EU approves funds to Italy’s ITA, lifts Alitalia burden

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission has cleared an injection of Italian funds into new airline ITA and says the company won’t be responsible for illegal state aid granted to predecessor Alitalia. The EU’s competition watchdog said Friday that the 1.35 billion euros in capital Italy intends to grant the new venture is in line with market conditions. At the same time, Brussels ordered the Italian government to recover 900 million euros from Alitalia after a probe concluded that two 2017 loans constitute illegal state aid. But it’s unlikely that the all of the aid will be recovered. The Commission’s executive vice-president said that the decision marks “a fresh start for Italy’s air transport, which had to overcome many challenges.”