Another investigation into Ilva, but the steel industry in Italy is already doomed

Taranto. Within a few hours today, the news had dominated the homepages of news websites: “Lucia Morselli, former CEO of Ilva, placed under house arrest”. On closer inspection, this is merely a request from the public prosecutor’s office – or rather, from the magistrates in Taranto themselves, who spent 10 years investigating the Riva family, Vendola and dozens of others, until the judges ruled that this particular public prosecutor’s office could not proceed (precisely because of a conflict of interest involving some of the magistrates) and ordered the trial to restart in Potenza. A trial that is unlikely to lead to concrete results has nonetheless effectively condemned the entire Italian steel industry, leaving it with no future whatsoever—due to the responsibility of the judiciary, politicians, and the media who have followed their lead.

It is likely that the same will happen in this case, given that the government has already used the public prosecutors’ requests to justify the ousting of ArcelorMittal. It is a pity that, under ArcelorMittal, Ilva produced more than double what it does today, employed more people, had fewer accidents and did not lose 50 million a month. This represents a contradiction, given that special administration is intended to turn a company around, not to destroy it. Even if one focuses on the criminal aspect, it must be noted that the very commissioner chosen by Minister Adolfo Urso – the executive Giancarlo Quaranta – has already been definitively convicted for the deaths of three workers at the plant. Yet this has never been a problem for Urso.

But the fundamental issue is quite another. How can anyone imagine, under these circumstances, that anyone would buy Ilva? Nor is the state the solution, given that its managers are under investigation alongside Lucia Morselli. Among them is Franco Bernabé, the Invitalia-appointed chairman of Acciaierie d’Italia, the company subsequently placed under administration by the Meloni government. Aditya Mittal, the Indian owner to whom the then Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gave a copy of his book "L’impresa responsabile" before entering into a partnership with Invitalia, is also under investigation. A request for house arrest has also been made for Francesco Astorri, who at the time of the events was head of the inspection unit at Ispra (the public body responsible for environmental monitoring), accused of falsifying the results of factory inspections to favour the company in exchange for the promise of a promotion at Ispra.

A total of 30 individuals are under investigation – 26 individuals and four companies – on charges of criminal conspiracy aimed at committing offences against the environment, public safety and the public administration. The charges include allegations of environmental disaster, pollution and fraud against the state. According to the public prosecutor’s account, emissions from the plant are said to have caused a gradual increase in benzene levels in the air in the Tamburi district of Taranto, contributing to an environmental disaster. Investigating magistrate Maccagnano has scheduled the hearings for 3 November. Lucia Morselli’s lawyer states that everything will be clarified at that hearing.

This is not the first time the judiciary has investigated Mittal. It is not known what became of the 2019 investigation, when the Guardia di Finanza raided the plant with sirens blaring to find evidence to support the charges of depleting industrial assets and causing harm to the nation. In the meantime, today Ilva has effectively run out of raw materials and lacks even a single cent to continue operations, while the European Commission has stated that there is no longer any scope for state aid. Nevertheless, stakeholders continue to pretend that a future for ‘green steel’ produced using electric furnaces and DRI is feasible, a scenario that would require billions in investment.

In the appeal before the Court of Cassation, which is due to rule in the coming days on the shutdown of the hot zone, the Attorney General’s Office has requested that operations continue, challenging the Milan court’s order calling for the shutdown. The prosecution, in this case, points out that the Milan court has not demonstrated the danger posed by current emissions or the dispersal of asbestos. However, even if the Court of Cassation were to allow operations to continue, the plants would be unable to restart in the absence of raw materials. Today, yet another meeting has been convened in the ‘Sala Verde’ at Palazzo Chigi between the government and the trade unions, whose demands are now limited to early retirement schemes, redundancy incentives and extraordinary redundancy pay for all others. Ultimately, they will always be able to say that it was the judiciary’s doing. This is the end of Italian industry.