ROME, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Italy’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling ordering the shutdown of blast furnaces at the former Ilva steelworks in the southern city of Taranto, on health and environmental grounds, the court’s written decision showed on Thursday.
The ruling hampers efforts by Giorgia Meloni’s government to rescue the country’s largest steelmaker, adding uncertainty for the plant and its roughly 8,000 direct employees less than a year before the general election.
The Supreme Court of Cassation rejected an appeal against a decision by a Milan court, which had ordered the furnaces to be shut.
In their written decision, the Supreme Court judges described the earlier ruling as “correct and reasonable”.
Meloni has repeatedly pledged support for the facility, saying her government would do “whatever it can” to safeguard production. She has said Rome has committed around 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) to the steelmaker since taking office in 2022.
Environmental and health concerns have dogged the steelworks for decades, making it one of Italy’s most politically sensitive industrial disputes.
Acciaierie d’Italia, formerly Ilva, operates Italy’s only integrated steelworks and is considered an important part of Italy’s manufacturing sector.
The company had previously warned that closing the blast furnaces could lead to the permanent shutdown of the plant, once Europe’s largest steelworks.
The ruling risks complicating the sale process for Acciaierie d’Italia.
The government recently extended the deadline for binding bids to November 9 to allow potential investors to assess the legal and industrial implications of the court case.
India’s Jindal Steel International is considered the leading bidder, while a consortium of Italian steelmakers coordinated by industry body Federacciai has expressed interest mainly in selected assets.
(Reporting by Marco Roberti and Giselda Vagnoni, editing by Gavin Jones and Xevi Fontdegloria)
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