Latest news with #MatteoSalvini
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Italian prosecutors appeal against Salvini's acquittal in migrant kidnapping case
FILE PHOTO: Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini speaks at Spanish far-right party VOX rally, in Madrid, Spain, February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran/File Photo ROME (Reuters) -Prosecutors in the Italian city of Palermo have filed a direct appeal to the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini in a migrant kidnapping case, a court document showed on Friday. Salvini - the leader of the League party - was charged after he ordered a boat carrying migrants to be kept out at sea when he was interior minister in 2019, an act that prosecutors said amounted to kidnapping the people on board. Prosecutors had sought a six-year jail term for Salvini, who is now the transport minister in the government of Giorgia Meloni. But he was cleared last year. "Defending Italy and its borders is not a crime," Salvini said in a post on his Instagram profile on Friday in response to the prosecutors' move. In a 15-page document addressed to the Supreme Court, prosecutors Maurizio de Lucia, Giorgia Righi and Marzia Sabella said Salvini had violated international rules on maritime rescue and was guilty of kidnapping. They said his conduct had been established by the court despite the acquittal verdict, and urged the judges to assess whether these actions constituted a crime. The prosecutors' move is unusual, as first-instance verdicts are typically challenged before an appeals court before reaching the Supreme Court's judges. The appeal request comes against the backdrop of tensions between the right-wing government and the judiciary. Magistrates across Italy are resisting Meloni's plan to break ties between prosecutors and judges, saying it undermines their independence. Courts have repeatedly blocked a government initiative to redirect migrants to Albania. Meloni criticised the prosecutors' decision to appeal, writing on X: "This doggedness is surreal, after a failed three-year trial of a minister who wanted to enforce the law, which ended with a full acquittal." (Reporting by Angelo Amante; additional reporting by Emilio Parodi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Euractiv
6 days ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Brussels clashes with Rome over UniCredit's Banco BPM takeover
Brussels clashes with Rome over UniCredit's Banco BPM takeover. ROME - The European Commission has raised serious concerns about Italy's use of its 'golden power' mechanism in UniCredit's €10 billion acquisition of Banco BPM, warning that Rome's conditions may breach EU law. According to a statement by a European Commission spokesperson, the Commission has sent a letter to Rome cautioning that the Italian government's move could violate Article 21 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), which limits national interventions in corporate mergers to narrowly defined, proportionate, and justified 'legitimate interests.' The details, the spokesperson said, remain confidential. While the Commission approved the merger last month and does not contest the deal itself, it is challenging the Italian government's decision to impose special powers over the transaction. These include veto rights over corporate resolutions and the ability to block share purchases - enforced via an emergency decree. The Commission argues that Italy failed to notify the decree in advance and has not sufficiently justified the restrictions. Its preliminary assessment also suggests the move could violate EU rules on capital mobility and encroach on the supervisory role of the European Central Bank. The rebuke adds pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, already facing scrutiny for blocking UniCredit's bid for Germany's Commerzbank. Italy now has the chance to respond before Brussels decides on further steps. But Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini dismissed the concerns, accusing the EU of meddling in national affairs instead of focusing on 'serious matters' like US relations. Meloni's office, meanwhile, said it would respond 'collaboratively and constructively,' insisting that the government's actions are legally justified. (cs) (Alessia Peretti)
Mint
07-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Italys Bridge to Nowhere Shows Defense-Boom Risks
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The defense boom in Europe is as close to a tech-style gold rush as the Old Continent can offer. Armaments stocks are outperforming Nvidia Corp., and defense-themed funds are amassing billions in anticipation of rising military spending in a more dangerous world. NATO allies have agreed to more than double defense spending goals to 5% of gross domestic product in the coming years. But with so many countries already struggling to stump up the billions needed to keep up in artificial intelligence, reindustrialization and the energy transition, where's the cash going to come from? With the notable exception of Germany, many European countries are already near the limit of investor and voter patience with borrowing and taxation. And good luck shrinking the welfare state. Italy, a serial defense under-spender with the second-highest debt ratio in the euro area, has one answer: Stretch the definition of 'defense' to breaking point. Officials are reportedly looking to reclassify a proposed €13.5 billion ($15.8 billion) bridge linking Sicily to the mainland as a defense investment. You almost have to applaud the chutzpah. This is a bridge that has been a field of political dreams for decades, if not centuries, and attracted plenty of criticism for its cost, lack of utility and riskiness. To say that this is about rearmament is tantamount to defense-washing a pet political project — one beloved by populist Matteo Salvini, who, ironically, is one of the most vocal critics of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. One MEP from the opposition Five Star Movement called the plan a 'mockery' of military spending. Of course, this isn't to say that only things that go bang should count as defense. NATO's 5% targets include 1.5% for infrastructure and interoperability. We live in a world of deadly drones, AI and cyberattacks — which require tools other than bullets. And governments want to make sure wide swathes of society benefit from military-spending spillovers, which means casting nets wider than usual. 'Defense is the new Keynesianism,' says Richard Aboulafia, managing director of consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory. Still, Italy's plan should set alarm bells ringing. Slapping the label 'defense' on national boondoggles would further exacerbate differences between European countries at a time when defense is already too fragmented. It would make Europe weaker, not stronger. It would also prove Goodhart's Law: When a number becomes a target, it ceases to be a useful measure. NATO's previous 2% targets already included some eyebrow-raising outlays on railways and firefighters, according to Der Spiegel. If this is how the 5% era is set to go, credibility will wither. Clearer definitions, better coordination and ultimately more leadership are needed to ensure the blurred lines between military and civil infrastructure don't vanish completely. The EUISS think tank recommends focusing on disruptive research and innovation via a European version of Darpa, the US Defense Department's advanced research projects agency, more measures to attract top scientific talent and putting more European funding to work. And the Bertelsmann Stiftung think tank also says that Germany's unique position as top spender means it should also step up when it comes to the framework for defense-related infrastructure. Nobody wants yet more box-ticking that stops money getting out the door, but voters deserve better than a defense twist on greenwashing. This isn't about preventing the real economy from getting some of the rewards of a defense boom, but ensuring those spillovers actually happen. Italy has other more positive examples of supporting a more defense-oriented Europe, such as Fincantieri SpA's plan to refocus some shipyards on just making warships. The defense boom is worth celebrating, but a bridge to nowhere isn't a good outcome. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist writing about the future of money and the future of Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for Reuters and Forbes. More stories like this are available on
Local Italy
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Local Italy
Four Italian regions to introduce ban on old diesel cars from October
The northern Italian regions of Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna are set to introduce stringent restrictions on the circulation of older diesel cars starting on Wednesday, October 1st, according to a report from Il Corriere della Sera. Under the crackdown, diesel vehicles falling into the Euro 5 emission class will be banned from circulating in all municipalities with over 30,000 residents between 8.30am and 6.30pm during the working week (Monday to Friday). The ban won't apply to weekends and will remain in place until April 15th, 2026, the report said. According to La Repubblica, motorists flouting the ban on Euro 5 vehicles could face fines of up to €679 if caught. First announced in September 2023, the restrictions are set to affect over 1.3 million Euro 5 vehicles across the four northern regions, according to Il Corriere della Sera. The clampdown is part of measures aimed at reducing air pollution in the Po Valley after the European Union hit Rome with multiple infringement procedures in connection with repeated failures to meet the bloc's air quality standards. The Po Valley, which includes the major cities of Milan, Turin, Bologna and Venice, has long been ranked among the areas with the worst air quality across the entire European continent. Of 25 Italian cities found to have exceeded the legal threshold for coarse particulate matter, or PM10, in 2024, 21 were located in the Po Valley, according to a report from environmental watchdog Legambiente. The planned rollout of the regional restrictions on Euro 5 cars has been met with anger by Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. 'It's absolutely unacceptable that Euro 5 cars will no longer be allowed to circulate,' he said on Tuesday. 'This is part of the foolish European measures coming from von der Leyen's Commission, which approved that economic and industrial nonsense called the Green Deal,' Salvini added. The League party leader also said he was working on an urgent law amendment aimed at preventing the ban from coming into force in October. The government must 'prevent millions of Italians from having to leave their Euro 5 cars in the garage,' he stressed. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were no further details as to when the above-mentioned amendment may be submitted to parliament and whether it would seek to repeal or simply delay the enforcement of the restrictions. Euro 5 is a Europe-wide emission standard introduced in 2011 to limit the emission of harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from vehicles. It was replaced by the more stringent Euro 6 standard in 2015. Motorists in Italy can verify the emission class of their vehicles by entering the relevant licence plate number on the following Transport Ministry web page or by checking their vehicle registration documents (under section 3).
New York Post
10-06-2025
- New York Post
Vacation hotspot ripped over ‘ridiculous' new policy on pets in plane cabins: ‘Garbage idea'
People didn't like the idea of sitting next to a massive air bud. Italian air officials have caused uproar among pet parents over a 'ridiculous' new policy that allows medium and large-sized canines to fly with their owners. Under the new guidelines, approved last month by the nation's civil aviation authority ENAC, pets whose weight exceeds 22 pounds will be allowed to travel in the cabin if the airline permits it. Previously, canines of this size were relegated to flying in the cargo hold. 3 Italy's new resolution on traveling with pets stipulates that they must arrive in 'approved carriers' and strapped into a seat, rather than on the ground below. Viktoriya – The resolution stipulated that the pets must be placed in 'approved carriers' that can even be placed on seats, provided they're belted in or otherwise anchored and only if they don't obstruct emergency exits or crew operations. ENAC president Pierluigi Di Palma declared the goal of the policy was to ensure the animals' 'well-being' and make it 'easier for a greater number of passengers to transport their pets by air.' Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and transport minister, expressed his support for the new rule on Instagram, writing, 'From now on, dog and cat owners will have less difficulty flying with their four-legged friends. Promise kept!' While the pet-friendly measure received oodles of support from animal-lovers, many frequent flyers appeared less enthused about the idea of sharing their air space with plus-size pooches. 3 The pets' carriers can be placed on the seat provided that they're belted or otherwise anchored to it. New Africa – 'Yea no … I don't want to sit next to a dog on my flight,' griped one naysayer on Instagram. 'Nor do I want to be covered in dog hair, and are they removing the dog hair from its seat before the next person sits down.' Another wrote, 'Stupid really. Imagine a plane in distress, the pets will all go off. Seriously, what a garbage idea, no safety involved.' Others pointed out that the policy would be problematic for people with canine phobias and pet dander allergies. 'This is really hard for people who have a fear of dogs, I mean, they're basically trapped,' observed one critic. 'The idea sounds great for dog owners, but has downsides too.' 'This is ridiculous. It does not take into consideration people with phobias and allergies,' complained one detractor. 'Not everyone keeps their animals as clean as they should, either.' They added, 'Guess who is going to get sued if a dog attacks another passenger? I love dogs, but this is going to bite the airlines and some passengers in the bum. Yes, pun intended!!' 3 Proponents of the new policy argue that pets in seats is 'how it should have always been.' Volha Krayeva – However, some fur fans were on board with the rule change, with one supporter gushing, 'This is how it should have always been, end of story, pets are family, not just animals.' 'An airline that allows me to bring my dog will have my business for life,' declared another. In the US, the size limitations for carry-on pets are at the discretion of the airlines. For instance, United Airlines doesn't have a weight limit but requires that they fly in a kennel that can fit under the seat in front of the owner. However, the Department of Transportation (DOT) requires airlines to allow travelers to fly with their service animals in the cabin on all U.S. airlines. There is no limit to the number of these specialist canines that can be on each flight and they don't need to be transported in a container. Some flyers have been accused of taking advantage of this rule by pawning off normal pets as service animals. Last month, San Francisco fashion influencer Piêtra Luccas was excoriated online for bringing her 'service' Great Dane on a United Airlines flight.
