An agreement has been reached between France and Italy on the naval shipyards dossier, STX. It provides for the Italian group Fincantiere to acquire a 50% stake in the naval shipyards of Saint-Nazaire, with a further 1% to be loaned by the French state with a 'right of return' for 12 years if the Italian company fails to comply with its commitments, particularly its social commitments.
The compromise was struck at the 34th Franco-Italian summit in Lyon on 28 September, between the French...