Italy's new Prime Minister Enrico Letta went to Berlin for political talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday (30 April) just hours after being confirmed by the Italian Senate. Speaking ahead of the meeting, the ...

Italian leader Enrico Letta's team of ministers is set to be approved by parliament on Monday (29 April), amid warnings that Rome may have to seek financial aid from the European Central Bank (ECB) The 46-year old Prime ...

Italy nominated Enrico Letta as its new Prime Minister on Wednesday (24 April) in a move it hopes will end a two-month parliamentary deadlock. "The country is waiting for a government. Everyone knows this is situation ...

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday (20 April) was re-elected by the parliament for another seven-year term, paving the way for a government coalition deal. The 87-year old politician, a respected mediator, ...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel - for many the incarnation of EU austerity and German rigour - has shown her softer side by visiting a waiter who lost his job. She paid the surprise visit to the home of Cristoforo ...

International observers are looking at the Italian political situation with the same sense of wonder one might have when looking at a Picasso. On the face of it, it does not make sense: how could political parties ...

Beppe Grillo's extraordinary success in the recent Italian elections tapped into anti-establishment feeling that is ripe for the plucking in other member states too, say analysts. Grillo's 5-Star Movement, established ...

Contrary to what many think, the sick man of Europe is Europe itself, not Italy. While seemingly a threat to EU stability and at the heart of possible contagion, Italy is historically used to navigating through ...

Politicians and investors in the EU will this week continue to focus on Italy, where recent inconclusive elections are making it difficult to form a government and raise concerns that the euro-crisis may pick up again. ...

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has, while on a trip to Germany, demanded respect for Italy and cancelled a meeting with the German opposition leader after he mocked Italian election results. The gaffe-prone Peer ...

The European Commission has urged any future government in Italy to keep on implementing deficit-cutting measures, despite the fact that over half the electorate voted for anti-austerity parties. "Last Friday the ...

Italy was plunged into turmoil on Monday (25 February) after parliamentary elections delivered a hung parliament with firebrand comedian, Beppe Grillo, holding the balance of power. The political paralysis, which seems ...

Italian voters are heading to the polls on Sunday and Monday (24-25 February) in a closely-watched race that could bring the country back to the brink of a bailout. Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, a respected ...

This weekend (24 and 25 February) Italians will have their first general elections in almost five years. The last time they went to the polls to choose politicians for the upper and lower houses of parliament was when ...

Silvio Berlusconi's possible comeback after elections this week-end would drive up Italy's borrowing costs and offer the "perfect excuse" to apply for a bailout, according to a report by Mediobanca, Italy's largest ...

MEPs will have their first official chance to vent their anger at the proposed long term EU budget on Monday (18 February) when they discuss the issue with the presidents of the European Commission and the European ...

EU economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn is at the centre of a political row after blaming Italy's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, for the country's financial crisis. In an unusually blunt statement in the ...

A bank scandal has flared up in Italy one month ahead of elections, with questions raised about European Central Bamk (ECB) chief Mario Draghi's role in overlooking the case and PM Mario Monti using taxpayer money to ...

Italy's outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti on Wednesday (23 January) criticised fellow EU leaders for the way they dealt with the euro crisis and said corporations are blocking reforms in order to promote "vested ...

The Italian economy will run a balanced budget in 2013 before returning to growth the following year, the country's outgoing finance minister has told the European Parliament. Speaking with MEPs on the Parliament's ...

Italy's former leader, Silvio Berlusconi, will join forces with the Northern League party in next month's elections, but does not want to be Prime Minister again. Speaking on Italian radio on Monday (7 January), he said ...

There has been a great deal of flurry in recent days over the resignation of Italy's unelected technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti, the consequent snap elections scheduled for February that have spooked markets, and ...

Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti has tabled his own political manifesto, but his comeback plans are unclear as he remains reluctant to join any political force ahead of the February elections. Over the Christmas ...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti resigned as promised on Friday (21 December) after the Italian parliament adopted the 2013 budget. "A year ago this government was beginning. Today, on the other hand, we have to end ...

The inevitable loop of Italian politics repeated again this month when former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi - fresh from a tax fraud conviction - pulled his party's support for the technocrat government of Mario ...

Germany's Angela Merkel and other centre-right leaders have indicated they would like to see Mario Monti to keep on running Italy instead of Silvio Berlusconi. The centre-right leaders - as well as the two Italian ...

The centre-right European People's Party on Tuesday (11 December) sought to detach itself from "populist" Silvio Berlusconi after he brought down the Italian government. "Europe is very concerned about the recent ...

Italy's outgoing PM Mario Monti on Monday (10 December) sought to give reassurances that any government emerging from the upcoming elections would be "very responsible," as Italian stocks plunged and borrowing continued ...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Saturday (8 December) said he will step down after media magnate Silvio Berlusconi left him without a majority in parliament and announced he will stand again for elections. After ...

Italian borrowing costs spiked on Thursday (6 December) as ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's party boycotted the government of technocrat PM Mario Monti, fuelling speculation about the media mogul's comeback and possible early ...

The nightmare scenario of Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain leaving the euro could cost the world economy €17 trillion, a new study says. The figure - totted up by German consultancy Prognos for the Berlin-based ...

In the aftermath of the euro crisis, the "backlash against integration" is Europe's biggest political problem, according to Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Friends of Europe think- ...

As Europe hangs on every public statement about the possibility of more bailouts from the European Central Bank or German Chancellor Angela Merkel, some investors don't see the wood for the trees. The focus on short- ...

Italy's derided and populist ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi is trying to make a comeback ahead of general elections due in spring 2013. Speaking at a book presentation event in Rome on Thursday (27 September), he called the ...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti won a confidence vote on Tuesday (7 August) linked to another €4.5 billion worth of spending cuts aimed at convincing investors that Italy's economy is sound. But fresh data shows a ...

The European Commission is looking into allegations Italy is abusing the rights of asylum seekers by sending unaccompanied minors back to Greece. EU law requires member states to thoroughly process asylum claims and ...

US ratings agency Moody's has cut Italy's debt rating by two notches citing a contagion risk from Spain and Greece as the eurozone crisis continues to rage. "The risk of a Greek exit from the euro has risen, the Spanish ...

Italy's readmission agreement with Greece and its recently leaked secret migration agreement with Libya have roused concerns among a number of NGOs. A report released by Amnesty International on Italy and Libya on ...

Struggling banks in the EU and beyond are becoming more willing to launder dirty cash for organised crime. Italy's anti-mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso drew attention to one of the lesser known aspects of the crisis at a ...

Debt-stricken Italy is pushing for a "semi-automatic mechanism" to lower eurozone countries' borrowing costs compared to Germany in a veiled admission that it is also heading for a bail-out. "The idea is to possibly ...

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said member states must agree to a big common budget, a future banking union and - ultimately - political union in order to save the EU. His speech at the European ...

Italy has signed a new agreement with the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) to "curtail the flow of migrants," according to a report by Amnesty International. Details of the pact have not been made public. But ...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has said his country does not need a bail-out, even though its borrowing costs have soared amid contagion from Spain, whose recent bail-out has failed to calm markets. "Italy even in ...

A German finance ministry official caused a stir at a Brussels conference by urging deficit countries to "become ants" rather than profligate "grasshoppers," in response to criticism by Italy's Prime Minister Mario ...

The cost of insurance against a Spanish default reached another record on Monday, with Italy's borrowing costs also rising sharply amid continued market fears about the fate of the eurozone. "With a risk premium at 500 ...

The EU-endorsed Nabucco pipeline project is shrinking and might vanish by the end of June. When executives from five energy firms - Botas, Bulgargaz, Mol, OMV and Transgaz - ate dinner in Vienna in October 2002 after ...

EU foreign ministers have "warned" Israel they will take a tougher approach to exports originating in illegal settlements on Palestinian land. The ministers in a statement on Monday (14 May) detailing Israel's long-term ...

Diplomats from 'new' member states who apply for jobs in Catherine Ashton's foreign service are consistently losing out to 'old' candidates and to existing EU officials. Details on recruitment for 181 posts last year ...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti followed in the footsteps of his Spanish counterpart on Wednesday (18 April) by announcing that Italy would need extra time to reaching its deficit target amid a deepening recession. ...