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A model Etihad Airways plane is seen on stage in New York November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

By Julia Fioretti

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Etihad Airways secured European Union approval on Friday to acquire 49 percent of loss-making Italian airline Alitalia [CAITLA.UL], the latest in a series of acquisitions made by the Abu Dhabi-based airline to expand its network around the world.

The deal is part of a 1.76-billion-euro (1.41 billion pounds) rescue plan for Alitalia, which doubled its net loss to 569 million euros last year, providing it with funds to invest in more profitable long-haul routes and reduce its dependence on domestic and regional services where it faces fierce competition from low-cost airlines and high-speed trains.

For Etihad, which already has minority stakes in Air Berlin , Aer Lingus , Virgin Australia , Air Serbia and Swiss-based regional carrier Darwin Airline, the deal will reinforce its presence in Europe's fourth-largest travel market with 25 million passengers.

To secure approval Etihad and Alitalia agreed to give up airport slots on the Rome-Belgrade route as Alitalia and Air Serbia, are the only carriers offering direct flights on that route.

"The Commission had concerns that the monopoly created by the transaction on the RomeBelgrade route could lead to higher prices and a loss of service quality for passengers," the European Commission said in a statement.

"These commitments adequately address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and should facilitate new entry on the RomeBelgrade route," the Commission said.

Reuters reported on Nov. 12 that the deal would be cleared with conditions, and that the Commission's transport unit would also give the green light by the end of the year because it complies with rules on EU majority ownership on EU airlines.

(Reporting by Julia Fioretti and Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Thomas and Greg Mahlich)

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European Union Commission clears Etihad's 49 percent buy of Italian airline Alitalia

European Union leaders pushed back against the Obama administrations criticisms that Europe had failed to take decisive action to revive growth, insisting that the continent was not headed toward a lost decade.

At an opening press conference of the Group of 20 leaders summit here Saturday morning, two top heads of the EU acknowledged that European economic growth had been disappointingly slow, with the 28-member union hampered by geopolitical tensions, weak exports and high private debts.

At the same time, Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, said that Europe had made significant strides since the financial crisis in 2008, carrying out many reforms at the EU and member country level.

We have to overcome our structural problems and we are doing so, he said at a conference with Jean-Claude Juncker, the recently elected president of the European Commission, the EUs executive branch.

Im confident that the next decade will not be a lost decade for Europe, Van Rompuy said. Europe is doing its share.

His reference to the lost decade -- a term that has been used to describe Japans long period of economic malaise--was a direct response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lews remarks earlier this week that the world cannot afford a European lost decade.

Lew, who arrived here ahead of Obamas summit meetings with other world leaders, said that Europe needed to take resolute action to restore healthy growth, implementing a comprehensive approach that includes addressing structural problems and boosting investment and spending.

U.S. officials are concerned that stagnation in Europe, along with a struggling Japanese economy and a slowdown in Chinas growth, will hurt Americas economic and jobs recovery, which has been gathering steam this year.

Obama arrived in Brisbane on Saturday for the final leg of an Asia-Pacific trip that included high-level meetings in Beijing, where an unexpectedly significant agreement with China on reducing greenhouse gases was announced. Obama is expected to use the two-day G-20 gathering to further reassure allies of America's economic and security commitment to Asia, as well as to urge leaders to step up investment and spending to bolster demand. Lew said the rest of the world should not count on the U.S. to be the sole driver of global growth.

The G-20 is comprised of the largest advanced and developing nations that together account for 85% of the world's economy. As president of this year's G-20, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sought concrete action plans from member countries to do their part to lift global growth by two percent within five years. If successful, that would translate into $2 trillion dollars of increased output and millions of more jobs, Australian officials say.

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EU leaders rebuff U.S. concern about a 'lost decade' for Europe

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Most Swedes believe their country did the right thing when it joined the EU, according to a new poll commissioned exactly twenty years since a narrow referendum in the Nordic nation.

Swedes voted on membership of the European Union in 1994, following a tightly fought campaign between those in favour of signing up and those who argued that Sweden should stay out of the bloc.

In the end, just over 52 percent supported the idea, while 47 percent voted against EU membership.

According to a new opinion poll carried out by Sifo for Swedish broadcaster SVT, 57 percent of people believe it was the right decision, while 23 percent think Sweden should not have joined the union.

Perhaps most significantly, 20 percent of those questioned said they could not answer whether EU membership was a good or bad idea.

Sweden joined the EU in the year following the referendum, with Finland and Austria also signing up in 1995.

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Sweden celebrates 20 years in European Union