Italy to monitor Euronext commitments on Milan bourse, minister says

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government will monitor commitments made by Euronext when it acquired the Milan bourse, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Wednesday after meeting unions who staged a historic strike at the stock exchange.

The protest was held last week after unions accused Euronext of "constant, systematic and overall disinvestment from Italy".

Euronext responded by saying it had created more than 100 jobs in Italy, and that the country was an important part of its expansion plans.

"Today we listened to the trade unions about the state of a company that is strategic for our country, for its economy and businesses," Urso said in a statement about Borsa Italiana.

The industry and economy ministry will follow up on Wednesday's meeting by "monitoring (Borsa Italiana's) performance and (Euronext's) compliance with the commitments made in the acquisition agreement", he added.

Euronext, which also runs stock markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Oslo and Paris, completed its acquisition of the Italian stock exchange, or Borsa Italiana, in April 2021.

Urso announced two further meetings about the labour dispute in the coming weeks, with Borsa Italiana and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp), which is a minority shareholder in Euronext.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, Writing by Romolo Tosiani; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Jan Harvey)