Those to Alitalia were state aid. Story of a failure

We could call her the curse of Alitalia or perhaps the reckoning for not peeling the hot potato in time. In any case, now the EU Commission wants the 400 million euros loaned in 2019 by the Conte-Di Maio-Salvini yellow-green government to be repaid to allow the company’s stunted survival. Brussels has assessed that the Italian government has not behaved as a private operator would have done, i.e. assessing the likelihood of repayment including interest, but has aimed exclusively at guaranteeing the continuity of the company’s domestic and international flights. Instead of indulging in worn-out polemics about the Eurocrats in Brussels, Giancarlo Giorgetti didn’t bat an eyelid. “The decision was long overdue and it’s nothing new, however it shows that we are right,” said the economy minister. In fact, the EU does not question Ita Airwaysindeed, in September 2021 it had already established that the new company, despite having taken over the assets of Alitalia, does not represent its “economic successor”, therefore it is not required to repay the 400 million. So “we will continue on our way”, added Giorgetti, who is negotiating the agreement with Lufthansa. Then who pays? The Italian state will have to ask the old Alitalia for a refund. A complicated legal dispute is looming, crowds of lawyers are already sharpening the tools of their trade. One mess after another.