Italy to issue half million non-EU work visas over next three years
A total 164,850 people will be allowed in next year, aiming to reach a cumulative total of 497,550 new entries by 2028.
It is the second such move Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made since she took office nearly three years ago as the head of a right-wing coalition. The government had already decided to issue over 450,000 permits to migrants between 2023 and 2025.
Alongside rules to allow in new workers, Meloni has taken a tough stance against illegal arrivals, moving to speed up repatriations and curbing the activities of charities rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean.
"The quotas were determined taking into account the needs expressed by the social partners and the actual applications for work permits submitted in previous years, with the aim of a programme that responds to the needs of businesses and is also realistic," the statement said.
An ageing population and a sagging birthrate highlight the need to attract foreign workers in the euro zone's third largest economy. There were some 281,000 more deaths than births in 2024 and the population fell by 37,000 to 58.93 million, continuing a decade-long trend.
Agricultural lobby Coldiretti welcomed the government's plan, saying it represented an important step to guarantee the availability of workers in the fields and the country's food production.
"The government will continue with determination to allow legal migration channels, benefiting important sectors of our economy," Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told daily La Stampa on Sunday.
To counter the ongoing depopulation and maintain current levels of inhabitants, Italy would need to take in at least 10 million immigrants by 2050, according to research by the Osservatorio Conti Pubblici think tank. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
7 hours ago
- GMA Network
EU poll observers: Almost 50% of PH election code outdated
Poll observers from the European Union turn over their final report on the 2025 Philippine midterm national and local elections on July 2, 2025. Photo by: Comelec Nearly half of the provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, including those for campaign finance and election offenses, are already outdated, the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission reported Thursday. The EU poll observers, led by its chief Marta Temido, highlighted this in their report following the conduct of the May 12, 2025 midterm polls. "Although the election code remains the main source of electoral legislation, it is estimated that nearly half of its provisions are outdated, having been superseded by the Constitution, enacted two years after, and by numerous subsequent laws and regulations," the report read. "Specific provisions and entire sections of the electoral code that are no longer valid refer, for example, to the registration of voters and candidates, the campaign and campaign finance, voting and counting procedures, election observation and electoral offenses," the report read. Further, the poll observers' report stated that the election code has not been updated, as articles that are no longer applicable have not been repealed yet remain in place. "This [situation] is making it difficult to determine which provisions are still in force and which have been rendered inoperative by more recent legal acts," the report said. The Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, or Batas Pambansa 881, was enacted in December 1985 during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Fact-checking 'uncommon' The country's social media environment, the report added, is divided along political dynasties and the supporters, while the digital literacy of the Filipino population was deemed low to moderate. "While there are several fact-checking initiatives, the EU poll observers said verifying online news remains relatively uncommon among Filipinos," the report said. While articles and videos generally maintained a high level of discussion, the EU poll observers said the authenticity could not be said for comments sections and reactions. "EU EOM interlocutors noted that troll farms have become harder to detect due to their decentralised operations, unlike past tactics using identical messages and hashtags," the report pointed out. "The DICT reported several cases to Meta when coordinated naratives stemmed from a foreign source or when mass messages were identical, while TikTok removed three troll farms. Despite broad agreement on the issue's scale, some groups... were seen as both trolling and expressing authentic political views," the report read. To address these problems, the EU poll observes called for a sustainable support system for independent media and investigative journalism and fact checking. "Fact checking should be further strengthened and maintained, alongside continued expansion of media and digital literacy programmes for all strata of society," the report added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
EU observers give Comelec their final report on Eleksyon 2025
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) turns over its Final Report and Recommendations for the May 12, 2025 National and Local Elections to the Commission on Elections at Comelec headquarters in Palacio del Gobernador, Intramuros, Manila on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Photo: Commission on Elections The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it will review the recommendations of the European Union (EU) poll observers on the recent 2025 national and local elections (NLE). Members of the EU observation mission met with Comelec officials to formally turn over their final election observation report and recommendations, months after the conclusion of the May 12 midterm polls. 'Ang pangako ng lahat ng bawat isang miyembro ng Comelec kanina, aaralin at kung may mga bagay na maisasama sa proposal na revised Omnibus Election Code (OEC) ay isasama pa namin para maisaayos,' Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told reporters. (The promise of each and every Comelec en banc member is to review the report and if there is any recommendation that may be included in the proposal for the revised OEC, then we will include it.) In April, the EU launched the election observation mission for Eleksyon 2025, deploying an initial 200 observers. More poll observers arrived in the country the following month. The international observers released their initial report on May 14, flagging widespread vote-buying; the continued dominance of political families; election-related violence, including on election day; and a legal framework that is fragmented and lacks grievance mechanisms. According to Laudiangco, among the EU poll observers' recommendations are decreasing the number of voters per precinct to shorten lines. They also reiterated the issues on vote buying, and violence, and lauded the poll body's transparency efforts, engagement with media, and expeditious actions on complaints of discrimination, and red-tagging. 'Mukhang ang susi kasi sa lahat ng nakitang observations, dalawang bagay: pagbabago sa legislation at pagpapalaki ng pondo. Kung masosolusyunan ang dalawang bagay na ito, tingin namin pareho, magagampanan namin ang sinasabi nilang international standard at mas magandang pagpapalakad ng halalan,' he added. (We saw that the key to these observations are two things: the amendment of election laws and a higher budget for the polls. If a way can be found for these, we think we will be able to attain the international standard and a better way of conducting elections.) The EU observation team said it will also submit its final report and recommendations to Congress. The Philippines held its midterm polls on May 12. — BM, GMA Integrated News For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
GMA Network
3 days ago
- GMA Network
Italy to issue half million non-EU work visas over next three years
ROME, Italy - Italy will issue nearly 500,000 new work visas for non-EU nationals from 2026 to 2028, a cabinet statement said on Monday, as part of a strategy to expand legal immigration channels in response to labor shortages. A total 164,850 people will be allowed in next year, aiming to reach a cumulative total of 497,550 new entries by 2028. It is the second such move Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made since she took office nearly three years ago as the head of a right-wing coalition. The government had already decided to issue over 450,000 permits to migrants between 2023 and 2025. Alongside rules to allow in new workers, Meloni has taken a tough stance against illegal arrivals, moving to speed up repatriations and curbing the activities of charities rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean. "The quotas were determined taking into account the needs expressed by the social partners and the actual applications for work permits submitted in previous years, with the aim of a programme that responds to the needs of businesses and is also realistic," the statement said. An ageing population and a sagging birthrate highlight the need to attract foreign workers in the euro zone's third largest economy. There were some 281,000 more deaths than births in 2024 and the population fell by 37,000 to 58.93 million, continuing a decade-long trend. Agricultural lobby Coldiretti welcomed the government's plan, saying it represented an important step to guarantee the availability of workers in the fields and the country's food production. "The government will continue with determination to allow legal migration channels, benefiting important sectors of our economy," Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told daily La Stampa on Sunday. To counter the ongoing depopulation and maintain current levels of inhabitants, Italy would need to take in at least 10 million immigrants by 2050, according to research by the Osservatorio Conti Pubblici think tank. — Reuters
