The nationalisation of the company

The Ariston case agitates the government. Tajani: 'EU active on Moscow sanctions, table with companies to be permanent'

The meeting after Moscow's latest decisions on the activities of Italian companies in Russia. Pressure from the government to launch an EU-wide consultation to include companies affected by Russian retaliation in European compensation programmes

by Redaction Rome

2 May 2024

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Commissione Ue: Ariston? Russia disprezza il diritto internazionale

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Key points

Tajani: 'Avoid other Ariston cases, table with companies to be permanent'
Putin's move: Gazprom to manage Ariston subsidiaries
Rome summons Ambassador Paramonov
Moscow Strategy
Urso: Brussels for compensatory measures in favour of companies

3' min read

With regard to the Ariston case 'we summoned the Russian ambassador to Italy and expressed to him our perplexity about the decision. We also took action with the EU because we can only deal with the issue of sanctions in an EU context'. So said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani during his speech at the working table for Italian companies in Russia, which was held this morning at the Farnesina. The meeting was convened in the wake of the recent measures taken by the Russian government against a number of foreign companies, including Ariston Thermo Group.

'Our embassy in Moscow,' Tajani explained, 'is doing everything it can: we took action immediately after the handover, which they say was temporary, of Ariston to Gazprom.

'We have also been active on the EU front,' the minister continued, 'because the whole issue of sanctions can only be addressed in the European context. We are working to find a solution to compensate the damage suffered by companies that are affected by Russian sanctions'.

Tajani: 'Avoid other Ariston cases, table with companies to be permanent'

In his speech, Tajani emphasised that it was a "concrete approach to solving the problems that Italian companies have in the Russian Federation" that of the Italian government, which, Tajani stressed, was "immediately activated" after the Ariston case, also to "prevent similar cases from happening again". "This operational meeting," continued the head of the Farnesina, "aims to express to the companies the greatest possible protection on the part of the government". Tajani proposed that "it can become a permanent table and not a one-off". The head of the Farnesina then affirmed that 'we will continue to support Italian companies at a complicated time with regard to their presence in the Russian Federation', deploying 'all the political and organisational tools we have at our disposal'.

According to the indications provided by the Farnesina, the meeting was attended by Confindustria, the Ice Agency, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Enterprise, and Made in Italy, trade associations, and companies with significant investments in the Federation, the Italian Embassy in Moscow, and representatives of the Italian business community in Russia. The appointment served to gather updates on the situation directly from the companies operating in the country and to exchange views on how the Government intends to protect the legitimate interests of the business community in Russia.

Putin's move: Gazprom to manage Ariston's subsidiaries

On 26 April, in an unexpected decision, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree for the temporary transfer of the Russian subsidiaries of Italy's Ariston and Germany's Bosch to Russia's Gazprom Domestic Systems, the company of the state-owned appliance group Gazprom. The decree, posted on the official portal for legal information, concerns Ariston Thermo Rus LLC, a subsidiary of Ariston Holding, and BSH Household Appliances LLC, a subsidiary of BSH Hausgerate GmbH.

Rome summons Ambassador Paramonov

On 29 April, the Italian government officially asked the Russian authorities for a step back after the nationalisation of the Ariston Thermo Group. Ambassador Alexey Paramonov, convoked at the Farnesina, was told on that occasion of his "strong disappointment" at a measure that affected the "legitimate economic activities of foreign companies" in Russia. The diplomat, however, kept his point, accusing Rome of 'sacrificing national interests to dangerous anti-Russian adventures'.

Moscow's strategy

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has placed the assets of some twenty western companies (including Danone and Carlsberg) under 'temporary management', justifying these moves as retaliation for western sanctions. And Moscow, at this stage, is also keeping a close eye on the assets frozen in Europe, in case the line is taken to use them to financially support Kiev. Vladimir Putin, at the same time, has been pushing since spring 2022 for the nationalisation of private Russian industries as well, in the name of 'national security': from textiles to rare earths, from optics-mechanics to electronics, in the sign of an almost complete conversion to a war economy.

Urso: work with Brussels on compensatory measures for companies

"We have asked the European institution, the Commission, to work together on a measure, therefore a European one, that would allow companies to be able to recover, in Europe, on the assets of those who have been beneficiaries of an administration or expropriation measure," explained the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, to SkyTg24. I believe that this is an attainable goal and that, on the one hand, it will obviously support Ariston's revenge against the beneficiary of Putin's measure, and at the same time, it may discourage Russia from persevering along this path. A compensatory measure,' Urso continued, 'to protect the companies that are affected by these measures, but also to discourage them from persevering down this road, I think it is the most effective measure'.