Ex Ilva: Government and unions to meet at Palazzo Chigi

The Italian government has convened a summit at Palazzo Chigi to discuss the future of the ex Ilva steel plant in Taranto. The meeting, scheduled for October 8, will include metalworkers' unions such as Fim, Fiom, Uilm, Usb, and Ugl, as well as Federmanager, to address environmental, employment, and industrial reconversion issues.

This summit follows a significant legislative step in which the Senate approved a decree-law aimed at ensuring the operational continuity of strategic national plants. The decree must now undergo examination by the Chamber of Deputies for final conversion by October 27.

The urgency of these discussions is heightened by a ruling from the Milan Court of Appeal, which mandated the shutdown of blast furnaces by the end of October. Consequently, the industrial model is shifting toward cold processing, steel finishing, and the potential conversion of primary furnaces to electric and direct reduced iron (DRI) technologies. On the commercial front, an Italian consortium led by Federacciai and supported by Eusider is positioning itself to acquire and revitalize specific business branches to safeguard raw material supplies for the manufacturing industry.