About: Italy

Global spread of coronavirus raises pandemic fears

Fears mounted on Monday (24 February) that the coronavirus outbreak in China will grow into a pandemic with disruptive and deadly consequences for countries around the world, after sharp rises in infections in South Korea, Italy and Iran.

Europe’s Southern Gas Corridor ‘almost ready’, says Azebaijan’s SOCAR

A 25-year supply contract has been signed with Italy, and the first Azeri gas is expected to start flowing before the end of 2020, said Vitaly Baylarbayov, deputy vice president of SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.

Italy faces existential threat over low birthrate, president warns

Italy's future is threatened by its diminishing birthrate, President Sergio Mattarella said on Tuesday (11 February), as new data showed the population had shrunk once again in 2019.

Italy welcomes bioeconomy, kisses agricultural runoff goodbye

In 2017, Italy’s entire bioeconomy sector had a total turnover of €300 billion and, within 13 years, employed two million people. The country’s Bioeconomy Strategy was taken up a notch and made even more ambitious at the start of 2019. EURACTIV’s partner Agronotizie reports.

Davos 2020 diary – day #4

Welcome to Davos where the 50th edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is taking place on 21-25 January. Throughout the week, EURACTIV gives you a glimpse into one of the world’s most exclusive conferences where political and business leaders meet every year to discuss global economic trends.

Rome airport tests pioneering eco-friendly tarmac

Rome’s Fiumicino airport is testing a pioneering tarmac developed by an Italian company, made of a material that has twice the lifespan of traditional asphalt and is better for the environment as it uses a waste plastic.

Italy’s constitutional court rejects League’s bid to change electoral law

Italy's Constitutional Court on Thursday (16 January) rejected a request by the hard-right League party to hold a referendum to introduce a first-past-the-post electoral system, triggering the ire of League chief Matteo Salvini and relief in government ranks.

Italy smashes mafia racket defrauding EU agriculture funds

Italian police arrested 94 people in pre-dawn raids on Wednesday (15 January) as part of an investigation into an alleged Mafia scam that defrauded European Union agriculture funds of millions of euros. Prosecutors said they believed the fraud was orchestrated...

Four top EU countries hold emergency talks on Iran, Libya crisis

Foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy held emergency talks on Iran and Lybia in Brussels on Tuesday (7 January), as the EU continued struggling to find a united response to the two escalating crises in its neighbourhood.

Eurozone growth driven by services, weighed down by industry slump

While the eurozone's private sector stagnated until December 2019, the manufacturing sector saw a prolonged slump. It is the services sector that continues to drive the Eurozone's growth. EURACTIV's partner La Tribune reports.

Italy delays presentation of plan to sell Monte Paschi stake

Italy will delay to early 2020 the presentation of a plan to sell its stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the Treasury said on Sunday (29 December), as the bank struggles to shed bad loans.

Tensions over data privacy cast shadow over potential Greens-Five Star alliance

A leading Green MEP has hit out at Italy's 5 Star Movement (M5S) following the recent news that Facebook is investigating the party over potential data misuse, bringing further doubt to the possibility of the party joining forces with the Greens in the European Parliament.

Eurogroup fails to move forward on eurozone reform

EU finance ministers failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday (4 December) on the reform of the EU's bailout fund and move to political discussions on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme ahead of the Euro summit next week.

Ministers set to advance Eurozone reform amid political turmoil in Italy and Germany

EU ministers gather Wednesday (4 December) in a bid to chart progress on the Eurozone reform ahead of the EU Council summit next week. However, recent political developments in Rome and Berlin may hinder talks on the matter.

Italy’s Conte rebukes opposition as debate over ESM reform heats up

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte called upon the right-wing opposition to act responsibly in talks over the reform of the eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Italy’s young farmers: Networking to make revenues

The number of young people entering the agriculture sector is increasing, but there are many problems to be addressed. Networking is a good way to overcome them. EURACTIV's partner Agronotizie reports.

EU concerned over France, Italy and Spain debts

Reduction of public debt should be the main priority for France, Italy, and Spain, which have "failed to put their finances in order" during the economic upswing of recent years, the European Commission warned on Wednesday (20 November) at the presentation of the autumn fiscal package.

European police bust gang looting artifacts in Italy

European police have busted an international crime gang involved in trafficking tens of thousands of Greek archaeological artefacts looted from illegal excavations in Italy, law enforcement agencies said Monday (18 November).

Asylum-seekers in Greece, Italy hotspots face ‘years of limbo’

Asylum-seekers crowded into "hotspots" in Greece and Italy face limbo that can drag on for years because of legal bottlenecks and poorly performing EU schemes, a report said Wednesday (13 November).

Eurozone equipped to save big economies, says euro rescue fund chief

The European Stability Mechanism, the euro area’s rescue fund, would have enough firepower to save large economies if necessary, including Italy, the fund’s chief Klaus Regling said on Tuesday (29 October).

Commission tells member states to adjust their economies further

The European Commission is putting the final touches to a number of letters to various national governments that are at risk of missing their fiscal targets for 2020. Brussels wants more information on how they intend to to balance their public finances.

Trump tells Italy: Get rid of ‘EU burden’ and I will give you tariff discount

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (16 October) said Washington was in talks with "some new people" in Europe about trade issues and he hoped the discussions would be successful, as Italy's president urged Trump to avoid counterproductive tariffs.

Italy lets French migrant ship dock to anger of far right

Charity rescue ship Ocean Viking headed towards the southern Italian port of Taranto on Tuesday (15 October) after the government gave it authorisation to bring 176 migrants ashore in a decision that angered the far-right League.

Pressure grows on EU member states to agree migrant disembarkation scheme

The Council of Europe and NGOs have urged EU countries to agree on a "sustainable and predictable" mechanism for disembarking people rescued in the Mediterranean, ahead of an EU meeting of interior ministers.