The former Ilva in Taranto does not close and the blast furnaces continue production. Shutting them down would have meant shutting down the steel mill forever. The Council of State accepted the request for suspension of the ordinance of the Tar of Lecce which validated the decision taken a year ago by the mayor of Taranto who ordered ArcelorMittal and Ilva in extraordinary administration to intervene to reduce the critical issues linked to the pollution of the mega-factory. Which was equivalent to closing.
In the long and complicated story, therefore, a new window of negotiation. The judges of the Fourth section, explains a note, "considered the prevailing need to avoid the serious and irreparable damage that would have resulted from the suspension of the activity, which should have been carried out within the expiry of the terms established in the order itself". Furthermore, according to the Council of State, "it has not been adequately denied that shutting down the so-called "hot area" in such a short time and without following the necessary safety shut-down procedures would certainly have resulted in very serious damage to the plant, such as to determine in effect the definitive cessation of the activity".
"We respectfully welcome the decision on the former Ilva even if we do not believe that the solution to the crisis can pass through the courts", underlines the Minister of Development Giancarlo Giorgetti which is now responsible for the Ilva dossier. “This pronouncement – continues the minister – in any case gives politics and the Mise in particular the possibility and time to look for the solution for the workers, the company and the Italian iron and steel production which represents a strategic asset as well as an excellence and must be protected”.
