The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Lufthansa aviation Group are ready to send to Brussels the official notification of the privatization offer of the national carrier ITA Airways, which provides for the sale of 41% of the capital to the Germans for 325 million euros. The documents could be sent as early as next week.

"We are ready next week to send the notification to the European Commission. Having resolved a problem that Brussels has been asking to resolve for some time (the crises of the former Alitalia and continuity with ITA, En), we hope for an immediate response", declared the President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed this: the "cooperation between Lufthansa and ITA is good, we have done an excellent job together", and we want "fast and fair treatment in Brussels".

As announced in recent days by the CEO of the German company, Carsten Spohr, if the notification were to be delivered next week then, in the best scenario, the green light for the ITA-Lufthansa wedding from the European Competition Commission will arrive at beginning of January 2024. If doubts emerge from the documents, another 90 working days would be needed, but Rome and Berlin have postponed sending the package precisely to avoid this second scenario.

See for details AVIONEWS.