Category Archives: European Union

Italy’s Stance on the Israeli-Palestinian Question and the Gaza War: Continuity and Change

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Throughout 2024, the Italian Government and Parliament remained actively engaged with the ongoing hostilities between Hamas and Israel and with their destabilising effect on the broader Middle East. Attention was also directed towards the intensification of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis.[1] More specifically, Italy’s position can be summarised as follows: 1) condemnation of the attacks perpetrated by both State and non-State actors against Israel; 2) recognition of Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law but, at the same time, a strong emphasis on the need to guarantee humanitarian access to Gaza and a condemnation of settler violence in the West Bank; 3) endorsement of a two-State solution negotiated between the parties as the sole viable solution to the conflict.

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Italy’s Migration Policy in 2024: Pursuing the Externalisation Path

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In 2024, Italy’s migration policy continued to be heralded by the Italian Government and parliamentary majority as a success and a model for other countries, while being vehemently criticised by opposition parties as well as civil society organisations active in the area of the protection of migrants. Even though Italy’s policy in this field has been wide-ranging in its acts and effects, the externalisation of migration management is arguably one of its guiding principles. Albeit not a legal notion, externalisation – by referring to a multitude of practices of controlling and managing migration beyond a State’s borders – raises compelling legal issues.[1] Therefore, it is not surprising that the Italian Government aimed to justify its outward-looking approach, affecting virtually all phases of the migration process, on a variety of legal grounds.

Starting with the departure of migrants, references to a supposed “right not to migrate” were again abundant in the Italian diplomatic and parliamentary practice of 2024. This has been a leitmotiv of the current Italian Government and one of the theoretical premises and legal backbones of Piano Mattei, namely Italy’s flagship plan for investment in and cooperation with Africa. Among other instances, the Italian President of the Council of Ministers, Ms. Giorgia Meloni, referred to this right in her address before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the Summit of the Future, on 23 September 2024. In connection with Piano Mattei and its approach (“neither paternalistic nor charitable or predatory”), Ms. Meloni stated that “[Piano Mattei] is our recipe to promote the development of a continent too often undervalued, build its stability, and finally guarantee one right that until now has been denied to too many young people – the right not to have to emigrate”.

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The Arrest and Detention of Ilaria Salis in Hungary

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On 13 February 2023, the Italian Embassy in Hungary was informed that Ilaria Salis, an Italian national, had been arrested in Budapest two days earlier. She had been taken into custody on charges of armed group violence for assaulting far-right activists during a demonstration. She was accused of being part of organised groups that allegedly planned to attack people present at the demonstration. The Embassy was informed that Ms. Salis was being held in a Budapest prison and that the prosecution was seeking a prison sentence of 11 years.

In 2024, while expressing concern for non-compliance with fair trial and minimum standards on detention, Italy initially only stressed the need to respect Hungary’s sovereignty and the impartiality of its judiciary.[1] On 29 January 2024, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Carlo Nordio, emphasised that “the Hungarian judiciary is sovereign” and that Italy could only take action through diplomatic channels to improve the conditions of detention.[2] Further statements by both Mr. Nordio and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Antonio Tajani, underlined that the principle of judicial sovereignty of a State would prevent interference in the conduct of the trial and Ms. Salis’s detention status.[3]

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The Legality of Arms Transfers to Israel after 7 October: The Relationship Between the International Legal Framework on Arms Trade and Law No. 185 of 1990

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In Italy, as in several other countries, the debate on the legality of arms transfers to Israel assumed considerable political importance in late 2023 and early 2024.[1] After an initial period of shock over the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on 7 October, public and parliamentary attention to arms transfers to Israel increased in parallel with the growing number of Palestinian civilian casualties caused by the Israeli army’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Between November 2023 and April 2024, the Italian Government had to address the issue on at least five occasions during parliamentary debates.

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The Response to the Houthis’ Attacks in the Red Sea: Bathing in Ambiguity

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In October 2023, the Yemen-based and Iran-backed Houthi movement started a series of attacks (continuing well into 2024) against several vessels navigating the Red Sea, with the declared intention to support the population of Gaza in the rekindled Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On 10 January 2024, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, taking note of “the right of Member States, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms”. This ambiguously-worded text does not provide for an autonomous legal basis for reaction and leaves open the question of the legality of the forcible measures subsequently taken by (mostly Western) States.

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Italy’s Migration Policy in 2023: Respect for or Empty References to International Law?

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In 2023, the Italian Government adopted several decrees-law with the aims of stemming migration flows, restricting the grounds for legal stay in Italy, and increasing expulsions from the territory. Italy also further pursued an externalization of migration management, by concluding a much-discussed bilateral agreement with Albania[1] and by playing a prominent role in the conclusion of “strategic partnerships” between the European Union (EU) and Mediterranean countries, namely Tunisia (in July 2023) and Egypt (in March 2024).[2] Additionally, the Italian Government was active in shaping the EU New Pact on Migration and Asylum, whose adoption it hailed as a success, especially insofar as the “defence” of the external borders of the EU is concerned.[3]

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The Non-extradition of Italian Terrorists from France, Between Political and Legal Issues

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On 28 March 2023, the French Cour de Cassation upheld the decision of 29 June 2022 whereby the Cour d’appel of Paris had ruled that ten of the former members of the left-wing terrorist organization known as the Red Brigades – who had found refuge in France for almost 40 years – should not be extradited to Italy. The Italian Government, which in January 2020, with the support of the French authorities, had requested the extradition of the former terrorists,[1] condemned the decision of the Cour de Cassation, thus continuing the never-ending debate on the political gradient of extradition.[2]

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Of Castaways and Pirates: Migrants’ Rights from Departure to Arrival

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The victory of the right-wing coalition at the general elections of September 2022 brought the topic of migration back to the center of the Italian political debate. In the first half of the year the Parliament had discussed migration issues with a theretofore unknown positive attitude: the shock caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine nourished the sympathy for those displaced by the war and led to the welcoming of tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and the financing of support initiatives. However, the steady rise in the number of migrants reaching the country’s shores, as compared to those arrived in the period immediately after the conclusion of the 2017 agreement between Italy and Libya, led the newly elected President of the Council of Ministers, Ms. Giorgia Meloni, and her center-right coalition to adopt a tighter approach.

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The Reaction to the Russian Federation’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Debate on the Provision of Weapons to the State Victim of Aggression

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At the beginning of 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation started, several factors would have led one to question Italy’s ability to condemn the unlawful use of force. Italy was heavily dependent on gas supplies from Russia by virtue of a decades-long policy of cooperation in the energy sector (a situation that changed radically in the space of a year).[1] Some parties with governmental responsibilities in both the executive led by Mario Draghi and the subsequent one led by Giorgia Meloni,[2] had also shown over time that they had a network of relations with the Russian leadership.[3] Furthermore, the presence of a strong pacifist movement within public opinion had led some analysts to doubt whether the country would adopt a firm political stance towards the Russian Federation involving the supply of weapons or some form of participation in the conflict.[4]

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International Standards on Criminal Punishment: Italy’s Position Between Progressive Tendencies and Lack of Legal Clarity

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In 2022, the Italian Government addressed the issue of criminal punishment on various occasions, thus shedding light on the interpretation of its features in accordance with relevant international standards. The resulting picture is a composite one, anchored in human rights and directed at expanding the reach of international law to an area traditionally considered to be within the reserved domain of States – but not always on the basis of clear legal arguments.

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