About: Italian presidency

Italian President hints at retiring in January

Giorgio Napolitano, Italy's 89-year-old president who helped to guarantee the country's political stability during a period of upheaval, hinted on Tuesday he might retire early next year.

Shift taxes from labour to environment, EEA tells ministers

Hans Bruyninckx, the director of the European Environment Agency, has urged ministers to carry out fiscal reforms, such as moving tax from labour to activities that damage the environment.

Italy in talks with EU to share responsibility for boat migrants

Italy is in talks with other European Union states about sharing the burden of rescuing migrants crossing the Mediterranean in crowded boats from North Africa, senior officials meeting in Milan said on Tuesday (8 July).

Italy pushes ‘Frontex Plus’ to tackle migration crisis

While tragedies at sea involving African and Arab refugees continue to shock Europeans, Italy intends to push the migratory issue up the political agenda during its presidency, as Rome feels alone in dealing with what it considers a European "emergency".

Italy seeks new leadership role in Europe

Rebuffing criticism in Germany that Rome is too slow to reform, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi on Friday (4 July) reasserted that he is ready to stand up to critics and reclaim a leadership role in Europe.

Renzi inspires in Strasbourg, but draws heat from critics

As Italy takes over the rotating presidency of the EU for the next six months, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has received a standing ovation in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday (2 July) for giving a passionate and inspiring speech, putting aside the programme and focusing on the vision for a new Europe. But some MEPs have urged him to deliver intelligent policies, rather than words.

Italy rescues migrants and finds 30 bodies in boat

About 30 bodies have been found in a migrant boat which was stopped between Sicily and the North African coast, Italian news agencies reported this morning (30 June), citing the navy and coastguard.

Italian Presidency website will not be in French or German

The Italian Presidency of the European Union's official website will only publish in English and Italian, meaning it will not be translated into French or German for the first time since 2007, EURACTIV France reports.

Italy rescues 5,200 boat migrants in less than a week

Italy has rescued about 5,200 men, women and children and recovered three dead bodies from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean Sea since early Thursday (5 June).

Italian Presidency vows telecoms reform by end of 2014

Italy’s incoming presidency of the EU will focus on adopting the entire telecoms reform by the end of the year and will avoid splitting the package to put aside the most controversial issues, a member of the Italian government told EURACTIV. 

Renzi to push for new rules to boost growth-driven investment

Italy wants new rules to allow the European Investment Bank to free up funds for public investment as part of a push for more growth-oriented policies in Europe, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said earlier this week (28 May).

Italian presidency to support Parliament-backed telecoms reform

The incoming Italian presidency of the European Union is ready to support the European Parliament-backed overhaul of EU telecoms rules, despite widespread criticism of the plan from governments and leading operators.

More money, careers, space and bioethics high on Commission’s research agenda

Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin outlined six priorities for the period of the Italian presidency.

Italian Presidency focuses on finding a common ground on CSR

Following the example of the Belgian and Danish Presidencies, the Italian Presidency is due to hold a CSR Conference on 14 November 2003 in Venice.

Italian Presidency: agenda for education

The Italian Presidency intends to make efforts towards the "knowledge-based Europe". It will particularly deal with the E-learning and Erasmus Mundus programmes, the new generation of European education, training and youth programmes. Italy also proposes to think through the notion of human capital to address the causes of early-school leaving.

Italy’s ‘New Deal’ plan receives EU backing

At the Thessaloniki Summit, the Union's leaders called on incoming EU president Italy to "pursue further" its recent "New Deal" economic initiative.

Italy unveils ‘New Deal’

On 12 June, Italy, in its capacity as holder of the EU's next Presidency, unveiled a bold "European Action Plan for Growth".