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☆ Italy Weighs Ban on Technocrat-Led Government in Proposed Constitution Reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe FonteROME (Reuters) - Italy's cabinet was set to propose on Friday a ban on technocrat-led governments, a draft law bill seen by Reuters showed, as part of a constitutional reform to introduce the direct election of the prime minister. Italy has had almost 70 governments since World War Two, more than twice the number in Britain and Germany. The right-wing administration of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office last year, made ending the country's chronic political instability strengthening the bond between governments and voters a key policy plank. The main opposition groups, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the 5-Star Movement, have already spoken out against the plan. Only the small centrist Italia Viva party of former premier Matteo Renzi said it might back the government.

Persons: Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte, Giorgia Meloni, Mario Draghi, Sergio Mattarella, COVID, Matteo Renzi, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, Democratic Party, Star Movement, Italia Viva Locations: Italy, Britain, Germany, technocrats

☆ Italy PM Meloni talks of Ukraine fatigue, migration in prank call
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts during a meeting of European heads of state or government in Granada, Spain October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke of international fatigue with the conflict in Ukraine and a lack of support for Italy in dealing with migration in a phone call with Russian pranksters. Asked about Russia's war in Ukraine, Meloni, speaking in English, said: "I see that there is a lot of fatigue, I have to say the truth, from all the sides. Prankster Lexus, or Alexei Stolyarov, said Meloni was at least someone who was willing to share her real opinions. Meloni, Italian prime minister for a year, split with her TV presenter partner last month after off-air video excerpts from his programme showed him using foul language and appearing to make advances to a female colleague.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Juan Medina, Vovan, Meloni's, Meloni, Lexus, Alexei Stolyarov, Alex Marrow, Federico Maccioni, Keith Weir, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Rights, Russian, Lexus, African Union Commission, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Granada, Spain, Ukraine, Italy

Politicians from across the spectrum have visited the garrison of workers permanently stationed outside the Crevalcore plant, less than 40 kilometres from Ferrari's headquarters. Marelli has put the plan on hold but confirmed it wants to abandon the plant, leaving workers in a limbo. Samira Chouri, 50, has worked at the Crevalcore plant for 18 years. Some 37% of the EU's 800 billion euros ($845 billion) post-pandemic recovery fund is earmarked for climate friendly investment. Climate change think tank ECCO said Italy needed to spend between 7-13 billion euros more per year to meet Europe's decarbonisation goals.

Persons: Marelli, Grazia Vitiello, Samira Chouri, Calsonic, I'm, Sergio Manni, Francesco Simeri, Chouri's, Giovanni Sanfelice, ANFIA, Francesco Zirpoli, Zirpoli, Giorgia Meloni's, Europe's, Vittorio Sarti, Giulio Piovaccari, Vagnoni, Toby Chopra Organizations: U.S, KKR, Volkswagen, BMW, Fiat Chrysler, FCA, Venice University, Center, Automotive, Mobility, Thomson Locations: Italy, Italy's, Emilia Romagna, Marelli, Stellantis, France, Crevalcore, Europe, Rome, Italian

☆ Italy's Meloni 'enjoys good press' from the country's mainstream media, professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailItaly's Meloni 'enjoys good press' from the country's mainstream media, professor saysLorenzo De Sio, professor of political science at Luiss University, reviews Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's first year in office.

Persons: Lorenzo De, Giorgia Meloni's Organizations: Luiss University

It was seen on taking power as the country's most right-wing since wartime dictator Benito Mussolini, as Meloni's Brothers of Italy party traces its roots to the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). At home she pleased her rightist grassroots through measures to defend the traditional family, protect Italy's cultural heritage and try to stem migrant arrivals. That makes it harder for Meloni to keep her tax-cutting promises and makes Italy's debt, equal to 140% of national output, vulnerable to market sell-offs. Last week Meloni weathered the first of several reviews on Italy's debt when S&P Global Ratings confirmed the country's BBB rating with a stable outlook. COMMANDING POSITIONAt home Meloni has so far avoided the domestic political chaos that dogged so many of her predecessors.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Juan Medina, Meloni's, Meloni, Benito Mussolini, Valentina Meliciani, Andrea Giambruno, Meliciani, Italy's, Ukraine Meloni, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, Giovanni Orsina, Angelo Amante, Giselda, Gavin Jones, Alex Richardson Organizations: Italy's, REUTERS, Western, Coalition, Italian Social Movement, EU, Ukraine, Democratic Party, Star Movement, League, Forza Italia, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Granada, Spain, ROME, EU, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Rome, Brussels, Africa

France, where Ryanair serves cities such as Marseille and Bordeaux, has floated proposals for a minimum ticket price in an effort to reduce pollution from aviation. The French price proposal, which EU officials said has drawn some support from the Netherlands and Belgium, got short shrift from senior Ryanair executive Eddie Wilson. Having established a strong position in large parts of Western Europe, Ryanair is now looking east to countries such as Poland for further growth. Europe's main airlines lobby group expressed relief and called on more European coordination to support the sector. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said a stronger ITA will reinvigorate competition in the Italian market but Ryanair's Wilson is unperturbed, describing ITA as a sideshow.

Persons: Eddie Wilson, Wilson, Andrea Giuricin, Giorgia, Giuseppe Cocuzza, Ourania Georgoutsakou, Carsten Spohr, Ryanair's Wilson, Rome Fiumicino, Sacbo, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Joanna Plucinska, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Ryanair, Europe's, European Union, Ryanair DAC, Alitalia, TRA Consulting, European Commission, Airlines for, ITA, Lufthansa, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Thomson Locations: Italy, ROME, France, Marseille, Bordeaux, Sicily, Sardinia, Netherlands, Belgium, Europe, Western Europe, Poland, Rome, Catania, Airlines for Europe, Bergamo, Milan, Malpensa, Brescia, London

Political Cartoons View All 1211 ImagesThe first woman to be Italy's premier, Meloni "won out against Salvini and Berlusconi. Fears for Italy's democracy have proved to be “exaggerated,’’ said Franco, who noted that Italy's president serves as a guarantor of the republic's post-war constitution. Meloni contends the rulings support a long-held belief on the political right that Italy’s magistrates sympathize with the left. Since becoming premier, Meloni has topped surveys of eligible voters, hovering near 30% — compared to the 26% of votes her party garnered in the 2022 election. Currently, Italy's president asks someone likely able to command a parliamentary majority the task of forming a government.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, —, Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi, Vladimir Putin, Meloni, Salvini, Berlusconi, Massimo Franco, ”, Tommaso Grossi, Ursula von der Leyen —, Joe Biden, ’ ’, Franco, it’s, ” Meloni, Von der Leyen, ″, Roberto Calderoli, Antonio Tajani, Tajani, Meloni’s, “, ″ Grossi, nostalgists, Benito Mussolini, Di Segni, Mussolini, Raf Casert Organizations: ROME, Union, European Commission, EU, Kyiv, Russia’s, Forza Italia, European Policy, White, Italian Rai, European Union, “, Union of Italian, Nazi, Associated Locations: Italy’s, Europe, Italy, Brussels, Rome, Hungary, Poland, Meloni, Ukraine, Lampedusa, Libyan, Tunisia, Italian, Israel, Nazi

The budget bill will then go to parliament, which must pass it by the end of the year. Investors have been demanding a higher premium to hold Italian government bonds since Rome last month raised its budget deficit targets for the 2023-2025 period, setting it up for a possible clash with the European Commission. AGEING POPULATIONNext year people earning up to 28,000 euros per year will pay income tax (known as IRPEF) at 23%, according to the officials. Meloni also aims to earmark at least 1 billion euros for measures, which have yet to be detailed, aimed at addressing Italy's demographic crisis. The scheme could increase tax revenues in Italy by between 2 and 3 billion euros, one official said.

Persons: Giorgia, Giancarlo Giorgetti, DBRS, Fitch, Moody's, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Treasury, European Commission, P, Thomson Locations: ROME, Rome, Ukraine, Italy

Research shows women in richer economies are more likely to have children if they work. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - Italy's first female premier - has said women are "an untapped resource" that lessens the need for immigrant labour. Yet her conservative government's 2024 budget, to be presented on Monday, is not expected to include measures to drive change. According to a government report relating to 2021, nearly one in five Italian women aged under 50 left their job after having their first child. SPANISH SUCCESSMeloni's government could learn from Spain, whose female activity rate lagged Italy's in the early 1990s but is now above the EU average.

Persons: Guzzo, Vittoria, Claudia Greco, Elena, Claudia Goldin, Giorgia Meloni, Claudia Olivetti, Enza Guzzo, Gian Carlo Blangiardo, Blangiardo, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Olivetti, Paola Profeta, Katharine Neiss, Valentina Za, Elisa Anzolin, Giuseppe Fonte, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Reuters, Research, Dartmouth College, ISTAT, Bank of, EU, France's, Milan's Bocconi University, AXA Research, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Arese, Italy, MILAN, Bank of Italy, Rome, Barcelona, Spain, Milan

☆ IMF's chief economist urges Italy to toughen budget plans -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Susana Vera/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund wants Italy to make its 2024 budget framework more stringent, as tax cut plans made the Fund "a bit worried", its chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said in a newspaper interview on Thursday. Gourinchas told the Corriere della Sera daily that Italy's structural deficit, net of interest spending, was not seen as falling fast enough. The IMF was "a bit worried" by planned tax cuts that "don't necessarily seem to go in the right direction", he added. It would be "desirable" if Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government revised its fiscal plans to make them more stringent before they are approved by parliament, he said. Over the next month Italy's budget faces scrutiny from credit ratings agencies, with S&P Global, DBRS, Fitch and Moody's all reviewing their assessment of the euro zone's third largest economy.

Persons: Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, Susana Vera, Gourinchas, Giorgia, DBRS, Fitch, Moody's, Gavin Jones, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Research Department IMF, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Monetary Fund, della Sera, IMF, P, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, Morocco, Italy, Rome

Because higher yields signal a rise in borrowing costs, the selloff has raised questions about the long-term sustainability of Italy's huge debt pile. Meloni has said she is not worried by the rise in yields, saying: "Italy is solid." Most of the sources said there is no hurry to end reinvestments or even to formally open this discussion on the policy-making Governing Council. Some argued that PEPP reinvestments should end before any talk of a rate cut, now expected by markets around mid-2024. Spreads of Italian 10-year bonds over their German counterparts are up roughly 30 basis points this month in their biggest jump since last December.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Giorgia, Christine Lagarde, Meloni, PEPP, Balazs Koranyi, Catherine Evans Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, REUTERS, Rights, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Italy

☆ Italy's deficit hikes could threaten its credit rating - Scope
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The eligibility of Italian securities under the ECB's TPI "is a key driver of its BBB+/Stable credit rating," Scope said. It will review its rating of Italy's debt on Dec. 1. More specifically, countries must respect the EU's economic prescriptions, have a sustainable public debt, and not show any macroeconomic imbalances. RATING AGENCIES' TESTBefore Scope assesses Italy's rating in December, the country faces scrutiny from several larger agencies. From mid-October to mid-November, S&P Global, DBRS, Fitch and Moody's all have the euro zone's third largest economy up for review in what analysts say will be key tests for the stability of Italian bond yields.

Persons: Giorgia, Christine Lagarde, DBRS, Fitch, Sara Rossi, Gavin Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: MILAN, Central, Reuters, ECB, P, Italian Treasury, European Union, TPI, European, Thomson Locations: Italy, Italian, Rome

[1/3] FILE PHOTO:Surgeon Rosanna Curinga walks out of Locri Hospital, in Locri, southern Italy, August 27, 2023. Italy's health ministry declined to provide further details. People are leaving Italy because of it," said Professor Foad Aodi, head of the Italian association of foreign doctors. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the failings of the national health service in Italy, which suffered the second-highest death toll from the pandemic in Europe after Britain. Higher salaries and better working conditions elsewhere are also proving a lure for Italy's own medical professionals, Italy's health unions say, exacerbating staff shortages.

Persons: Rosanna Curinga, Curinga, Abdel Karim Boutimah, Elizabeth Balbuena Delgado, Delgado, Orazio Schillaci, Schillaci, Giorgia Meloni, Andrea Filippi, Foad Aodi, Roberto Occhiuto, Occhiuto, Lorenzo Grillo Della Berta, Antonio De Palma, Francesca Piscioneri, Crispian Balmer, Rupam Nair, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Locri, Cuban, Indian Health Ministry, Italian, Economic Co, Development, Reuters, Union, OECD, Thomson Locations: Locri, Italy, Calabria, Communist Cuba, Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, Santiago de Cuba, Italy's, India, Paris, France, Germany, Britain, Havana, COVID, Morbegno, Milan, Peru, Switzerland, Abu Dhabi, Antonio De Palma ., Cuba, Rome, Delhi

☆ Italy plans 21-billion euro asset sell-off to keep debt in check
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Italy aims to raise at least 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), or roughly 21 billion euros ($22.2 billion), through asset sales between 2024 and 2026, the Treasury said in its Economic and Financial Document (DEF) published on Saturday. The plan is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts to keep in check the euro zone's second-largest debt pile as a proportion of GDP, while investors keep a close eye on Rome's creaking public finances. The new targets factor in the proceeds of asset disposals expected in the next three years, the DEF said, showing that without the sell-off plans the debt burden would probably rise. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said in the document that the stake sales would involve companies that are subject to privatisation commitments already agreed with the European Commission. This is a reference to bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) (BMPS.MI), which was bailed-out in 2017 at a cost of 5.4 billion euros for taxpayers.

Persons: Giorgia, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Giorgetti, Giuseppe Conte, Giuseppe Fonte, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Treasury, Economy, European Commission, Monte, Thomson Locations: Italy, Siena

The Treasury will issue new economic targets on Wednesday providing the framework for a budget in which Meloni will attempt to keep her tax-cutting promises while also lowering the fiscal deficit. "This budget is Meloni's first real economic test since she came to power last October," said Tim Jones, euro zone analyst for market consultancy firm Medley Advisors. Meloni has much less room for manoeuvre than when she hiked deficit targets in her first budget a year ago. Episodes targeting airlines and investors in Italy's 307- billion-euro ($326.74 billion) bad loan market have followed a similar pattern. Meloni subsequently said no measures were planned regarding non-performing loans, but her party's proposal is still before parliament and uncertainty persists.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Tim Jones, she's, Morgan Stanley, Reuters.G Rome, Roberto Perotti, Meloni's, Valentina Za, Francesco Canepa, Giuseppe Fonte, Sara Rossi, Gianluca Semeraro, Ed Osmond, Giselda Organizations: Treasury, Advisors, European Central Bank, Reuters, Ryanair, Milan's, Bank of, ECB, Thomson Locations: ROME, Italy, Greece, Rome, Italian, Italy's, Brussels, EU, Milan

☆ Italy to raise 2024 deficit goal to 4.1%-4.3% of GDP, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Italy's government plans to raise its 2024 budget deficit target to between 4.1% and 4.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), up from the 3.7% goal set in April, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The fiscal gap next year is, however, seen below 4% of GDP under current trends. That allows leeway worth several billion euros which will help Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to fund measures in the upcoming 2024 budget. Italy is also preparing to raise this year's budget deficit above the current target of 4.5% of GDP due to the growing impact of costly fiscal incentives for home improvements. Separate sources last week said the updated 2023 goal would be in the region of 5.5% as a proportion of GDP.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Chris Reese, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Italy

☆ Explainer: What's at stake in Telecom Italia grid deal?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TIM is selling NetCo, a venture comprising both TIM's domestic fixed-access network and international wholesale telecoms operator Sparkle. TIM's landline network covers nearly 89% of the country's households and its fibre cable stretches over 23 million kilometres across the country. Beyond TIM's grid, a second major network is being rolled out by Open Fiber, a company controlled by CDP and Australian investment group Macquarie. There had long been talks of trying to combine TIM's network with Open Fiber but competition concerns have hampered such a deal so far. With its 24% voting stake, Vivendi could throw a spanner in the works at any TIM shareholder meeting to vote on a deal or challenge it in the courts.

Persons: Yara, Pietro Labriola's, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Italian Treasury, Telecom Italia's, TIM, WHO, Vivendi, Treasury, Trade, Macquarie, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy

☆ Italy criticises Germany for funding migrant charity groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A woman reacts, as she disembarks from a vessel after being rescued at sea, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. The review of the applications has already been completed in two cases," the spokesperson told Reuters, saying the funding amounted to between 400,000 and 800,000 euros ($426,000-$852,160) for each project. Latest interior ministry data shows over 132,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat so far this year against around 69,000 in the same period of 2022. On Saturday, charity SOS Humanity said in a statement it would receive around 790,000 euros from the German government. ($1 = 0.9388 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante in Rome and Friederike Heine in Berlin; Editing by Emelia Sithole-MatarsieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yara, Guido Crosetto, Italy's Crosetto, Berlin, Giorgia Meloni's, Angelo Amante, Friederike Heine, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, La, SOS Humanity, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Rome, La Stampa, Berlin

☆ Former Italian president Napolitano dies aged 98
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Former Italian President and senator Giorgio Napolitano speaks following a talk with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano, a onetime communist who helped to steer his country through a debt crisis in 2011, died on Friday aged 98. Condolences poured in from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office, other politicians, the Vatican and beyond. Napolitano became president in 2006 and was elected for an unprecedented second seven-year term in 2013. Reporting by Angelo Amante; writing by Keith Weir and Angelo Amante Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Tony Gentile, Giorgia, Pope Francis, Napolitano's, Clio Bittoni, Napolitano, Pope Benedict XVI, Francis, Mario Monti, Silvio Berlusconi, Enrico Letta, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Gareth Jones Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Rights, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Italian

☆ Italy sees 2023 budget deficit overshoot at around 5.5% of GDP, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts at a news conference for her government's first budget in Rome, Italy November 22, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Italy sees its 2023 budget deficit overshooting at around 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 4.5% target, sources told Reuters, pushed up by high interest rates and accounting adjustments regarding costly tax credits. The 3.7% target currently established for next year's fiscal gap is also set to be revised upwards, two sources close to the matter said. However, national statistics bureau ISTAT said any revisions to GDP data for the first and second quarter of this year are likely to be no more than marginal. Italy will unveil its new economic projections next week in the Treasury's annual Economic and Financial Document (DEF).

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Remo Casilli, Giorgia, Gavin Jones, Toby Chopra Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Eurostat, Treasury, ISTAT, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy

☆ KKR asks Telecom Italia to extend deadline for grid bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Tim logo is seen at its headquarters in Rome, Italy November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N) has asked Telecom Italia (TIM) to push back a Sept. 30 deadline to submit a multi-billion euro binding offer for the phone group's landline network until Oct.15, TIM said on Friday. TIM's board will review the request at a meeting on Sept. 27, the company said in a statement. The U.S. fund's preliminary bid valued the business -- dubbed NetCo -- at around 23 billion euros ($24.5 billion)including debt and taking into account a number of variables. ($1 = 0.9404 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yara, TIM's, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Alvise Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Telecom Italia, TIM, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, U.S

☆ Asylum seekers in Italy told to pay to avoid detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] An Italian Coast Guard vessel carrying migrants rescued at sea passes between tourist boats, on Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Asylum seekers in Italy will have to pay 4,938 euros ($5,259) to avoid detention while their request for protection is being processed, the government said on Friday, in a measure apparently aimed at deterring migrants. "They are looking to make detention for migrants the norm, but it is hard to see how they can do that," she told Reuters. At present there are 10 repatriation centres in Italy, which have a current capacity of just 619. In 2022 Italy reviewed 52,625 asylum requests, rejecting 53.5% of them, according to official data.

Persons: Yara, Giorgia Meloni's, Anna Brambilla, Meloni, Luca Zaia, Crispian Balmer, Alex Richardson Organizations: Italian Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, Association, Immigration, Reuters, League, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Veneto, Rome, Africa, Europe

☆ Asylum Seekers in Italy Told to Pay to Avoid Detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Crispian BalmerROME (Reuters) - Asylum seekers in Italy will have to pay 4,938 euros ($5,259) to avoid detention while their request for protection is being processed, the government said on Friday, in a measure apparently aimed at deterring migrants. At present migrants to Italy who apply for asylum are free to move within the country while their application is reviewed, but the government decree published on Friday said they would have to pay a type of bail to stave off the threat of detention. "They are looking to make detention for migrants the norm, but it is hard to see how they can do that," she told Reuters. At present there are 10 repatriation centres in Italy, which have a current capacity of just 619. In 2022 Italy reviewed 52,625 asylum requests, rejecting 53.5% of them, according to official data.

Persons: Crispian Balmer ROME, Giorgia Meloni's, Anna Brambilla, Meloni, Luca Zaia, Crispian Balmer, Alex Richardson Organizations: Association, Immigration, Reuters, League Locations: Italy, Veneto, Rome, Africa, Europe

☆ Italy row over museum director fuels debate over Meloni's grip on culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Federico Maccioni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A row between the head of a prestigious museum in Turin and politicians from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition has inflamed a debate over whether the government is seeking an undue grip over culture. However, Greco came under fire from right-wing parties in 2018 when he launched a promotion offering price reductions for Arabic speakers in recognition of the fact that the museum's collection came from Egypt -- the largest Arab nation. I never met a politician," he told daily La Stampa, in apparent reference to his time working in the Netherlands. Greco said he was confident there would be transparency around future appointments, but said Italian politicians needed to stop interfering. "In Italy, political interference is excessive, it ruins certain equilibriums and is a problem that has always existed," he told La Stampa.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni's, Greco, Meloni's, Andrea Crippa, Vittorio Sgarbi, La Stampa, Federico Maccioni, Crispian Balmer, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Egyptian, Italy, League, Christian, La, Meloni's, Brera, Thomson Locations: Turin, Italian, Egypt, La Stampa, Netherlands, Italy

REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. fund KKR and Italy's Treasury are set to ask Telecom Italia (TIM) for more time to arrange a joint bid for its landline grid, three sources close to the matter said. KKR (KKR.N) last month won the backing of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, which authorised the Treasury to join its bid for an asset deemed of strategic national interest. The U.S. fund's preliminary bid valued the business -- dubbed NetCo -- at around 23 billion euros ($25 billion) including debt and taking into account a number of variables. The French group, which owns 24% of TIM, has so far shown little appetite for a deal under KKR's terms. The Treasury is evaluating the request, one of these people said, without adding further details.

Persons: Yara, Giorgia, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Elvira Pollina, Giuseppe Fonte, Alvise Armellini, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Italy's Treasury, Telecom Italia, Treasury, TIM, NetCo, Reuters, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, U.S

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