By: Wib Disk

BRUSSELS (Wib Disk) Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens new tab bid for a minority stake in Italian rival ITA Airways could harm competition and lead to higher prices, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday, ramping up pressure on the German carrier to come up with stronger remedies.

A risk of a competition issue is of course that prices go up and services go down, EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told reporters. That is what we mean when we say risk to competition: that users will have to pay, she added.

The European Commission said the deal threatened competition on short-haul routes between Italy and Central European countries, as well as on long-haul routes between Italy and the United States, Canada and Japan. It would also strengthens ITA dominant position at Milan main airport.

The removal of ITA as an independent airline may have negative effects on competition in these already concentrated markets, the Commission said in a statement.

The routes giving rise to potential concerns represent a small share of total short and long-haul routes and passengers served by both parties and their joint venture partners, and the potential concerns do not affect the vast majority of routes that ITA operates, it added.

The statement confirmed a Reuters story earlier this month. Lufthansa and the Italian government can now put forward new remedies by April 26.

The German group said it would present remedies to the Commission in a timely manner, adding that in the company view the deal would strengthen competition in Europe and in Italy.

We remain confident that ITA will become part of the Lufthansa group family this year, it said in a statement.

Lufthansa remedies to address EU concerns could be similar to those in a Korean airline deal approved by the Commission which included ceding slots, traffic rights and planes to a rival, a person with direct knowledge of the deal has previously told Reuters.