Smooth landing
July 31, 2009
European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said she would recommend a conditional clearance of the takeover to a council representing all 27 EU member states.
Following negotiations on Friday, Kroes told the Reuters news agency that "Lufthansa had made new concessions which dispelled concerns about competition."
"A final proposal will be presented, for adoption, to the College of Commissioners as soon as possible," the EU's anti-trust watch dog said in a statement.
The EU was concerned that the proposed merger could lead to an increase in costs for consumers and a decline in services.
Lufthansa boss Wolfgang Mayrhuber welcomed the positive signal from Brussels.
The Commission has "reinforced its strategy to give European aviation a chance to be internationally competitive in the long term," he said, adding that customers, Vienna, and Austrian Airlines investors would all benefit from a deal that was in everyone's interests.
Austrian Airlines has watched its debt soar in recent years, due to a business model that has been unable to withstand the competition of budget carriers.
The ailing airline has been slashing some 1,000 of its 8,000 staff as part of a restructuring program.
nw/dpa/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Chuck Penfold