The new Italian government decided not to renew the agreement with ArcelorMittal, which guaranteed the company protection from prosecution for violations of environmental legislation.
On Monday, the management of the ILVA metallurgical plant in Taranto, southern Italy, may be prosecuted for exceeding emission limits.
Italian Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli will meet with ArcelorMittal managers in the coming days.
Previously it was reported that the largest metallurgical company Mira, which bought ILVA from the previous Italian government, threatened to close the metallurgical plant in case of deprivation of environmental immunity, since it does not have time to modernize its facilities.
The shutdown of the Taranto plant could lead to massive layoffs in the depressed region of Italy, which will send more than 10,000 people home.
Environmentalists are pleased with the government's decision. They state that the emissions situation has not changed since the arrival of ArcelorMittal. Recall that it was precisely because of environmental protests that the past leadership of ILVA was sent to jail, and the parent company went bankrupt.
But the trade unions are clearly alarmed and taken by surprise by the latest course of events. The government, sums up the general secretary of the Italian Metalworkers' Union (CISL) Marco Bentivogli, "gives a good alibi to the company to abandon the plant."
