Progress in negotiations on Ita-Lufthansa op - EU sources

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 4 - There has been progress in negotiations aimed at getting the European Commission's authorization for Lufthansa's acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways, EU sources said on Tuesday.
    The EU executive has not yet given its blessing to the 325-million-euros operation as it is worried about its impact on competition The main outstanding issue regards long-haul flights from Rome's Fiumicino airport to the United States, the sources said.
    The sources said issues regarding slots at Milan's Linate airport and the opening of European routes to rivals have been resolved.
    The Commission is expected to announce its verdict between the end of June and the beginning of July, a few days before the July 4 deadline.
    Unions representing Lufthansa and ITA Airways employees last week sent a joint letter to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager calling for the operation to be given the green light.
    In the letter, the unions expressed "full support" for the merger, in part as a way to combat unfair competition from outside Europe, and appealed to Vestager to "listen to us".
    It said a "quick, positive decision" on the operation would "signal that you, the EU Commission, are focusing on strength, competitiveness in a fair market environment and growth in Europe.
    "The aim must be to strengthen our European aviation industry, its value creation, its jobs with European standards and to keep its tax revenues in Europe," it said.
    The Italian Treasury owns ITA, the company that replaced the loss-making former flag-carrier Alitalia in 2021. (ANSA).