ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the intricacies of the relationship between business and human rights, using the case of the ILVA steel plant in Taranto (Italy), that European governments may also encounter significant challenges when exercising their political leverage and their institutional role. It discusses whether the protection of much-needed investments and the maintenance of political consensus in the context of an economic crisis can sometimes take priority over the states' internationally and constitutionally sanctioned human rights obligations. The chapter outlines, in particular, a case in which different values and interests, among which are development, human rights and environmental considerations, appear to have clashed, posing a challenge to all stakeholders involved. It aims to open additional research avenues and thereby extend the European business literature towards more thorough investigations into the conflicts that arise and persist in even in the relatively advanced institutional and policy context of EU countries.
