The Tar of Lazio has decided to accommodate two of the appeals of Unicredit Against the limitations on OPS on Banco BPM, imposed by the government through the use of the so -called Golden Power. The administrative court considered two measures of the rule unjustified, leaving instead intact two.
The executive however accepted the decision by please, but in the meantime also the European Commission It has put under observation the use of Italy Golden Power in an operation, such as that between Unicredit and Banco Bpm, which concerns two companies based in Italy.
Tar’s decision on Unicredit
With the decision, which arrived on Saturday 12 July, the TAR in fact canceled two of the most important limitations that the government had imposed on Unicredit in its attempt to acquire Banco BPM:
- the obligation to keep the employment/deposits ratio unchanged for 5 years;
- the ban on reducing investments in large public works.
In both cases, the TAR contested the government that it has established a time too large for the application of these rules. The first was in fact a duration of 5 years, while the second was in fact perpetual. The administrative court instead confirmed two other limitations:
- the obligation to maintain the current investments of Anima Holding, owned by BPM, in Italy;
- the obligation to cease all activities in Russia.
The government’s response
The confirmation in particular of the maintenance of the investments of Soul In Italy it is seen as an important victory by the government. Sources of the Ministry of Economy commented:
The sentence largely confirms legitimacy and therefore the Golden Power plant in particular in its qualifying points, the obligation for unicredit of the disposal of assets in Russia within 9 months and the maintenance of Italian titles in soul.
Although half of the measure adopted through the use of the Golden Power has therefore been abolished, the executive considers the positive sentence. Always the Ministry of Economy makes it known:
Economic safety is recognized as an element of national security: a fundamental principle that is the basis of the Golden Power in question and which will be increasingly important in the future.
Also the EU against the Italian Golden Power
In the current state of affairs, however, Unicredit’s Oops on Banco Bpm cannot continue. The government must issue A new DPCMwhich replaces the previous one and update it with the TAR decisions. An operation that, however, the Prime Minister Meloni risks having to repeat soon.
In fact, the European Union has also expressed strong doubts about the government’s limitations to OPS. The Golden Power should in fact be used to protect national interests in the event of a hostile climb of a strategic company by a foreign company. It serves to protect national security, but in the case in question, Both banks are Italian.
Unicredit has a widespread shareholder, which has foreign participation, but a management structure that has remained rooted in Italy. Banco BPM is also Italian, despite its main shareholder, it is French Crédit Agricole.
