The Ariston Group case marks the incandescent temperature of the Italy-Russia relationship. Among diplomatic accusations and counter-accusations, the “temporary transfer” to the energy giant Gazprom of the Russian branch of the multinational born in Fabriano and active in the hi-tech thermal sector – with ten thousand employees in 41 countries for a 2023 turnover exceeding 3 billion euros but now with registered office in the Netherlands -, makes the government and the world of industry nervous: not an effective nationalization but certainly a highly penalizing measure which now also calls the EU to take sides. If only for the similar measure ordered by the Kremlin against the German companies Bosch and 20 other companies that have long been placed under “temporary management”, including the French Danone and the Danish Carlsberg.
Obligatory to react. On the recommendation of the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Antonio Tajani, the secretary general of the Farnesina Riccardo Guariglia summons the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Italy Alexey Paramonov. Guariglia represents the government’s strong disappointment, underlines the legal groundlessness of the operation and asks Russia to reconsider the provision also due to the “historical roots” of Ariston Thermo Rus and the absence of any “connection with the current international crisis “. According to the Russian embassy, the “explanations” offered to Italy instead describe a different picture and are “exhaustive on the legality and validity of the decisions taken”. “Steps taken in the legal field,” reads the statement via Facebook. Measures “in response” to acts “hostile and contrary to international law” by the United States and its affiliated foreign states, aimed at unlawfully depriving Russia, its lawyers and individuals, of the right to property located in the territory of those countries”. Paramonov recalls “that in Moscow particular importance has always been given to fruitful” and mutual “economic and trade relations”. “All the responsibility” for the current “negative consequences” would therefore lie with the “Italian authorities” who would not defend “true national interests to participate in desperate and dangerous anti-Russian geopolitical adventures”.
Full-blown skirmishes, against the backdrop of the main outstanding issue between the West and Russia: the hypothesis, supported by the United States and so far rejected by its European partners, of using the 300 billion dollars attributable to Russia, largely frozen in the coffers of European banks, to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. The recent visit to Rome by Gina Raimondo – the American Secretary of Commerce whose statement after the conversation with Giorgia Meloni contains an explicit reference to “support for Ukraine” which is missing in the contemporary note from Palazzo Chigi – suggests a probable survey of Italy on the topic dearest to the Biden administration. But no EU country, not even the openly pro-Kiev Italy, today seems willing to raise the stakes to this point, also for fear that autocrats from other countries (especially the Arab ones) could remove their capital from the eurozone. The quasi-nationalization implemented against Ariston, Bosch and other EU companies therefore appears as a reiterated muscular invitation from Vladimir Putin to preserve relations with Moscow.
Now it’s Brussels’ turn to make itself heard. “In line with its European partners, and in particular with Germany, Italy asks Russia to withdraw the measures adopted against legitimate economic activities of foreign companies in the country. The competent structures continue to follow and monitor the situation, in close collaboration with our embassy in Moscow and our permanent representation to the EU”, states the Farnesina. And Deputy Prime Minister Tajani reserves the right to delve deeper into the case together with the G7 and EU partners, evaluating an appropriate response. A ‘Russia table’ is convened for Thursday together with representatives of Confindustria and the ministries involved.
The Minister of Made in Italy Adolfo Urso is also moving on the dossier. The conference call with Paolo Merloni and Maurizio Brusadelli, president and CEO of Ariston Group, in the presence of the governor of the Marche Francesco Acquaroli, illustrates the development of a more comprehensive European sanctioning package to protect companies affected by acts of retaliation. Among the hypotheses under discussion, there would also be the possibility for the companies affected by the expropriations to judicially attack the assets belonging to the Russian subjects who benefited from the forced executions. On the first trading day after the Kremlin blitz, Ariston Holding started with a decline of over 2% and then closed at +0.68%, despite the loss of 3% of the turnover now under the control of Gazprom Household Systems.
