Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) has welcomed the European Union Court’s ruling which confirmed that the European Commission had failed to investigate Italian government aid to Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino) granted in 2006. The Irish LCC added that the ruling reaffirmed the 2011 decision of the European General Court, which also ruled that the Commission had failed in its duty to investigate this "State Aid". With the Italian national carrier having posted a 2012 net loss of EUR280million and an overall debt of more than EUR1billion, a ruling forcing it to repay state aide would further exacerbate its already poorly financial state. Alitalia has also been forced to deny rumours that a possible tie up with Meridiana (Olbia) was on the cards calling them "unfounded and imaginative".