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What does Italy’s state of emergency mean and why has it been extended?

Italy has extended its state of emergency once again. Here's what that actually means for people in the country.

Published: 8 October 2020 10:51 CEST
What does Italy's state of emergency mean and why has it been extended?
Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (L) and President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico. Photo: AFP
 
The Italian government has extended the state of emergency until January 21st, 2021, which would mark a year since it was first introduced.
 
What is the state of emergency?
 
The most important thing to know is that the state of emergency itself does not determine the emergency rules and restrictions. It’s not the same thing as an emergency decree.
 
And while it sounds dramatic, the declaration of a state of emergency has a specific purpose.
 
It gives greater powers to both the national government and to regional authorities, and it was declared in order to allow the Prime Minister to introduce, change, and revoke rules quickly, via emergency decrees, in response to the ever-changing epidemiological situation.
 
 
The state of emergency effectively cuts through bureaucracy, as the introduction of these new rules and laws would otherwise require the usual lengthy parliamentary process.
 
It also allows regional authorities to bring in their own local rules aimed at containing the spread of the virus.
 
Under the state of emergency, Conte’s government has issued a series of emergency decrees, usually referred to in Italy as DPCM (Decreto del presidente del consiglio, or Prime Minister’s decree) since the outbreak of Covid-19 began.
 
The decrees have been used to introduce, tighten or relax various rules depending on the current infection rate in Italy and in other countries.
 
Under the state of emergency it is easier for officials to introduce new health measures and to declare “red zones” in case of outbreaks.
 
While the coronavirus infection rate in Italy at the moment remains relatively low, it is rising and it the government says it wants to be able to act swiftly if things change.
 
 
Will the current rules in Italy change?
 
The extension of the state of emergency does not automatically mean that rules put in place under the current emergency decree will also be extended.
 
However the state of emergency is needed to allow the government to pass new rules quickly throug parliament in response to the changing coronavirus situation.
 
Italy is set to pass its next emergency decree on or before October 15th.
 
On October 7th, ministers approved a new rule making masks compulsory outdoors at all times of the day, everywhere in Italy.
 
The mask-wearing rule is backed up with large fines for non-compliance.
 

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POLITICS

Italy’s Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

The president of Italy's northwest Liguria region and the ex-head of Genoa's port were among 10 arrested on Tuesday in a sweeping anti-corruption investigation which also targeted officials for alleged mafia ties.

Published: 7 May 2024 12:52 CEST
Italy's Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

Liguria President Giovanni Toti, a right-wing former MEP who was close to late prime minister Silvio Berlusconi but is no longer party aligned, was placed under house arrest, Genoa prosecutors said in a statement.

The 55-year-old is accused of having accepted 74,100 euros in funds for his election campaign between December 2021 and March 2023 from prominent local businessmen, Aldo Spinelli and his son Roberto Spinelli, in return for various favours.

These allegedly included seeking to privatise a public beach and speeding up the renewal for 30 years of the lease of a Genoa port terminal to a Spinelli family-controlled company, which was approved in December 2021.

A total of 10 people were targeted in the probe, also including Paolo Emilio Signorini, who stepped down last year as head of the Genoa Port Authority, one of the largest in Italy. He was being held in jail on Tuesday.

He is accused of having accepted from Aldo Spinelli benefits including cash, 22 stays in a luxury hotel in Monte Carlo – complete with casino chips, massages and beauty treatments – and luxury items including a 7,200-euro Cartier bracelet.

The ex-port boss, who went on to lead energy group Iren, was also promised a 300,000-euro-a-year job when his tenure expires, prosecutors said.

In return, Signorini was said to have granted Aldo Spinelli favours including also working to speed up the renewal of the family’s port concession.

The Spinellis are themselves accused of corruption, with Aldo – an ex-president of the Genoa and Livorno football clubs – placed under house arrest and his son Roberto temporarily banned from conducting business dealings.

In a separate strand of the investigation, Toti’s chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani, was placed under house arrest accused of “electoral corruption” which facilitated the activities of Sicily’s Cosa Nostra Mafia.

As regional coordinator during local elections in 2020, he was accused of promising jobs and public housing in return for the votes of at least 400 Sicilian residents of Genoa.

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