FRANKFURT/ROM (dpa-AFX) - Lufthansa has received support from the trade unions in its struggle for a stake in the state-owned Italian airline Ita. In a joint letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, eleven employee organizations demanded a quick and positive decision for the planned merger. The aim of the EU must be to strengthen the European aviation industry, its value creation and jobs with European standards and to keep its tax revenues in Europe, they said.

The eleven trade unions from Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland were particularly opposed to possible cuts in the Lufthansa Group's long-haul services in cooperation with United Airlines and Air Canada. In addition, Ita's current long-haul operations must be maintained and expanded in the future in order to ensure growth and secure jobs. The EU Commission had expressed reservations about the integration of Ita into the Lufthansa Group's North Atlantic alliance.

In a first step, the Lufthansa Group intends to take over 41 percent of the state-owned airline Ita Airways, the successor to the former Alitalia. Later, Ita is to become wholly owned by the Group, which is planning an additional hub in Rome. However, the EU Commission, as the responsible approval authority, has not yet approved the project due to competition law concerns. Vestager fears that customers could suffer from rising prices or poorer quality after the takeover. Lufthansa has already made concessions on take-off and landing rights in the antitrust proceedings./ceb/DP/stw