At no stage has the government expressed the view that the European Commission is not dealing with the Air Malta restructuring aid application in the most expeditious way possible, the Finance Ministry said.

In a statement referring to claimed by European Commissioner John Dalli yesterday, where he stated that it was unfair to blame the commission for the fact that no answer had been given to Malta, the ministry said it had emphasised that the Commission Directorate General responsible for Competition issues has been very cooperative and professional in all its dealings on this matter.

Minister Tonio Fenech had personally expressed this point to Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia during a meeting on October 4, the ministry said.

The ministry said it was working closely with the European Commission and, following the fruitful discussions, final revisions were being made to the restructuring plan by the Maltese authorities before it was submitted, formally, to the European Commission.

EU law requires a very detailed plan which made projections over a considerable time period to ensure the long-term viability of the airline.

The government agreed with the Commission that the process for approval could not be a hurried one, especially when consideration had to be given to all the stakeholders that were to be affected by this process.

The ministry underlined that finding the appropriate balance in the airline's restructuring plan, given the multitude of issues involved in the running of the airline, was a major undertaking.

"It is fundamental that the process ensures that the final Restructuring Plan meets EU legal requirements whilst at the same time it achieves the vital objective of establishing Air Malta as a viable airline," it said.