EU Court ready to ‘shut down’ Ilva: “Operation to be suspended in the name of the environment and health”

Brussels – It is possible to stop operations at Ilva: the Taranto steel plant, Europe’s second-largest, can shut down temporarily because of health and environmental protection. The EU Court of Justice has no doubts and, in a ruling, establishes the supremacy of citizens over production and turnover. “ In the event of serious and significant threats to the integrity of the environment and human health, the operation of the installation must be suspended.” It will be up to the national courts to assess the case and proceed with the necessary decisions, but in the meantime, the Luxembourg judges are charting the way forward in law.

The EU Court of Justice ruling is the latest piece in a never-ending story. In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (a non-EU international body) found that the steel mill was causing significant harmful effects on the environment and the health of residents, condemning Italy to implement remedies. The European Commission opened files on the industrial plant even earlier, in 2013, to demand that it be made less polluting. The country has moved on for economic and employment reasons. The Renzi government guaranteed aid to save approximately 11,000 jobs, so the EU asked for explanations.

Meanwhile, national politics worked to save the plant and avoid fines from Brussels, selling the steel hub to ArcelorMittal, which was required to modernize it to continue operating it. However, the people of Taranto took legal action, challenging the fact that operations at Ilva had not been shut down. The criticisms included that it did not comply with the  Directive on industrial emissions  requirements.

That’s not the end of the story because the judges in Luxembourg put pressure on the government, especially the Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, who is personally involved in reviving the industrial hub for sustainable steel production. It must be done quickly as the European Green Deal has given new and renewed focus to environmental and human health protection, which, the Luxembourg judges recall, “constitute key objectives of Union law, guaranteed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.” For this reason, “in the event of a breach of the installation operating permit conditions, the operator must immediately take the measures necessary to ensure that the compliance of its installation with those conditions is restored within the shortest possible time.” Ilva must immediately stop polluting.

It is not possible to operate with derogating rules. In case of serious and significant dangers to the integrity of the environment and human health, “the deadline for the purposes of applying the protective measures provided for by the operating permit cannot be repeatedly extended, and the operation of the installation must be suspended.” Italian justice must decide, quickly and in the proper manner. To go on on account of jobs and production risks infringement proceedings.