I`d like to express my great satisfaction for the European Commission`s approval of our project to increase the Company capital. This operation on the open market will put Alitalia in a position to give solid financial backing to its 2002-2003 Business Plan - a plan which calls both for major restructuring of the Company and for large-scale renewal of the fleet. This decision by the European Commission shows full recognition of the value and strategic importance of the operation, which has been warmly welcomed by leading financial bodies, both in Italy and abroad, and which will prove itself on the market as a solid guarantee for our company`s re-launch. The approval already given to the project encourages us to keep moving along the same path, heartened by the first signs of an upswing which will take a more definite shape during the year due to the effects of financial discipline and rigorous controls.

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