Alitalia's woes deepened on Thursday after the European Commission expressed doubts about a government loan designed to keep the near-bankrupt airline flying.
A spokesman for European Commissioner for Transport Jacques Barrot told reporters here that the EC had ''doubts about the nature of the measures taken by the Italian government'' and wanted more information.
The outgoing government of Premier Romano Prodi approved the 300-million-euro emergency loan on Tuesday evening. It must be paid back with interest at market rates by the end of December 2008.
The sum was bigger than expected and Prodi said this was at the specific request of premier-elect Silvio Berlusconi, who won last week's Italian general election.
But the loan must be approved by the European Union, which has forbidden further state aid to Alitalia and says any help must come at market conditions.
If Alitalia receives the money without a green light from Brussels, then the airline's European competitors can take legal action to get the loan frozen or reimbursed.
Barrot's spokesman Michele Cercone said the EC had received ''a letter and some documents'' about the bridge loan but was not satisfied.
''We want to see if this is a commercial operation or whether there are elements connected to state aid,'' Cercone said.
The EC warned earlier this week that Alitalia had already received state funds on a 'one last time' basis in 2001 and that it could not ask for more until 2011.
Alitalia has debts of around 1.4 billion euros and is losing some one million euros a day. The loan should keep it going until the end of the summer.
BERLUSCONI INSISTS ITALIAN BID IN THE OFFING.
Berlusconi has insisted that a group of Italian banks and businesses is ready to bid for Alitalia following Monday's withdrawal of an offer from Air France-KLM.
According to Berlusconi, the Italian consortium will be ready to make an offer for the Italian Treasury's 49.9% controlling stake in Alitalia by the end of May.
''Now that we have the loan, it's possible for the Italian group to come forward, study Alitalia's accounts and then, in three to four weeks, put forward a binding offer for the company,'' the 71-year-old centre-right chief said on Tuesday.
As before when he has talked of an Italian rescue plan for Alitalia, Berlusconi gave no details of those involved.
But Italian businessman Salvatore Ligresti, the honorary chairman of insurance group Fondiaria-SAI, came forward on Tuesday saying that he would be interested in joining.
''I hope there's a way to get involved. We have to lend a hand here - I think it's right and necessary for the country, for Alitalia, for the workers and for tourism,'' he said.
In the run-up to the general election, Berlusconi repeatedly said that Alitalia should remain in Italian hands and that a domestic consortium was ready to fend off Air France-KLM's takeover, even saying at one point that his own children were willing to join a rescue group, a statement he later backed down on.
After the election, Berlusconi softened his line, saying he would consider a deal with Air France-KLM as long as all partners were on an equal footing.
Then on Friday, the centre-right leader said Russian carrier Aeroflot could play a part in Alitalia's future, even if it were taken over by Air France.
Aeroflot, which is the largest East European carrier and controlled by the Russian government, dropped a bid for Alitalia last year.
The idea of a Russian link-up resurfaced last week during talks in Sardinia between Berlusconi and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The deal with Air France broke down after trade unions refused to accept 2,100 layoffs and the downsizing of Alitalia's activities.
Berlusconi warned this week that jobs would have to go at Alitalia, saying it was a ''painful'' reality.
