Premier Matteo Renzi told the
Lower House on Wednesday the government is weighing intervention
in scandal-plagued steelmaker ILVA, which has threatened to shed
jobs and even close over the massive costs of an environmental
cleanup at its plant in the southern port city of Taranto.
"We are considering the possibility of a public
intervention for a set period of time, that would tackle the
environmental issues" and set the plant back on its feet, Renzi
told lawmakers.
The government would only step in until what is Europe's
largest steel producer is "ready to go back to the market...and
become a leading European firm," the premier said.
Renzi added the government will consider "all kinds of
solutions, from national and international private investments
to a public intervention".
In an interview on Sunday with La Repubblica, Renzi said
that if the government did take on ILVA, it would hold Europe's
largest steel producer for only "two or three years, defend
employment, protect the environment, and then relaunch it on the
market".
ILVA, which has employed as many as 16,000, was placed
under special administration by the Italian government in 2013
and in October, the European Commission gave Italy two months to
deal with the longstanding health and environment problems at
its plant.
If it fails, it risks seeing the case referred to the
European Court of Justice, the EC warned.
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