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POLITICS

Italy’s Renzi ‘hungry’ for change in Europe

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday defended his score card after two years in power and said he was "hungry" to push on with reforms at home and in Europe.

Italy's Renzi 'hungry' for change in Europe
Matteo Renzi is now two years into his tenure as Prime Minister. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

“Italy is no longer Europe's problem. Italy is strong, solid, but it still has lots to do and I still have the same hunger I had the first day in office,” he told journalists at the Foreign Press Association in Rome.
   
“Never, in any European country, have so many reforms been carried out in such a short period.”

And although Italy “needs to change further”, Renzi is determined to make saving the European dream part of his legacy too.

“Either Europe changes its economic policies, its approach to immigration, the way in which it creates the idea of community, or Europe risks reducing to shreds the biggest political operation ever realised,” he said.
   
He also warned Eastern European countries that if they failed to pull their weight in the migrant crisis and simply closed their borders, they would pay the price in the 2020-2026 EU budget, which he said would be on the table shortly.
   
“We will have to take into account that some countries see solidarity as a one-way street. If you seek solidarity when you ask for funds, you have to show solidarity when there's an emergency to be faced,” he said.
   
Despite the crises plaguing the EU, he urged Britain to vote to stay in the bloc at a referendum later this year, saying that “if it leaves, the consequences will be worse for British citizens than for European ones”.
   
While praising his counterpart David Cameron's election campaign skills, he said it would be “a very difficult campaign,” and warned that if Britain leaves “the main problem will be for the UK, its businesses and its citizens”.

 

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TERRORISM

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy was to increase surveillance in busy areas ahead of the Easter holidays and following the bombing of a Moscow concert hall, ministers agreed on Monday.

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy’s national committee for public security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on Monday said anti-terrorism monitoring in Italy must be strengthened ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

The committee agreed on “the importance of continuing monitoring activity, including online, by police and intelligence forces for the identification of possible risk situations” in Italy, reported news agency Ansa.

The security meeting was convened following the terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

“During the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful. We will always do the utmost to ensure the safety of citizens and tourists,” Tajani said, speaking on national broadcaster Rai’s current affairs show Restart.

READ ALSO: Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

The fight against terrorism “has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine,” the minister continued.

“We support Ukraine” as an invaded country in which international law has been violated, he said, “but as the Italian government we have expressed our condemnation of the attack [in Moscow] and closeness to the families of the victims and the survivors”.

Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano said on the same programme that the main terrorist threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves” and “not so much from organised groups.”

“I believe that a group like the one that acted in the Moscow attack, which must have been trained and had logistical support, would be intercepted sooner in Italy,” he said.

“The most worrying threat” in Italy was online recruitment, he said, noting that propaganda was closely monitored.

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