Italy's lower house of parliament has approved the so-called ‘Ilva decree' by an overwhelming majority. The government decree will now go to the senate for approval. The legal measure aims to save Italy's largest steelmaker Ilva, by outlining the conditions - including badly needed clean-up measures - under which Ilva's embattled steel plant in the southern port city of Taranto can continue to operate, despite court injunctions and legal proceedings regarding the alleged deadly impact of the plant's emissions.
The bill has enabled Italy's troubled technical government, which has been shaken this month by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's political maneuvers, to shore up its majority for the time being. The Ilva decree was passed in the lower house with 421 yes votes, 21 no votes and 49 abstentions.