Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte said he would not allow ArcelorMittal to withdraw from the purchase of troubled steel plant Ilva. Giuseppe Conte told reporters: "the Contract was agreed, and we are not going to retreat, so that obligations will be met."
industry Minister Stefano Patuelli accused ArcelorMittal of trying to blackmail the country. He said: "We will not allow ArcelorMittal to blackmail the government, threatening more than 5,000 job cuts. Obligations must be fulfilled."
He suggested that the government may be willing to issue a decree, which stipulates the existing legal safeguards that are already provided by the Constitution of Italy. He said, "We can consider the norm, which explains this principle which is already enshrined in our legal system, without the development of any new rules specifically for ArcelorMittal".
ArcelorMittal announced Monday that refuses the transaction on purchase of plot of Ilva in the southern city of Taranto, after Rome refused to promise immunity from prosecution for environmental damage in the area.
Meeting of government representatives Conte and ArcelorMittal to discuss the issue, originally scheduled for Tuesday was postponed to Wednesday
In Ilva works 10 700 people throughout Italy, including the 8,000 workers in Taranto. Thousands of jobs indirectly depend on the plant, one of a shrinking number of large industrial employers remaining in the South.
