DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Airlines take aim at Italy's plans to bring down sky-high prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Airbus A380 of German air carrier Lufthansa is seen at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, February 12, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File PhotoROME, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A group of airlines operating in Italy on Monday criticised government plans to curb ticket prices at the height of the summer season, saying they could breach European Union free market rules. Ticket prices to Italy's two main islands have soared in recent weeks. Companies including Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), EasyJet (EZJ.L), American Airlines (AAL.O) and Delta (DAL.N) are members of the IBAR, the association's website shows. Measures in a decree law take effect immediately, but parliament has to ratify them within two months, otherwise they lapse.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Giorgia Meloni's, Angelo Amante, Alvise Organizations: Airbus, Lufthansa, REUTERS, Monday, Union, Italian, of Airlines Representatives, Companies, American Airlines, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, EU

☆ Italy scales back plans to control prices of essential goods
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Italy has scaled back its anti-inflation plans after producers refused to submit to a deal with supermarket chains to control prices of consumer staples, three people familiar with the talks said on Thursday. The accord was supposed to deliver a "decisive blow" to inflation, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Monday. But the people said on Thursday the government had not managed to get support from industry associations and so the supermarkets did not intend to endorse the plan. Seen by Reuters, the statement acknowledges that the industry associations have so far not been willing to sign off on any deal. Urso will chair a video call on Friday at 0730 GMT to ratify the joint declaration, one of the sources said.

Persons: Adolfo Urso, Urso, Giorgia Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Tomasz Janowski, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Industry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy

☆ Far-right Italian prime minister sues the lead singer of Placebo for calling her a 'fascist' and a 'racist'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's far-right prime minister is suing the lead singer of Placebo for calling her a "fascist." At a concert last month, Brian Molko also described Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as a "racist." Meloni was a youth activist in a group founded by a member of dictator Benito Mussolini's government. Now, according to press reports, Meloni herself is suing Molko for defamation, the latest in a string of lawsuits against critics. But as a youth activist, Meloni herself praised the country's former fascist dictator saying that, "everything he did, he did for Italy."

Persons: Brian Molko, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Benito Mussolini's, Benito Mussolini, Molko, David Broder, Elly Schlein Organizations: Service, BBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, Turin, Italy

☆ Trump's GOP allies vent about Hunter Biden after latest special counsel indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Special counsel Jack Smith's second indictment against Trump alleges he unlawfully tried to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. One day earlier, a former business partner of Hunter Biden testified that the younger Biden put his father on the phone during business meetings about 20 times, according to U.S. House members. Numerous GOP lawmakers and other supporters of Trump were quick to link the timing of Archer's testimony to Smith's indictment. White House spokesman Ian Sams posted that Archer "appears to have actually testified that President Biden wasn't involved and didn't discuss their business dealings. As they did following his first federal indictment in June, Trump's defenders attacked Smith and questioned his credibility.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Giorgia Meloni, Donald Trump's, Biden, Jack Smith's, Trump, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, Dan Goldman, niceties, Hunter, Goldman, " McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Elise Stefanik, Joe Biden's, White, Ian Sams, Archer, Biden wasn't, didn't, Republicans –, –, Hunter Biden's, Trump's, Smith, Jack Smith, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Byron Donalds, General Merrick Garland, Donald Trump Organizations: Republican, Italian, House, GOP, Department, Justice Department, New York, Republicans, Department of Injustice, Trump, Washington , D.C, DOJ Locations: California, Washington ,, United States, U.S, America, New, Washington, Manhattan

☆ Ukraine has tested its allies' patience with its military strategy and demands
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The phrase "whatever it takes" has become a mantra often repeated at public gatherings of allies assessing the war and the military needs of Ukraine. Most recently, tensions have emerged over Ukraine's military strategy and demands on NATO. And by threatening to boycott the summit, Zelenskyy had played a risky strategy, Shea noted, potentially setting the meeting up for failure. The key thing is to manage that [discrepancy] and prevent it doing lasting damage, and I think the Vilnius summit at least managed to prevent it doing lasting damage." Ukraine's military strategy — and the symbolic value it has put on fighting for every piece of Ukrainian territory — has sometimes collided with its allies' military perspective and pragmatism.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Gitanas Nauseda, Pedro Sanchez, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Joe Biden, Giorgia Meloni, Jens Stoltenberg, —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ben Wallace, Ludovic Marin, didn't, Zelenskyy, Washington, Biden, Jamie Shea, Shea, Beata Zawrzel, wasn't, they're Organizations: Spain's, Joe Biden Italy's, NATO, NATO Summit, Getty, Ukraine's, Kyiv, Britain's, AFP, Washington Post, CNBC, White, Ukraine, Emerging, LITEXPO Lithuanian, Center, Nurphoto, Bakhmut, Libkos Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Kyiv, Russia, U.S, Washington, London, United States, Soviet, Donetsk

☆ Telecom Italia's quarterly core profit rises as domestic revenues edge up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

which was above a company-provided analyst consensus of 1.3 billion euros. TIM's net financial debt rose to 26.1 billion euros ($28.57 billion) as of June 30 from 24.6 billion euros in the same period last year. The company confirmed its financial targets for 2023, including a stabilisation of service revenue and core earnings at the domestic level. The government has special vetting powers on any deal involving TIM's grid and wants to join KKR's bid to keep a strategic oversight on Italy's main telecommunications infrastructure. The grid sale has faced heavy reservations from TIM's top investor, Vivendi (VIV.PA), which is demanding a higher valuation to back a deal.

Persons: Yara, Pietro Labriola, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Urvi, Chris Reese, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Telecom Italia, KKR, TIM, U.S, TIM's, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Milan, Bengaluru

Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% on a quarterly basis between April and June and was up 0.6% year-on-year, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. ISTAT gave no numerical sector breakdown of its preliminary second-quarter GDP estimate, but said industry and agriculture output decreased whereas services grew marginally. The 0.3% contraction left Italy with so-called "carryover" growth of 0.8% this year, assuming GDP would be flat in the remaining two quarters. "Italy is an advanced industrial country and the weakness in industry is much more important than the tourism sector for the economy's health," said Lorenzo Codogno, head of LC Macro Advisors and former chief economist at Italy's Treasury. ISTAT also said annual inflation slowed to 6.4% in July from 6.7% in June, on a EU-harmonised consumer prices.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Franziska Palmas, Intesa, Lorenzo Codogno, Alvise Armellini, Elvira Pollina, Sharon Singleton, Alistair Bell Organizations: Gross, Reuters, Capital Economics, ISTAT, LC Macro Advisors, Italy's Treasury, Thomson Locations: ROME, Italy, Rome, Milan

☆ Italy just slammed China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, saying it was an 'atrocious' decision to join and that it's barely benefited from the deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He said the pact had multiplied China's exports to Italy, but made little difference to Italy's exports to China, according to a Reuters report Sunday. When Italy pledged to join China's BRI in 2019, it was the largest economy to do so. However, since then, Italy's imports from China have almost doubled, but the European nation's exports to China have barely increased. Italy's exports to China rose to 16.4 billion euros, or $18 billion, in 2022, from 13 billion euros in 2019. On the other hand, China's exports to Italy rose from 31.7 billion euros in 2019 to 57.5 billion euros in 2022, Reuters reported, citing data from Italy's economic observatory.

Persons: Guido Crosetto, Crosetto, —, della Sera, China's, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni Organizations: Initiative, Service, della, Strategic, International Studies, Reuters, Politico, Eurasia Group Locations: Italy, China's, Wall, Silicon, Italian, China, Europe, Asia, Indonesia, Poland, Egypt, Beijing, Washington

Last year, Giorgia Meloni, an Italian far-right politician, became prime minister on an agenda that many feared would mark a radical turn for the country. Now, her visit to the White House last week has bolstered her credentials on the international stage. Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how she got here and the path she has carved out for Europe’s far-right parties.

Persons: Giorgia, Jason Horowitz Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Italian, Rome

☆ Italy minister says decision to join flagship Chinese scheme ‘wicked’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Italy’s defense minister called his country’s decision to join a flagship Chinese infrastructure scheme “wicked,” as the government weighs up whether continue as part of the scheme. It was established to rebuild China’s Silk Road, connecting Asia with Africa and Europe with the aim of increasing trade and economic growth. “We have exported a load of oranges to China, they have tripled their exports to Italy in three years. He described Beijing as “a competitor, but also a partner.”Italy’s membership of the BRI expires in 2024. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that it was possible to have “good relations” with China outside the scheme.

Persons: CNN —, Guido Crosetto, –, China’s Xi, Critics, Crosetto, Sera, Giuseppe Conte, ”, Giorgia Meloni Organizations: CNN, della Sera, Initiative Locations: Chinese, –, Italy, Asia, Africa, Europe, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Sri Lanka, West Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, Paris, Beijing

☆ Joining China's Belt and Road was an 'atrocious' decision, Italian minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Italy's biggest container port Gioia Tauro is seen from a helicopter in the southern Italian region of Calabria, November 8, 2012. REUTERS/Alessandro BianchiROME, July 30 (Reuters) - Italy made an "improvised and atrocious" decision when it joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago as it did little to boost exports, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview published on Sunday. The BRI scheme envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. "The decision to join the (new) Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act" that multiplied China's exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner," the defence minister added.

Persons: Gioia Tauro, Alessandro Bianchi ROME, Guido Crosetto, Crosetto, Joe Biden, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Alvise Armellini, David Evans Organizations: Gioia, REUTERS, Initiative, Italian, della Sera, TG5, Thomson Locations: Italian, Calabria, Italy, China, Asia, Europe, Beijing, TG5 Italian

☆ Italy wins EU nod to clinch 18.5 bln euros in post-COVID funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, July 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday it had provisionally approved the payment to Italy of a third tranche of 18.5 billion euros ($20.43 billion) in post-COVID recovery funds. The approval of the money had been blocked in March due to Rome's failure to meet previously agreed policy conditions. "The European Commission strongly encourages all member states, including Italy, to proceed with the timely implementation of their respective recovery and resilience plans," it added. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the announcement and reiterated Rome's commitment to securing all 35 billion euros in post-COVID funds scheduled for this year. Italy is due to receive some 191.5 billion euros in EU cheap loans and grants through 2026.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Gavin Jones Organizations: European, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Italy, Brussels

☆ Morning Bid: ECB to follow Fed hike, Meta surges
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Fed Chair Jerome Powell remained equivocal about whether there was one more policy rate rise left this year and said Fed staff were no longer forecasting a recession - but futures markets continue to see a less than 50% chance of another move. Global stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) hit their highest since April last year on Thursday, with European stocks up more than 1% ahead of the ECB decision. The euro pushed higher against a softer dollar ahead of the announcement and press conference from ECB chief Christine Lagarde. The yen also firmed as the Bank of Japan is expected to keep its easy policy unchanged on Friday. The euro zone's biggest bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), by contrast, beat Q2 estimates and the stock jumped 4%.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Meta, Jerome Powell, Dow Jones, Christine Lagarde, Willis Towers Watson, Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Toby Chopra Organizations: Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Fed, Treasury, Boeing, Dow, Wall, ECB, Bank of, Shell, Barclays, BNP, Central Bank, Intel, Ford, Boston Scientific, Myers Squibb, Honeywell, Xcel, Eastman Chemical, Pentair, Mastercard, P Global, Hershey, Digital Realty, Northrop Grumman, Weyerhaeuser, Cincinatti, Verisign, Comcast, Southwest Airlines, HCA, . Federal Reserve Board, Washington Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Exxon, Chevron, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bank of Japan, Asia, Hong Kong, China, Abbvie, Bristol, Edison, Kansas, Basel III, Washington

☆ Tesla’s secret team, what Africa wants from Russia - and Meloni woos Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Wagner mercenary group and food supplies top the agenda as African leaders meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Joe Biden try to find common ground at the White House. Plus, a coup in Niger and the the world mourns Sinead O’Connor. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tesla, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Sinead O’Connor Organizations: Apple, Google, Reuters, White House, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Niger

WASHINGTON/ROME, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House on Thursday, with the Ukraine war and Italy's relations with China expected to be among the top items on the agenda. Meloni is also expected on Thursday to meet with Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has said he could consider an impeachment inquiry into Biden. The G7 formally launched an alternative to Belt and Road, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, last year. Italy is planning to discuss with the U.S. how to support the development and stability of Africa, Meloni's office said, which will also be among the main topics of Italy's G7 presidency. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Angelo Amante in Rome Editing by Don Durfee and Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Giorgia Meloni, Italy's, Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Meloni's, Meloni, Trevor Hunnicutt, Angelo Amante, Don Durfee, Diane Craft Organizations: Italian, White, Republican, Russia, Initiative, Partnership for Global Infrastructure, Investment, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, ROME, Ukraine, China, Italian, Washington, Beijing's, Italy, Beijing, Japan, Rome, North Africa, Africa

☆ Biden and Meloni May Find Common Ground at White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jason Horowitz | More About Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Not long ago, Giorgia Meloni rose in Italian politics campaigning against migrants and the European Union while seeking alliances with supporters of Donald J. Trump. Now prime minister of Italy, she would seem to have little in common with President Biden, who once compared the hard-right philosophy she shared with Mr. Trump to “semi-fascism.”But when Ms. Meloni visits Mr. Biden at the White House on Thursday, far from being a collision of worldviews, the meeting will, perhaps surprisingly, mark how much the two leaders are in sync on major international issues, such as support for Ukraine, suspicion of China and the need to strengthen NATO. There are still real fault lines between them, such as gay rights, which, along with migration, originally made Mr. Biden nervous about Ms. Meloni. But the meeting will amount to a recognition of what many analysts see as her shift to the center since she won elections and became prime minister last fall. In Europe’s pitched debate about whether it is better to keep marginalizing far-right forces or bring them into the fold, Ms. Meloni, analysts say, has emerged as Exhibit A in favor of the normalizing powers of governing.

Persons: Donald J, Biden, Trump, Meloni Organizations: European Union, Trump, Mr, White, NATO Locations: Italy, Ukraine, China

☆ What’s Happening in Giorgia Meloni’s Italy Is Scary - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( David Broder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks, Ms. Meloni spearheaded a European Union deal with Tunisia, whose authoritarian regime promotes the great replacement conspiracy theory, to curb migration in exchange for financial support. The new director general, Giampaolo Rossi, is a pro-Meloni hard-liner who previously distinguished himself as an organizer of an annual Brothers of Italy festival. Burying the antifascist legacy of the wartime Resistance matters deeply to the Brothers of Italy, a party rooted in its fascist forefathers’ great defeat in 1945. No matter its novelty, Ms. Meloni’s administration has every chance of imposing enduring changes in the political order. Instead, in galvanizing the political right behind a resentful identity politics, it risks becoming something else entirely: Europe’s future.

Persons: Ms, Meloni’s, ”, — Ms, Meloni, Giampaolo Rossi, ’, It’s, Éric, Democrats ’ Organizations: Union, Amnesty, RAI, “, Brothers, Conservatives, Democrats Locations: Italy, Tunisia, Libya, of Italy, Britain, Germany

ROME, July 26 (Reuters) - Italy announced measures on Wednesday to help families and businesses hit by extreme climate events, as the country reels from a heatwave in the south and fierce storms in the north. A draft seen by Reuters showed that the decree had a cost of 10 million euros ($11.09 million) for state coffers. The government is ready to earmark some 10 million euros to refund airline tickets and hotel reservations to tourists without insurance coverage, Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said. The Lombardy region around Milan has already asked the government to declare a state of emergency and has estimated damage of over 40 million euros, Musumeci said. The state of emergency, one approved by the government, removes bureaucratic obstacles and speeds up procedures to provide financial help.

Persons: Giorgia, Marina Calderone, Nello Musumeci, Musumeci Organizations: heatwave, Labour, Reuters, Civil, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sicily, Catania, Etna, Milan, Lombardy

☆ Italy readies special furlough scheme to save workers from heatwave
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People cool themselves at the Trevi Fountain during a heatwave across Italy as temperatures are expected to cool off in Rome, Italy, July 20, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File PhotoROME, July 25 (Reuters) - Italy is preparing special measures to help construction and agricultural firms keep staff at home during an intense summer heatwave, government officials and trade unionists said on Tuesday. Giorgia Meloni's cabinet will probably discuss the furlough scheme at a meeting on Wednesday, Labour Minister Marina Calderone told the unions at a gathering about the weather emergency. "Nothing is provided to help people working for delivery firms or seasonal workers, or other categories of employees," it said in a statement. Italian hospitals in the regions worst hit by soaring temperatures are seeing a jump in heat-related emergencies, medics have said.

Persons: Trevi, Remo Casilli, Giorgia Meloni's, Marina Calderone, Giuseppe Fonte, Gavin Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Labour, Italy's, heatwave, heatwaves, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome

☆ What the Collapse of Spain’s Far Right Means Going Forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jason Horowitz | More About Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Europe’s liberal and moderate establishment breathed easier on Monday after Spain’s nationalist Vox party faltered in Sunday’s elections, stalling for now a surge from far-right parties around the continent that seemed on the brink of washing over even the progressive bastion of Spain. But instead of Vox becoming the first hard-right party to enter government in Spain since the end of the Franco dictatorship nearly 50 years ago, as many polls had predicted, it sank. The party’s poor returns at the polls also took down the underperforming center-right conservatives who had depended on Vox’s support to form a government. As a result, no single party or coalition immediately gained enough parliamentary seats to govern, thrusting Spain into a familiar political muddle and giving new life to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who only days ago seemed moribund. Suddenly, Mr. Sánchez appeared best positioned to cobble together another progressive government in the coming weeks to avoid new elections.

Persons: “, ”, Giorgia Meloni, Vox, Pedro Sánchez, Sánchez Organizations: Vox, Repubblica Locations: Spain, Europe, Italy

☆ Spain has rejected the far right. But who governs next is still unclear
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Madrid CNN —The smiles on Spain’s election night told part of the story. “Spain has contained inflation and now it has contained the ultra-nationalist Vox party,” Andres Villena, a professor at Madrid’s Complutense University, told CNN Monday. Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, delivering a speech at his party's headquarters on July 23, 2023. Our priority is Catalonia, not the governability of the Spanish state.”But for Sanchez and Feijóo, running Spain is the priority. Sanchez, the incumbent leader, starts this coalition-building process after helping to successfully halt the advance of the far right.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, Yolanda Diaz, Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, Santiago Abascal, Sanchez, Vox, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, Marcos del Mazo, ” Andres Villena, Giorgia Meloni, –, King Felipe VI, Vincent West, Feijóo, Villena, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Alejandro Martinez Velez, Junts, Miriam Nogueras, … Sanchez, ”, ’, Spain’s Organizations: Madrid CNN, Socialist, Popular Party, Vox, Feijóo’s, Spanish Socialist Workers ’ Party, PSOE, Madrid’s Complutense University, CNN, Reuters, Socialists, Basque Nationalist Party, Spanish, Europa Press, Socialist Party Locations: Madrid, Spanish, Spain, Italy, Finland, Catalonia, Basque, Kyiv, Sunday's, Barcelona

☆ Italy's Meloni says Biden never raised issue of Belt and Road membership
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, July 23 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who will visit the White House on Thursday, said that U.S. President Joe Biden had never challenged her on the issue of Rome being part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Meloni leads the only major Western country to have joined China's BRI scheme, which envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. "The president of the United States has never directly raised the question with me," she told a news conference following an international meeting on migration in Rome. The deal was signed in 2019 under the administration of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, drawing criticism from Washington and Brussels, and Italy is highly unlikely to renew it when it expires early next year. It has produced little benefit for Italy over the past four years, with exports to China totalling 16.4 billion euros ($18.1 billion) last year from 13 billion euros in 2019.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Meloni, Giuseppe Conte, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir Organizations: Italy's, White, Initiative, Thomson Locations: Rome, China, Asia, Europe, United States, Washington, Brussels, Italy

But she said more needed to be done to prevent migrants trying to make the perilous Mediterranean crossing via unauthorised means. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed Meloni's point about offering legal routes into the 27-nation European Union (EU). Europe has pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid to help Tunisia with its battered economy, with 100 million euros speficially earmarked for tackling illegal migration. The EU could work with countries such as Tunisia in expanding their production of renewable energy to the benefit of all, she added. Conference host Italy is struggling to cope with the number of unauthorised migrants arriving in centres such as its far southern island of Lampedusa.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Mohamed al, POPE, Peter's, Pope Francis, COVID, Antonio Tajani, Ahmed Elumami, Foo Yun Chee, Conor Humphries Organizations: European Union, Presidential, Conference, EU, Thomson Locations: Italian, Rome, Europe, Italy, EU, Tunisia, St, Africa, Lampedusa, Tripoli, Brussels

☆ Why are far-right parties on the march across Europe?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Far-right parties are propping up coalitions in Finland and Sweden. Afraid of losing voters to UKIP (and other far-right parties), the governing Conservatives ended up adopting many of its positions. Chesnot/Getty Images Europe/Getty ImagesConversely, far-right parties have attempted to sanitize some of their rhetoric, hoping to appear a more credible electoral prospect. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesA different type of populismAnd so the recent successes of far-right parties cannot be explained by dramatic shifts in public opinion. A lot depends on the ability of mainstream parties – particularly on the left – to build tents big enough to accommodate their differences, rather than compromising with far-right parties to prop up their coalitions.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel’s, Mario Draghi, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Viktor Orban, Andrej Babis, Czech Michael Bloomberg, Czech Donald Trump, Meloni, Mussolini, Nigel Farage, Jack Taylor, Farage, Jean, Marie Le Pen, Marine, Lionel Jospin, Jacques Chirac, Petteri Orpo, Sanna Marin, Vilhelm Junnila, Ulif Kristersson, Mark Rutte’s, Pen, Chesnot, Philippe Marlier, ” Le, Matteo Salvini, Vladimir Putin, Tino Chrupalla, Alice Weidel, Thomas Lohnes, Omer Messinger, Larry Bartels, Boris Johnson, Leon Neal, Giorgia Meloni, Odd Andersen, Orban, Kaczynski, Rutte’s, Pedro Sanchez Organizations: CNN, White, Channel, European Central Bank, Italy’s, Vox, UK Independence Party, UKIP, European Union, EU, Conservatives, National, Socialist, Socialists, Finns Party, Swedish, Sweden Democrats, Rassemblement National, University College London, Lega, Ukraine, Russia, Former British, Italy's, NATO, Getty, Spain’s Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Brussels, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Czech, France, Finland, Sweden, Austria, European, Netherlands, Russian, Oxfordshire, Vilnius

☆ Italy's migration conference aims to stem flows by helping Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The meeting will focus on building partnership for projects in sectors including agriculture, infrastructure and health, an Italian government statement said on Friday. "The conference aims to govern the migration phenomenon, combat human trafficking and promote economic development according to a new model of cooperation between states," the statement said. Meloni, who has led a right-wing coalition since October, has so far floundered in her efforts to stem the increase. At least 94 people died when their ship broke up just off the coast of Calabria in late February. ($1 = 0.8946 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Keith Weir and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jihed, Giorgia Meloni, Mattei, Kais Saied, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, United Arab, European Union, IMF, Reuters, Eni, Human Rights Watch, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sfax, Tunisia, Middle, Rome, Africa, Europe, Turkey, Libya, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, France, Calabria

Search resuls for: "Giorgia Meloni"

25 mentions found