The European Commission gave
notice to Italy Wednesday of further infraction procedures
involving the troubled steelmaker ILVA and the
environmental-health scandal in the southern city of Taranto, an
EC spokesperson said.
There are high levels of pollution in the region, and
nothing has been done to stop it, the spokesperson said.
Italy now has two months to respond to the EC's new
complaint.
The Taranto ILVA plant has been accused of violating
directives on industrial emissions.
The latest letter follows on Italy's response late last
year to EC concerns from September 2013.
That's when the EC raised serious concerns about the
troubled steelmaker ILVA, and apparent inaction on earlier
directives and conditions it imposed on the plant, which has
been blamed for a major environmental and health disaster over a
number of years.
The EC warned then that it was opening an infraction
procedure against Italy, and evaluating if Rome failed to apply
European laws in the case.
ILVA has faced enormous problems in the past two years,
leading to a decision by the Italian government to appoint a
commissioner to take over management of the company's ill-fated
Taranto plant - the largest steel producer in Europe.
ILVA has been at the centre of political and legal battles
since July 2012 when local magistrates ordered the partial
closure of the Taranto plant due to serious health concerns.
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