Brussels, 14/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission published in the Official Journal a communication inviting third parties interested to comment on the subject of a cooperation agreement notified to it by the partner airline companies, namely British Midland, Lufthansa and SAS. The agreement provides for the creation of a joint venture that will allow the companies to extend the services on offer, mainly by providing new links. The companies insist that this agreement will give considerable advantages for consumers by offering them a far wider range of services and better connections on a number of routes in Europe, mainly from London Heathrow and Manchester. The increased competition that would arise from this will be seen by lower prices, which is beneficial to consumers. Although the Commission has not yet drawn any conclusions about this alliance, waiting to receive comments before doing so, the partners to the alliance have proposed commitments in order to meet the concerns that their agreement could give rise to regarding competition. The details of these concessions are given in the Official Journal. The Commission has 90 days from the day of publication in which to decide whether the agreement gives rise to serious doubts. If it does not voice any objections, the joint undertaking will be automatically exempted for a period of six years.