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☆ Italy court ruling allows work on Tuscan LNG terminal to proceed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A view shows the spot where a floating storage and regasification unit will be set up in front of the port city of Piombino, Italy, October 20, 2022. The court said on Thursday it had scheduled a new hearing on March 8 to assess longer-term safety issues relating to the floating terminal. The infrastructure needs to be operational by April to help Italy replace dwindling Russian gas supplies and to re-fill its gas storage by next winter. The Piombino terminal will have a capacity of 5 billion cubic metres (bcm) and will allow Italian energy groups to increase LNG imports to the country. In Italy there are currently three LNG terminals with a total capacity of nearly 17 bcm.

Lufthansa declined to comment on Rome's decision to offer an initial minority stake. Some of Italy's politicians consider ITA as the heir to cultural icon Alitalia, which they want to preserve. Some also say that ITA does not have to worry so much about losing its national identity should Lufthansa take over. The Certares-led alliance was willing to pay 350 million euros for a 50% stake plus one share of the state-controlled airline, sources had said. ($1 = 0.9412 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante in Rome and Joanna Plucinska in London; additional reporting by Giuseppe Fonte in Rome.

[1/4] Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters, in Rome, Italy, December 16, 2022. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a co-founder of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, said Rome would make a final decision on how much to invest in the multi-billion-dollar project after more details had been defined. Crosetto said there should be no bar on joining forces with the rival European programme, adding that the GCAP should also aim to find new partners, especially within Europe. Italy has never disclosed details of its shipments, but Crosetto confirmed that Kyiv had requested air-defence systems, including the Franco-Italian SAMP/T. He added that Italy was also open to suggestions for joint procurement by the EU Defence Agency.

☆ Analysis: Italy's cash payments U-turn is all gain, no pain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Italy is scrapping from the draft budget a provision on retailers who refuse card payments that limits fines to transactions worth more than 60 euros ($64). A one percentage point increase in the use of cash leads to a 0.8-1.8 percentage point rise in undeclared value added tax (VAT), Italy's central bank found. "The government's U-turn on card payments marks a victory for consumers and the country," Italian consumer group Unione Nazionale Consumatori President Massimiliano Dona said. Nearly 73% of respondents in a 2022 survey by The European House-Ambrosetti's Cashless Society wished to reduce cash payments to improve speed and security, up from 60% in 2020. To defend the plan, the government has criticised the cost of digital payments saying cafe owners can hardly accept cards for 1.1 euro a cup espressos.

☆ Italy waters down plan to promote cash payments after EU criticism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will scrap part of its plans to facilitate cash payments for goods and services after criticism from European Union authorities, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Sunday. FILE PHOTO: A man uses cash to pay for items while shopping in Milan, Italy, October 2, 2020. Critics say cash payments encourage tax dodgers in a country where around 100 billion euros in taxes and social contributions are evaded every year, according to Treasury data. Despite the latest developments, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office in October, continues to be more indulgent towards cash than her predecessors. Her first budget, which must be approved by parliament before year-end, raises a limit on cash payments to 5,000 euros from next year, up from a previous ceiling of 1,000 euros.

[1/2] The European Central Bank (ECB) building is seen from a cafe amid Christmas decorations, before the monthly news conference following the ECB's monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany December 15, 2022. Formed in October, Meloni's government is also holding out on ratifying the euro zone's bailout fund. INFLATION TARGETECB policymakers from across the euro zone defended the bank's decision-making on Friday. Estonian governor Madis Mueller said rates would probably need to rise more than markets had expected so far, while Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn said 50 bps hikes were likely at each of its next two meetings. Inflation in Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy, is likely to be higher than earlier thought while economic growth will be weaker with a recession next year now certain, the Bundesbank said on Friday.

SummarySummary Companies Government met TIM's key shareholders CDP, Vivendi on ThursdayWants to spin off Sparkle, put it under state controlSparkle manages fibre cables that stretch over 500,000 kmROME, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Italy's government wants to bring Telecom Italia's (TLIT.MI) (TIM) submarine cable unit Sparkle into state hands, three sources close to the matter told Reuters. The plan emerged after the government on Thursday started talks with leading TIM investors Vivendi (VIV.PA) and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to identify "the best market-friendly options" for the phone group. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration aims to secure control of TIM's landline grid, an asset deemed of strategic importance, to create a wholesale-only broadband player. But the sources added that Rome also wants a spin-off of Sparkle, given the sensitivity of the data it carries, in order to put the unit into state hands. The sources said there would at least be three more government-sponsored meetings with TIM's stakeholders, with one scheduled for Dec. 20.

☆ Democracy remains vulnerable despite a good year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

PARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Aristotle said there are three good forms of government – monarchy, aristocracy and constitutional democracy – in which the rulers act for the common benefit. Rich democracies face two main threats: an external one from autocracies, such as China; and an internal one from demagogues. Both autocrats such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and demagogues such as former U.S. President Donald Trump have had a bad year. The world economy faces a tough decade. Until democrats provide some answer to this, they will be vulnerable to new waves of autocracy and demagogy.

☆ More than 500 migrants arrive in Italy as rescue ships dock
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Italy, which has vowed a tough line on immigration, took in more than 500 migrants on Sunday as two charity rescue ships were allowed to dock at ports in the south of the country after several days at sea in bad weather. The Geo Barents ship, operated by the Doctors without Borders (MSF) charity and which had 248 migrants aboard, arrived in Salerno in the southwestern region of Campania, MSF said. On the other side of the country, the Humanity 1, another rescue vessel run by the charity SOS Humanity, docked in the port city of Bari after the Italian authorities agreed to grant it permission. It accuses the charity ships of making it easier for economic migrants to reach Italy and playing into the hands of people traffickers. On Wednesday, a baby was born on the same vessel and later flown with his mother and three siblings to Italy.

☆ After cash row, Italy central bank chief stresses its independence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The head of Italy's central bank stressed its independence on Sunday after it became dragged into a row with coalition lawmakers over the use of cash in shops. "The Bank of Italy does not depend on the (commercial) banks. It is autonomous in judgement, independent in substance but is also independent by law," Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco told state broadcaster Rai 3. A Bank of Italy official warned last Monday that such a move would fuel Italy's black economy, drawing accusations from members of Meloni's party that the central bank was siding with financial groups who profit from card charges. The Bank of Italy, whose independence is safeguarded by European treaties, is more than 60% owned by domestic banks and insurers.

☆ Italian President Mattarella tests positive for COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella, 81, has tested positive for COVID-19 but has few symptoms beyond a slight fever, his office said in a statement on Saturday. Mattarella has cancelled his appointments for the coming days but will continue with his other duties in isolation from his apartment in the Quirinale Palace in Rome, the statement added. He made a high-profile appearance on Wednesday when he attended the opening night of the new season at La Scala opera house in Milan, along with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The president in Italy has largely ceremonial duties but is responsible for resolving political crises when they occur. Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Anti-war protesters in Italy denounce La Scala for staging Russian opera
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Demonstrators holding Ukrainian flags and signs protest outside of La Scala opera house, ahead of its 2022-23 season opening night performance of "Boris Godunov," a Russian-composed opera performed by Russian artists, in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoMILAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Anti-war protesters demonstrated outside Milan's La Scala theatre on Wednesday before it opened its 2022-2023 opera season with a gala performance of the Russian work "Boris Godunov". Around 20 people waved the Ukrainian flag and held up placards denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine in February. She questioned why La Scala had not changed its programme over the nine months since the war began. La Scala artistic director Dominique Meyer last month defended its decision to stage the work, written by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in the 19th century, after protests from Ukrainian exile groups.

☆ Italy's Meloni and daughter targeted by online death threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her 6-year-old daughter have received online death threats from an unemployed man angry over government plans to cut an anti-poverty subsidy, police said on Wednesday. Meloni's right-wing government wants to limit the so-called "citizens' income" scheme next year ahead of scrapping the measure altogether in 2024, when it will be replaced by a new benefit that has yet to be detailed. Meloni, who took office in October, has always criticised the citizens' income, which was introduced in 2019, arguing that able-bodied people of working age should not be allowed to live off state subsidies indefinitely. Under proposals included in the 2023 budget, currently under debate in parliament, citizens' income payments will be withdrawn after eight months except for households with children, people aged 60 or above, and disabled persons. Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Angelo Amante, editing by Crispian BalmerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Protests held as Italy's La Scala opens season with Russian opera
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Demonstrators holding Ukrainian flags and signs protest outside of La Scala opera house, ahead of its 2022-23 season opening night performance of "Boris Godunov," a Russian-composed opera performed by Russian artists, in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoMILAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Milan's La Scala theatre opened its 2022-2023 opera season on Wednesday with a gala performance of the Russian work "Boris Godunov" as protesters against the Ukrainian war demonstrated outside the venue. "We have nothing against the Russian people, against Russian history, against Russian culture," Meloni told reporters before the performance. She questioned why La Scala had not changed its programme over the nine months since the war began. Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov took the lead role as Godunov while Russian soprano Anna Denisova was Kseniya, his daughter.

☆ Italy ageing faster than EU peers, population drops below 59 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Italy's population has dropped below 59 million and the country is ageing at a much faster rate than its European Union peers, national statistical agency Istat said on Monday. A shrinking and ageing population is a major worry for a stagnant economy like Italy as it is linked to falling productivity, less innovation and higher welfare bills among other things. "As of January 1, 2022 according to first preliminary data, the (resident) population has fallen to 58.983 million," Istat president Giancarlo Blangiardo said in a parliamentary hearing in Rome. Blangiardo, a renowned demography expert, said the national population has been shrinking steadily since 2014, with a cumulative loss since then of more than 1.36 million residents. "Our country's demographic outlook is characterised by a significant growth in life expectancy and by an equally marked fall of the birth rate, resulting in a much faster ageing of the population compared to the rest of Europe," he said.

So far the practical help for a project that will create around 1,000 jobs, has come from the Europe Union. It also says its panels are better and that 3Sun will be the European Union's largest producer of high performance bifacial solar panels by 2024. Eurostat figures show around three quarters of Europe's solar panels are sourced from China. The European Union as a whole aims to reach almost 600 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy by 2030 and the number of installations is increasing. Enel is not limiting its ambitions to Europe, although it says at least 50% of its Sicilian production will be for the continent.

☆ Italy's Meloni may water down cash payments plan after EU talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday that she may water down plans to make it easier to settle small payments with cash rather than cards, following talks with the European Commission over the issue. "Until 60 euros, we would like not to force retailers to accept electronic payments. But let's say that the 60-euro threshold is indicative, for me it could even be lower," Meloni said in a video posted on Facebook. "Besides, there are obviously discussions on this with the European Commission, because the issue of electronic payments is one of the issues of the [EU recovery plan], so we have to see, we'll see how the discussions end," she added. Italy is the biggest recipient of the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, standing to receive around 200 billion euros through 2026.

☆ Pope: migrant deaths 'unacceptable and almost always avoidable'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Migrant deaths in the Mediterranean are "unacceptable and almost always avoidable," Pope Francis said on Friday, renewing a call for policymakers across the region to address the issue in a manner "beneficial to all." "The inability to find common solutions [on migration] continues to lead to an unacceptable and almost always avoidable loss of lives, especially in the Mediterranean," Francis said in a message to Rome Med 2022, a foreign policy conference. Insisting that migration towards Europe "cannot be stopped", he urged all parties involved to find a solution that can be "beneficial to all, guaranteeing both human dignity and shared prosperity." According to data from the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, around 136,500 migrants have reached Europe via Mediterranean sea crossings this year, and more than 1,800 have died or gone missing. Reporting by Alvise Armellini Editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy seeks U.S. help to unlock funding for Lukoil refinery, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The survival of the ISAB plant in Sicily is under threat due to a European embargo on seaborne Russian oil coming into effect on Dec. 5. ISAB has been forced to rely solely on Russian oil after creditor banks halted financing and stopped providing guarantees needed to buy oil from alternative suppliers. Its creditor banks have been wary of dealing with a Russian entity because Lukoil is affected by international sanctions in the United States, but not in Europe. So far, however, there has been no positive response to Italy's request, one of the sources said. A cabinet meeting on Thursday will also discuss steps aimed at helping the ISAB plant, one of the sources said.

☆ Italy lawmakers call off vote on extending Ukraine arms supplies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, former Prime Minister Mario Draghi's administration introduced measures that made it possible to send weapons to Kyiv without seeking parliamentary authorisation for each shipment. Support for Ukraine has been a contentious topic within the ruling coalition, which includes Meloni's Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini's League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia parties. Earlier this month, a governing coalition official told Reuters that Italy was readying a sixth arms package for Ukraine, including air defence systems Kyiv had requested. The PD is also a supporter of Ukraine, while other leftist opposition forces want the government to shift focus from sending arms to stepping up diplomatic negotiations. Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Alvise Armellini, Alexandra Hudson and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy seeks new options for TIM with network bid seen on hold
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The statement also reiterated that Rome was keen to secure control of TIM's network. A government source said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had put CDP's bid on hold. Marking a break with the past, Meloni on Friday entrusted the government's broadband strategy to Butti, who has openly criticised CDP's plans for TIM. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti this month said Butti's plans required extensive discussions within the government, which had "several options" to secure control of TIM's network. TIM, which is expected to hold a board meeting on Wednesday to discuss governance issues, had no immediate comment.

Such a plan met heavy reservations within Giorgia Meloni's new right-wing administration, which decided to put CDP's bid on hold on Monday night, two government officials told Reuters. TIM, which has been under pressure for years due to a hyper-competitive domestic market, had no immediate comment. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti this month said Butti's plans required extensive discussions within the government, which had "several options" to secure control of TIM's network. Butti, who has openly criticised CDP's plans for TIM, has called on the Treasury-owned lender to take over TIM in full to then sell its service operations, including its Brazil-listed unit. TIM is expected to hold a board meeting on Wednesday to discuss the appointment of a director to replace Renault boss Luca de Meo.

But key officials in Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government have expressed strong reservations about CDP's plans for TIM, making a non-binding bid from the state lender for the network unlikely, three sources told Reuters. Top government officials are expected to meet later on Monday to discuss plans for TIM, among other issues. Marking a break with the past, Meloni on Friday entrusted the government's broadband strategy to Cabinet Undersecretary Alessio Butti, who has openly criticised CDP's plans for TIM. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti last week reiterated that the government wants to win control of TIM's network which is deemed of strategic interest, adding such a goal can be reached in "several ways". Giorgetti also warned that Butti's plans for TIM needs to be extensively discussed within the government.

☆ Italy's govt has not clarified whether CDP will bid for TIM's grid - union official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Italy's government has not clarified with unions whether state lender Cassa Depositi e Presitit (CDP) would submit a preliminary offer for Telecom Italia's (TLIT.MI) landline grid by a Nov. 30 deadline, a union official said on Monday. Maurizio Landini, head of the Italian CGIL union, was speaking after a meeting with the head of staff of new right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Rome was on Monday reviewing optionsfor the future of the former phone monopoly as uncertainty grew about the planned CDP bid, part of a broader plan to combine TIM's network assets with those of smaller rival Open Fiber to create a unified broadband champion under CDP's control. Reporting by Giuseppe FonteOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Four people were still missing after Saturday's disaster in the port of Casamicciola Terme, with houses brought down and mud submerging the streets. Ischia, whose thermal baths and picturesque hilly coastline draw visitors from across the world, is also known for its rampant unauthorised construction - along with many other parts of the country. It said 600 unauthorised houses had been given a final order of demolition. Rescuers look for missing people, following a landslide on the Italian island of Ischia, Italy November 28, 2022. Granting amnesties for illegal construction put people at risk, he added.

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