The EU warns of the risk of revocation of the UniCredit decree.

There is now an open conflict between the EU and Italy over the restrictions placed by the government on the UniCredit-Banco BPM transaction with the "Golden Power" decree. The European Commission has warned that the decree risks being revoked because it violates European law. "We will respond simply by reiterating the Regional Administrative Court's ruling, which satisfies us and recognizes the principle that economic security is part of national security," responded Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.

"It's legitimate for banks to aim for profit." But the state doesn't make a profit and "must guarantee national security." Because "in our opinion, there are not only competition issues but also, and above all, national security ones."

The Commission not only disputes the failure to notify it of the Prime Ministerial Decree, but also that "each" of the requirements imposed on the deal appears to violate European law. This full warning was formalized in the letter sent by the EU Commission on Monday, July 14, the full text of which has now been leaked: the "preliminary conclusion" is that Italy "violated Article 21 of the Merger Regulation."

And if confirmed, the EU executive will be able to adopt a formal decision ordering Italy to "immediately revoke the Decree." Italy will now be able to respond "within 20 working days." In theory, therefore, by August 12th.

The letter, signed by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, is surprising on one point: it notes that Brussels sent two requests for telephone contact to the Presidency of the Council, one on April 17 and one on May 22, both of which remained unanswered. This is significant because the matter also involves a fundamental principle of EU law, recalled elsewhere in the letter: "loyal cooperation" between member states and European institutions.

It should also be noted that the first unsuccessful contact attempt to "understand the status of the investigation" into the golden power was on April 17: Rome did not respond, and the following day the Prime Ministerial Decree arrived. On the merits, Brussels contests every single one of Rome's provisions. The requirement that UniCredit maintain its loan-to-deposit ratio in Italy unchanged for five years is deemed a possible "unjustified restriction on the free movement of capital," in violation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the Single Supervisory Mechanism Regulation (SSMR), and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).

The same violations are possible for the project finance clause, while the limitation on investments in Italian securities appears to conflict not only with primary EU law, but also with the directives on harmonized investment funds (UCITS), on alternative investment managers (AIFM), and on MiFID II.

Serious legal doubts also arise regarding the clause requiring UniCredit to "support the company's development," seen as an arbitrary limitation on its managerial autonomy. Finally, the requirement to leave Russia within nine months, according to Brussels, infringes on the ECB's exclusive powers in banking supervision.

A meeting of UniCredit's board of directors is now expected between tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Meanwhile, regarding cross-border acquisitions, Claudia Buch, Chair of the European Central Bank's Supervisory Board, emphasized that the supervisory body does not interpret "national and cross-border mergers differently in any way."

Regarding UniCredit-Commerzbank, without mentioning the case, "we are closely monitoring what is happening," he noted, adding that the ECB's task remains only to assess "the prudential implications." Meanwhile, the opposition remains on the offensive.

"Giorgetti should come to the Chamber," declared Benedetto Della Vedova (Più Europa), describing the government's "embarrassing performance." Gianmauro Dell'Olio of the Five Star Movement criticized the government's "role in the banking game," "only to favor certain private individuals." He also asked Giorgetti to report Bruno Tabacci (Democratic Party) to Parliament for "a cavalier use of the golden power in the UniCredit-BPM affair, which appears so instrumental as to place the government in a total conflict of interest."