Despite the rejection this week by Italy's Constitutional Court of a bid by local prosecutors to shut down the Taranto facilities of Italian steel producer Ilva, the prosecutors have today, April 12, turned down a request by Ilva's lawyers for the return of finished and semi-finished steel stocks belonging to Ilva which had been seized by court order on November 26, 2012. The seized products total around 1.7 million mt, worth between €800 million and €1 billion.
The Taranto prosecutors gave a negative answer regarding the return of the steel products stating that the Constitutional Court had announced its decision only via a press release, and that this does not have any legal value. Meanwhile, they stated that the final decision will have to be taken by Taranto court judge Patrizia Todisco, who was the person who had decided to test the constitutionality of the decree passed by the Italian parliament last December to ensure the continuation of operations at Ilva's Taranto facillities.
The decree outlined the conditions - including upgrades and badly needed clean-up measures - under which Ilva's Taranto plant could continue to operate, despite court injunctions and legal proceedings regarding the alleged deadly impact of the plant's emissions. Some 12,000 jobs at Ilva's Taranto facilities have been at stake, as well as an additional 8,000 related jobs. Ilva produced nearly 8.5 million mt of steel in 2011, amost 30 percent of Italy's overall steel output.