This is a crucial week for the former Italian steelmaker Ilva based in the southern city of Taranto. The Italian government, ArcelorMittal, and the extraordinary commissioners for Ilva will continue to negotiate with the aim of achieving an agreement by February 7, the date on which a court in Milan will rule on the right of ArcelorMittal to withdraw from its contract to run Ilva. Meanwhile, the steel giant is preparing for the judicial battle in the event of the failure of negotiations.
In its defense brief presented to the Court of Milan, ArcelorMittal has stressed that the abolition of the immunity from prosecution, enacted last year by law, alters the contract for the management of Ilva, making it impossible for it to continue. "ArcelorMittal continued to manage the plant only because it adhered to the request made by the President of the Council of Ministers to maintain the normal operation of the plants and guarantee production continuity during the negotiation of a new contract with the government and the extraordinary commissioners" reads the document, which runs to 67 pages.
"Legal protection is an essential requirement and a logical presupposition of the effectiveness of the contract," added ArcelorMittal. ArcelorMittal's lawyers also accused Ilva of not having described the real conditions of blast furnace No. 2. In other words, it would not have indicated that the plant would be subject to a new seizure by the Taranto judiciary, with the consequent switching off of the furnace. This risk was averted on January 7 with a ruling by the Taranto Review Court which accepted Ilva's appeal, but according to ArcelorMittal the cancellation of the contract for its takeover of Ilva is still justified.
ArcelorMittal's lawyers added that the company, "going well beyond its contractual obligations, would be willing to agree on how to guarantee the easiest restitution of the branches of the company and meet Ilva's needs." In essence, ArcelorMittal has confirmed its intention to withdraw from the contract if a new agreement is not found.
According to several sources, it cannot be totally excluded that a new extension will be requested by the judge of Milan, after those requested in November and December, to gain further time in order to continue negotiations.