The European Commission has made it known that it "remains in close contact with the parties" (pre-notification phase) involved in the privatization of the Italian national carrier, namely ITA Airways and German Lufthansa, "to discuss the transaction before its official notification These pre-notification contacts are ongoing and are part of the standard process for evaluating a complex transaction".

Responsibility for the ITA-Lufthansa dossier falls to the European Competition Commission, which came under the leadership of Didier Reynders, after Margrethe Vestager took leave of absence because she was a candidate for the presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The evaluation will certainly take into account what was established in 2021 by the same body: the corporate discontinuity between ITA and the former Italian flag carrier Alitalia.

The ITA-Lufthansa agreement is in any case a complex operation, considering the share of the air transport market occupied by the German company, and the strong presence of the Italian airline on crucial airports for the Italian market such as "Leonardo da Vinci" of Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Linate. The Competition Commission's objective will therefore be to protect consumer rights: this criterion will be the basis for the approval or rejection of the dossier.

On the topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.