European interests, given that the Etihad stake is close to 50%. This threshold is crucial under the terms of European Regulation 1008/2008, which sets out the conditions in which EU aviation services can be used. The investigation is also currently focusing on information provided by the Italian authorities on the subject. According to one European source, this investigation is said to be half way through, even though no specific timetable needs to be respected in terms of the procedure. So far, fifteen or so investigations of this kind have been started or completed by the European Commission, without previous negative conclusions on the subject of majority participation being established. (MD)