The Alitalia-Etihad operation complies with European rules on company control. This is the orientation of the new European Commission, which aims to close the issue by 2014. This was reported by a source of the EU Executive, quoted by the Agi news agency. "At the moment we are oriented towards a favorable opinion on the Alitalia-Etihad operation in terms of control of the company", indicates a source from the Commission. “The case should be closed by the end of the year,” adds the source.
EU rules require continental airlines to be majority-owned by European shareholders. This majority must be expressed both in the shareholding structure and in a factual way, ie in terms of real control of the company. Etihad has acquired 49% of Alitalia and therefore from a numerical point of view it is in line with EU rules, but it remains to be seen whether real control of the company has passed from Rome to Abu Dhabi. The doubt at this point seems to be moving towards a positive solution for the Italian company of which Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has recently become president.
