MILAN (Thomson Financial) - The European Union commission has a positive inclination towards a decree presented by the government that outlines the privatisation procedure for Alitalia SpA and transformed a 300 million euro loan into capital, said Luigi Casero, undersecretary at the economy ministry.
The parliament's official bulletin reported Casero as saying yesterday in a parliamentary commission that the decree will allow to overcome objections made by the EU regarding the aid because it will ease the sale of the airline and the reimbursement of the financing.
Casero said that informal contacts indicated that the EU commission has a positive view towards the decree.
Economy minister Giulio Tremonti previously said he did not expect to have problems with the European Union over the decree approved by the cabinet on Friday.
The commission is expected to examine on June 11 whether the financing granted to Alitalia is state aid, according to newspaper reports. philip.webster@thomsonreuters.com pw/ajb COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.