UPDATE:EU Still Wants Clarification On Lufthansa/Austria Deal
July 20 2009 - 6:49AM
Dow Jones News
The European Commission is still looking for clarification from
the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) regarding its
planned takeover of the troubled Austrian Airlines AG (AUA.VI),
before deciding on whether to give the deal merger clearance.
Commission officials held technical discussions with Lufthansa
over the weekend, said the commission's antitrust spokesman,
Jonathan Todd, adding that it is "still waiting for clarifications
from Lufthansa."
The head of the European Union's competition authority, Neelie
Kroes, has offered to meet with Lufthansa's chief executive to
discuss the matter, but hasn't heard back from the company yet,
Todd added.
Lufthansa has set July 31 as the final deadline for getting
antitrust clearance from Brussels, without which the deal can't be
concluded.
Todd said that the Lufthansa deal was not on the commission's
agenda to be discussed in the commissioners' weekly meeting
Wednesday, which is the last time the executive meets to take
decisions before the summer holidays.
"There are no current plans for a decision this week," Todd
said. However he pointed out that a decision on the takeover could
be also taken using a written procedure during the commission
holidays.
Until such time as we get clarifications from Lufthansa "it is
impossible to establish whether or not our competition concerns
have been met, and until then we cannot take a decision, the ball
is still in the court of Lufthansa," Todd said.
-By Peppi Kiviniemi, Dow Jones Newswires; +3227411483;
peppi.kiviniemi@dowjones.com