Conte I Cabinet

Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will meet with EU Special Representative for the Gulf region Luigi Di Maio on Thursday 21 March at 17:30, the Foreign Ministry said in an announcement on Wednesday.

"Good evening, I'm Mateo": it is unusual for a former prime minister to introduce himself to you with his given name. But 46-year-old Matteo Renzi (in addition to the well-known Mediterranean relaxed demeanor) has this comfort of a person who managed to reach the top very young.

A judge in Sicily on Saturday ordered former interior minister Matteo Salvini to stand trial for having refused to let a Spanish migrant rescue ship dock in an Italian port in 2019, keeping the people at sea for days.

Judge Lorenzo Iannelli set September 15 as the trial date during a hearing in the Palermo bunker courtroom, the LaPresse news agency reported.

Romania and Italy have consistently supported the importance of a strong, inclusive European Union that is closer to its citizens, Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Wednesday. The statement was made at a joint news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio during Aurescu's official visit to Rome.

Italy on March 31 ordered two Russian Embassy officials expelled and arrested an Italian Navy captain on spying charges after police caught the Italian allegedly giving classified documents to one of the Russians in exchange for money.

Italy's latest emergency decree, signed by premier Mario Draghi, extends most of the existing covid-19 restrictions and closes all schools in red zones or areas with high infection rates.

Former European bank chief Mario Draghi agreed on Feb. 3 to try to form a non-political government to steer Italy through the coronavirus pandemic after last-ditch negotiations among political parties failed to produce a viable governing coalition.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has officially stepped down in order to try to form a government with wider support, and the consultations with the parties with a view to finding a new parliamentary majority will start on Wednesday afternoon, according to the official statement from the presidential palace.

Conte will try to form a coalition government

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte resigned on Jan. 26 after a key coalition ally pulled his party's support over Conte's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for consultations this week to determine if he can form a third government.