(Finance) – Green light for Senate in the first reading of the Ilva decree with 84 votes in favour, 27 against and 30 abstentions. The text now passes to the Chamber for consideration. The majority voted in favor together with Action and Autonomie, against M5S and AVS while Italia Viva and the Democratic Party announced their abstention. The measure launched by the Council of Ministers in mid-January provides for theimmediate admission to the extraordinary administration procedure at the request of shareholders with at least 30% of the capital for companies of national strategic interest with at least 500 employees and debts of at least 300 million.
In the decree the possibility is then envisaged for the Ministry of Economy to provide funding to these companies financing with a maximum duration of five years, at market rates, for a maximum of 320 million euros for the year 2024. There are also guarantees of extraordinary redundancy fund during any extraordinary administration. In particular, the links have been expanded to allow related companies, which have difficulty accessing the credit for accumulated debts, to take advantage of the Guarantee Fund even in the absence of particularly favorable credit ratings.
During the Senate’s examination, the decree relating to related industries was also incorporated into the decree, with a government amendment. Steel mills of Italy whose measures have been further modified to meet the needs of the supply chain.
“I thank the senators for the full collaboration shown in the process of the provision which has allowed us to improve the text, also collecting further indications from the social and productive forces. We are in a decisive phase which requires maximum responsibility and the widest sharing to save the factories of the former Ilva and relaunch the national steel industry, a fundamental asset for reaffirming Italian industry. I can assure you that this cohesion and responsibility that emerges from the Senate today is what I have found among the workers of Taranto and also among the companies in the supply chain and ‘industry to which today we are giving some significant answers.” Thus the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Ursusat the end of the final vote in the Senate.
“A series of measures were approved during the conversion proposals amendments who have implemented the requests that have come to us from the related industries in these weeks of discussion and listening to their needs”, he added.