UPDATE 1-EU says to review Alitalia emergency aid quickly

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BRUSSELS, April 23 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it would assess quickly whether Italy's decision to grant ailing airline Alitalia AZPIa.MI a 300 million euro ($479 million) loan broke European Union state aid rules. "The Commission has been able to prove that when assessment and measures to be assessed are really urgent, the Commission has always been acting with the necessary urgency," a spokesman for the European Union's executive arm told a regular briefing.

Italy's outgoing centre-left government decided late on Tuesday -- in consultation with Silvio Berlusconi, who becomes prime minister next month -- to provide the emergency loan to keep the airline flying.

"The Italian government has clearly stated its intention to give this loan -- at this stage we haven't received notification," the Commission spokesman said, declining further comment on whether the EU executive would permit the loan.

Under EU rules, state aid to companies is forbidden except under certain conditions.

The Commission denied there would be a conflict of interest if it appointed an Italian to be its next transport commissioner -- a job that would include overseeing the EU executive's dealings with Alitalia.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced the potential reshuffle on Tuesday in the event that Italy's Franco Frattini quits his post as EU justice and security commissioner to join the Berlusconi cabinet, as expected.

"This doesn't take anything away from the fact that the Commission takes decisions as a college," another Commission spokesman said. (Reporting by William Schomberg and Pete Harrison; Editing by Dale Hudson)