Further months of talks will be required to secure European Union approval of German carrier Lufthansa buying a minority stake in Italian state-owned ITA Airways, Rome's economy minister said today.
Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, was set to launch an in-depth investigation into the proposed deal, because "according to them" there are antitrust issues to be resolved.
"They've put another halt on it," Giorgetti said, speaking to reporters in the Italian Senate.
"It is not that Europe is always right. When they are wrong, they are wrong, it's not that Europe is always right," he added.
Late last month, Lufthansa and Italy sought EU antitrust approval for the deal under which the German airline would acquire a 41% stake in ITA for €325m as part of a capital increase.
At the time, the EU Commission said it was going to decide by January 15 whether to clear the deal, with or without remedies, or open a four-month investigation to address more complex antitrust concerns.
Lufthansa wants to acquire the 41% stake in ITA with a view to taking it over completely at a later stage. It had no immediate comment on Giorgetti's remarks today.
EU regulators believe that ITA and Lufthansa together carry too much traffic between Milan and Lufthansa's hubs of Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna, one source told Reuters in November, adding that this was "where the EU is likeliest to have something to say".
