The "stake" on the table, which sees the comparison of Italy and France, becomes higher and higher.
The game between the two countries, started with the game, the leadership of shipyards extends to that of telecommunications with Rome that threatens to activate the special power (golden power) on Tim, after officially taking over the 27 Last July from the first shareholder Vivendi.
The Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda, explaining his move said: “We do what the government has to do, which is to apply the rules that exist. We asked Palazzo Chigi to verify whether there is an obligation to notify on the management and coordination activity ”; in fact, it was the Mise that urged Palazzo Chigi to start "a prompt investigation by the coordination group within the Prime Minister's Office" with the aim of "assessing the existence of notification obligations and, more specifically general, the application of the decree-law 15 March 2012, n. 21 (just what regulates the golden power, ed) ”, in relation to what Tim had communicated with the six-monthly report.
The decision, which could lead to a sanction, is obviously justified by the strategic nature of the access network but also by Sparkle, the subsidiary that manages and owns some infrastructures connecting with foreign countries, which not surprisingly in the distribution of the new post-Cattaneo delegation was entrusted to the vice president Giuseppe Recchi and not to the executive president Arnaud de Puyfontaine.
According to sources close to Tim, there would be no conditions for the application of the golden power. The rules in force relating to golden power, Calenda had said to the Chamber just before, will be "applied with intransigence", not to mention that it will try again to propose an "anti-slip rule on listed companies". The clarification took place during the information on Fincantieri-Stx but, Calenda wanted to specify that the two games have "nothing to do" with each other and therefore it would not be a retaliation. In fact, if we examine the dates, it emerges that the request to Palazzo Chigi on golden power started on 31 July, therefore, one day before the meeting with the French minister Bruno Le Maire, during which, as was to be expected, no progress has been made in the acquisition of the French yards by the Italian company.
The two episodes, therefore, follow the same script and are proof of the dynamism with which France moves on the Italian market, placing obstacles internally, such as the nationalization of the Saint-Nazaire shipyards. It is worth remembering that Vivendi has shown a concrete interest in Mediaset as well, with a share that is close to 30%, triggering a strong reaction also in this case: the Agcom has in fact forced it to choose between controlling the TV group and that of Tim.
Returning to the question of Fincantieri, of which President Emmanuel Macron had meanwhile spoken with the number one of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker, Calenda once again reiterated the "line of firmness", however leaving "open a channel of constructive dialogue with the French government. We believe that all the conditions exist to reach an agreement on Stx and move forward on the partnership project between Fincantieri and Naval Group ”.
The French proposal to create a naval Airbus project together with Italy, a project worthy of study and attention, but this does not negate the need to respect the agreements.
Fincantieri, meanwhile, with the Corvette contract signed during the visit of Minister Alfano to Qatar, orders an order of 5 billion for seven military ships.