Brussels, 20/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Alitalia affair will be a "testing ground for the future Barroso Commission", MEPs Marta Vincenzi and Antonio Panzeri (PES, Italy) state in a press release. They express their willingness to develop "intense relations with Commissioners" in this respect. After the letter from eight airline companies to Commissioner Loyola de Palacio calling for a detailed investigation into the Alitalia rescue plan (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.9), the two MEPs state that their aim is to "safeguard Alitalia". Solutions contemplated for rescuing Alitalia "may be considered in line with European rules", Ms Vincenzi and Mr Panzeri say, in the hope that, "pending the Commission's evaluation … the recovery plan will be continued", especially for saving jobs.