Ita-Lufthansa, Vestager: “It’s up to the companies to decide”

Brussels – Ita-Lufthansa merger, “It’s up to the companies to decide.”Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager wants to make things clear: the EU executive will meet its obligations and do its homework without pressure or interference. Carriers will have to do their part. Facing criticism from the German operator, who has threatened to blow up the negotiating table in the face of the EU’s doubts, Vestager goes straight on her way. It is not up to the EU Antitrust to define how to make a business acquisition sustainable and, therefore, acceptable to the single market and competition. That is up to the economic operators. “As I see it, we have open discussions, quite good, with the companies in question.”

So, Vestager downplays. In the press conference, she reminds us that in the case in point, “we are in phase two.” It means that we have gone beyond the preliminary stage, and if the dossier has not been closed despite the in-depth investigation launched in Brussels, there may be room to advance it further. “Obviously, we are actively discussing with the companies so that they can figure out what to do, how to deal with this problem,” and come to a satisfactory conclusion.

From Vestager’s side, there is maximum willingness within the limits of what is possible. “We are here to make sure that there is still competition in markets where companies merge.” That said, “It is up to the companies to figure out what the balance is between the problems we should solve and the rationality of the deal.” The Ita-Lufthansa “is a complicated merger case, but it is a merger like others I have seen.”

For the two carriers to be able to tie the knot, the EU commissioner reminds us, it is necessary for “people to enjoy the fact that there is competition in the airline industry, and therefore innovation and affordable prices.” One solution could be to give up landing and takeoff slots for the benefit of third-party operators, although “slot surrender is not always the solution.”