Brussels, 18/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is optimistic about the alliance between the air companies Alitalia and Air France. "We are always able to find solutions to the problems that we have identified on the routes concerned and Mr Monti remains confident that the two airlines Alitalia and Air France will submit proposals that will enable us to clear this alliance", Amelia Torres underlined. The spokesperson clarified in such terms the remarks made by the Commissioner as reported in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in its Thursday's edition, concerning the protocol agreement signed in July 2001 between the air companies in order to set a commercial alliance in place. The understanding provides for the two partners to operate together on connections between France and Italy through a joint undertaking. Mario Monti mainly said that the airline companies should modify the terms of their agreement on certain destinations before obtaining Commission approval. In his view, the alliance continues to raise a number of competition problems on flights between France and Italy and the partners have still not come up with adequate answers to resolve these problems. He went on to specify that the routes that could cause problems of monopoly or of almost-monopoly were the Paris/Rome, Paris/Milan, Paris/Florence, Paris/Turin and Milan/Lyons routes. This could, he said, be against the interests of around two and a half million passengers each year. The Commission added that its services are also examining the British Airways-Iberia case.