Italy: Hare is wat a Meloni Government could mean for the EU

The far-right victory in Italy's elections is likely to translate into Rome joining Poland and Hungary by adopting a eurosceptic stance on European Union affairs, experts have told Euronews.

"There will be definitely a shift in the positioning of the Italian government compared to the past two Mario Draghi governments," Luca Tomini, a political scientist from Free Brussels University, told Euronews.

"I think what we need to expect is a more Eurosceptic position of the Italian government on several issues. There will be probably a realignment of Italy along with the government of Poland especially," he added.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

Italy: You could get paid €15,000 to move to this stunning island. But here's the catch.

If you’ve ever fantasised about moving to a sunny island, now’s your chance: Sardinia is offering people a mammoth €15,000 to relocate.

The Italian island - the second largest in the Mediterranean - boasts sandy beaches, blue skies and turquoise waters.

But the island paradise faces dwindling rural population numbers, as young locals move abroad for work.To combat this exodus, the government has set aside €45 million for the relocation grant, enough to cover 3,000 grants.

So if you’re already packing yours ? 

Read more at: Italy: You could get paid €15,000 to move to this stunning island. But here's the catch. | Euronews

Italy - G20: China's Xi will not attend Rome G20 summit in person - source

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend a Rome summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in person, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.

Read more at: China's Xi will not attend Rome G20 summit in person - source | Reuters

Canada: The Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to travel to the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced he will travel to Europe for a bilateral visit to the Netherlands before participating in the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit in Italy and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister will travel to The Hague, the Netherlands on October 29, 2021 where he will meet with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and other Dutch representatives to discuss both countries’ shared priorities and further the strong ties between Canada and the Netherlands.

Read more at: Prime Minister to travel to the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom | Prime Minister of Canada

EU-Italian - Spanish Relations: Catalan exile Puigdemont freed by Italian court on the Island of Sardinia

An Italian court has ordered the ex-president of Spain's Catalonia region to be freed following his arrest in Sardinia, his lawyer said.

Carles Puigdemont is free to leave the island but must return for a hearing in October.

He was arrested on a Spanish arrest warrant on Thursday.

Read more at: Catalan exile Puigdemont freed by Italian court - BBC News

Global Warming: Venice is flooding again: Watch tourists wade through knee-deep water

St Mark's Square in Venice was underwater late on Saturday night after a rare "acqua alta" or high water event.

As a city of canals, Venice has come to expect some flooding between autumn and spring each year during ‘acqua alta’ aka the high tides. But this summer flooding is very out of character for the city.

Due to climate change and rising sea levels St Mark’s square has gone from flooding four times a year in 1900 to over 60 times a year now.

Read more at: Venice is flooding again: Watch tourists wade through knee-deep water | Euronews

Italy beats England in penalty shootout to win Euro 2020

Celebrations erupted in downtown Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout to win the European Championship at Wembley Stadium in London.

Fireworks lit the sky as cars honked non-stop and ecstatic fans waving Italian flags spilled out of the Piazza del Popolo where they had watched the match on big screens.

Read more at: Italy beats England in penalty shootout to win Euro 2020

Italian US Relations -Tariffs: US duties on oil, wine and pasta put exports at risk

A bottle of prosecco that costs €5-6 a bottle in Italy can cost up to the equivalent of €10-15 at large retailers in the United States. With the application of 100% duty, that price would go up to €20-30. Prosecco exports

Read more at: US duties on oil, wine and pasta put exports at risk - Corriere.it

EU: Brussels greenlights Italy's €191.5 billion COVID-19 recovery plan

The European Commission on Tuesday gave the green light to Italy's €191.5 billion recovery plan, said its president Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Premier Mario Draghi at a joint press conference.

Read more at: Brussels greenlights Italy's €191.5 billion COVID-19 recovery plan | Euronews

Eurovision - the Netherlands: Italy's raucous glam rock takes Eurovision by storm - by Stephanie van den Berg

Italy's entry, glam rock band Maneskin, won the Eurovision song contest, as the world's most popular live music event was held in the Netherlands after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Italian's raucous "Zitti E Buoni" beat out professional jury favourites Switzerland and France, sweeping the public vote which counts for half the points. Victoria de Angelis of Maneskin told a press conference the win was an important boost for Italy, one of the European countries worst hit by COVID-19.

Read more at: Italy's raucous glam rock takes Eurovision by storm | Reuters

EU -Vaccines - Oxford/AstraZeneca: Spain joins France, Germany and Italy in pausing Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

France, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Cyprus announced they will stop administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine pending an assessment by the EU’s medicine regulator. Spain said it will stop using the AZ vaccine for at least two weeks.

The benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid outweigh the risks of side effects, the European Medicines Agency said in a statement. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no proven link to blood clots and that people should not panic.

Read more at: Spain joins France, Germany and Italy in pausing Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – as it happened | World news | The Guardian

Italy: With Draghi, Italy has a chance to set aside Conte’s economic misadventures - by Jean Jacques Handali

While Conte may have been independent of his populist backers on paper, his economic policies nonetheless reflected the dirigism of the Five Stars who brought him to power. Conte took advantage of his "golden powers" to launch heavy-handed state interventions in the economy. These include a push to have Milan-based Unicredit buy the state’s share of Monte dei Paschi di Siena; the re-nationalization of failing national carrier Alitalia; the hostile takeover of toll road operator Autostrade per l’Italia; and the state’s insistence that broadband operators Telecom Italia (TIM) and Open Fiber merge into one company.

Thanks to Matteo Renzi, Conte is now leaving each of these dossiers half-finished. As Italy looks to Draghi, one of its most renowned financial minds, to lead the country out of dual financial and public health crises, one of the new premier’s first decisions will be whether to continue Conte’s statist economic policies. In both Rome and Brussels, many hope – and expect – the answer will be a simple "no".

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/20/with-draghi-italy-has-a-chance-to-set-aside-conte-s-economic-misadventures-view

Italy: Draghi: Call of duty for Italy's 'Super Mario' - by Mark Lowen

"The thing about Mario Draghi is that when he ran up the pitch, he would always pass the ball - he was generous like that," reflects Staffan de Mistura, a UN diplomat and school friend of Italy's likely next prime minister.

"Mario was a team player. Not the best footballer we had but a good one - and he always had a strategy, he knew which way to turn."

Read more at: Draghi: Call of duty for Italy's 'Super Mario' - BBC News

EU Economy: Italy to spend 222 billion euros of EU funds to revive economy

Italy plans to spend more than €222 billion from various European Union funds to revive its coronavirus-battered economy, a draft government document seen by Reuters showed on Thursday (7 January).

Rome is entitled to more than €200 billion from a European emergency programme designed to help those EU nations hardest hit by the coronavirus.

The €222 billion scheme includes resources from the emergency fund and other European programmes, including an agricultural fund, the document showed.

The plan still needs to be approved by the cabinet which will likely meet before f end of this week, according to government sources.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is facing internal opposition from former premier Matteo Renzi, whose centrist Italia Viva party polls at no more than around 3% but is crucial for the government’s survival. Italian government totters as Conte, Renzi divide deepens.

Read more at: Italy to spend 222 billion euros of EU funds to revive economy – EURACTIV.com

US Nuclear Weapons stored in Europe: The New Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Will Be an Early Trial for Biden - by Miles A. Pomper

With support from nearly half the world’s nations, a new United Nations treaty banning the possession and use of nuclear weapons will take effect early next year. The U.N. confirmed last month that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW, had been ratified by the required 50 countries. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it “a tribute to the survivors of nuclear explosions and tests, many of whom advocated for this treaty.”

Many non-nuclear-armed states, as well as pro-disarmament activists and organizations like the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, have celebrated the agreement, which they see as a milestone in global efforts to prevent nuclear war. However, it has drawn strong opposition from nuclear-armed states, especially the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Trump administration has called on the treaty’s 84 signatories to back out of it. Its entry into force on Jan. 22, 2021, will pose a thorny diplomatic challenge for the incoming Biden administration.

Still, the treaty could pose a political problem in the future for NATO members and other countries that shelter under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, given the TPNW’s call not to support actions inconsistent with the treaty. That challenge is especially acute for the five NATO members that host an estimated 150 forward-deployed U.S nuclear weapons: Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. German, Dutch and Belgian disarmament advocates, in particular, enjoy strong mainstream political support among center-left parties in all three countries. And 56 former world leaders, including many from NATO countries, argued recently in an open letter that the new nuclear ban treaty can “help end decades of paralysis in disarmament.”

Note EU-Digest: Five NATO members, including, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey still shelter large numbers of US Nuclear weapons on their soil. Hopefully the UN TPNW Treaty will force the disarmament of these weapons from these countries, which presently makes them a major target for massive destruction and death in case of war.

Read more at: The New Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Will Be an Early Trial for

EU: Coronavirus: Italy reaches new record high of nearly 41,000 daily cases

Italy recorded a high of nearly 41,000 daily cases as hospitalisations and deaths rise in the country

Officials in many EU countries are warning that it is so far too early to lift restrictions, with many saying that there are still many months ahead of living with the virus.

Read more at: Coronavirus: Italy reaches new record high of nearly 41,000 daily cases | Euronews

Soccer: Italy 1-1 Netherlands: Improved Oranje earn point in Bergamo - Italy

The Netherlands kept their chances of progressing in the Nations League alive with a well-earned point against Italy in Bergamo.

Frank de Boer is still searching for his first win after four games as manager, but his team looked far more assured and incisive than they did in the goalless draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday.

Read more at:
Italy 1-1 Netherlands: Improved Oranje earn point in Bergamo - DutchNews.nl

EU Automobile Inbdustry: EIB ups financing for Fiat Chrysler's electric vehicles to 800 million euros

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has increased to almost 800 million euros ($949 million) its funding to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) FCHA.MI to support production of electric and hybrid vehicles, they said in a joint statement.

Investments to manufacture battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be mainly directed at FCA plants located in southern Italy, supporting employment and compliance with the strictest environmental criteria.

Read more: 
EIB ups financing for Fiat Chrysler's electric vehicles to 800 million euros | Reuters

Italy - Coronavirus: 1st in Europe to be devastated by COVID-19, Italy redoubled its efforts, and they're now paying off

When engineering student Sara Del Giudice returned home to Naples in late August from a short vacation with her boyfriend, instead of embracing her siblings and parents, she shut herself in her room.

"We're a close family that hugs and kisses all the time, but I had a slight headache, a cough and achiness, and I just thought, better safe than sorry," said Del Giudice, 23.

Several days later, she and her boyfriend tested positive for COVID-19. Despite both having negative antibody tests before their holiday on the island of Ischia, in the Gulf of Naples, her boyfriend was coming from Sardinia, where clusters of partying young people spread the virus with alacrity.

"Even though I thought was being cautious. I was too casual," she said. "I should have known better."

While Del Giudice is one of thousands of young Europeans who caught the novel coronavirus this summer, Italy has been far more successful than its neighbours at keeping them from passing it on.

Read more at: 
1st in Europe to be devastated by COVID-19, Italy redoubled its efforts, and they're now paying off | CBC News

Italy's tourism industry braces for 'worst revenue slump in over 20 years'

The country, which welcomed over 60 million foreign tourists in 2018, according to the World Tourism Organization, is now expecting 56 million fewer overnight stays, according to a new survey from Florence's Centrefor Tourism Studies.

Read more at:
Italy's tourism industry braces for 'worst revenue slump in over 20 years' - The Local