ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – “The further intensification of parliamentary, economic and political cooperation” between Italy and Serbia was at the centre of yesterday’s visit to Rome by the President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic. She met, among others, the President of the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Commission, Giulio Tremonti, the President of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Commission, Stefania Craxi, and the Speaker of Parliament, Lorenzo Fontana.

“It was a very positive visit,” declared Branbic in an interview with Italpress. During the meeting with Fontana, “we agreed that, on strengthening further our parliamentary relations.” However, she emphasized the need “to continue the cooperation between the Commission for European Integration of the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Commission for European Policies, as well as dialogue within the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and other organizations”.

A joint session of the Italian and Serbian governments is scheduled for early 2025, “and it will have to be accompanied by a clear message of parliamentary collaboration,” explained Brnabic. “I invited Fontana to visit Belgrade for that occasion and sign a holistic agreement on parliamentary cooperation”.

On the current relations between Rome and Belgrade, the President of the Serbian Parliament was very positive: “My general impression is that all the work and efforts of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, in building good relations with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the work of the Serbian Government and Parliament is giving results. We have never had such close relationships, and we want them to be even better in the future”.

Branbic spoke about the possibility of cooperation at the academic level. “I spoke in Rome with the deputy rector of the University Luiss Guido Carli, Antonio Majocchi, about the University’s potential collaboration with our country”.

She described Italy as one of Serbiàs main trading partners for years. “I spoke about this in a meeting with representatives of Confindustria, who told us that they have excellent feedback on Serbia from their members, which is an excellent signal for all future investors”.

About the negotiations for Serbiàs accession to the European Union, she hopes that the process will lead to the third negotiation cluster on competitiveness and inclusive growth.

The President of the National Assembly of Serbia thanked Italy which, together with Hungary, is the most inclined towards European integration of Serbia, demonstrating this directly and proactively. “Italy is even of the opinion that Serbia should have a place in the European Union even before 2030. I don’t think this is realistic, because there are member states that are skeptical about this, but I think it is important that citizens know that this is the position of Italy. Communicating this position clearly and unequivocally in all offices of the European Union. Italy is therefore a great friend of Serbia. Day after day the friendship between the two countries grows stronger”, concluded Branbic.

– Photo Camera dei Deputati –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) (ITALPRESS) – Malta has repatriated or relocated more than 3,300 individuals over the past five years, according to new published data.
The figures, which cover the period from 2020 through early October 2024, represent an average of 670 deportations annually, marking a significant shift in the Mediterranean nation’s approach to migration management.
The data, released by Maltese Police, reveals an extensive list of more than 50 countries of origin, ranging from South Asian nations like India and Nepal to African countries including Morocco and Somalia, as well as European states such as Serbia and Albania.
Authorities confirmed that repatriations were conducted in accordance with EU and Schengen area residence permits or citizenship status.
Interior Minister Byron Camilleri disclosed that 1,103 individuals were “removed from the country” in the first ten months of 2024 alone. This includes unqualified asylum seekers, those found residing irregularly in Malta, and voluntary returnees.
During the same period, only 155 people arrived irregularly in Malta, whilst 125 were returned to their countries of origin and 60 were relocated, resulting in a net decrease in irregular arrivals.
The National Statistics Office reports a dramatic 35.2% reduction in asylum applications compared to the previous year, with just 854 requests-including both first-time and repeated applications-registered by June 2024.
This decline coincides with a 14.6% decrease in irregular maritime arrivals, positioning Malta amongst the EU member states with the lowest positive asylum decision rates, alongside Cyprus.

– Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ALGIERS (ALGERIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – On Wednesday 13 November the Taobuk Festival kicks off in Algiers, in the heart of the Mediterranean, to bring Sicily to the centre of contemporary narratives with an event entitled “Mare Nostro, mareinterno”, organized by the Taobuk Festival in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Algiers and the support of the General Directorate for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event will feature two of the most significant voices in contemporary literature, Maria Attanasio and Evelina Santangelo, in dialogue with Antonella Ferrara, President and Artistic Director of Taobuk, and Alfio Bonaccorso, Executive Director of the Festival.
?Starting from their works, Attanasio and Santangelo will offer the Algerian public a look at the Mediterranean as a stratified region of remembrance and opportunity, a crossroads of peoples, culture and ideas.
For Maria Attanasio, author of Dall’Atlante ai Appennini (Orecchio acerbo), the sea is a place of discovery and belonging, narrated through the journey of Youssef, a young migrant who reaches Europe from Morocco in search of his mother.

Evelina Santangelo, with The Sentiment of the Sea (Einaudi), instead talks about the Mediterranean as a universal heritage, a symbol of hopes and divisions, which embodies both the promises and the difficulties of our time.

The event is part of a series of initiatives that have already involved the Rabat and Tunis offices, underlining the role of the Festival as a platform for dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean and a point of reference for the promotion of Italian literature at the international level.
?The Algerian stage is therefore configured as a crucial step in the path that unites peoples and traditions through the universal language of literature. An initiative which, to quote the words of Fabrizio De Andrè, “for the same reason of traveling, let’s travel”, invites participants to reflect on the role of culture as a bridge between apparently distant worlds, but united by the same sea.

– Photo www.taobuk.it –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The anti-mafia group Fondazione Falcone opened its first branch outside of Italy in an official ceremony under the patronage of the President of Malta Myriam Spiteri Debono.

The Fondazionès new Malta premises are in Siggiewi, and are being dedicated to the memory of Falcone, Borsellino and Daphne Caruana Galizia, as well as all other victims of organised crime.

The Fondazione Falcone was launched by Maria Falcone, sister of Sicilian anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone in the wake of his assassination 32 years ago.

Its Maltese representative Robert Aquilina pledged that the foundation would help create a culture “in which what happened to the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia cannot ever happen again”.

The President of Malta said that Daphnès assassination hit Malta hard. “It was a clarion call for civilians to wake up. The tools of democracy were set in motion. However, if their recommendations are not implemented, they are a dead letter.”

She expressed her hope that the opening of the foundation’s new Malta office would help nurture a deep consciousness “of one basic all-pervading entitlement; the right to a just society based on the implementation and constant exercise of democratic and humanistic standards.” There is no short cut to this, the road is arduous, never ending with no final destination. This is a constant struggle, requiring maintenance at every juncture,” the president added.

She stressed that Falcone, Borsellino, Daphne and all other victims of organised crime “deserve our commitment to keep their memory vibrant by working towards the enhancement of just principles for all”.

She highlighted that Falcone, Borsellino and Daphne all paid the ultimate price, and recalled the last words penned by Daphne on her blog, minutes before her death: “the situation is desperate; there are crooks everywhere”, She interpreted these words as a call for Maltese society to take action.

At the inauguration, Maria Falcone recounted that her brother’s killing completely transformed her life “as a sister and as an Italian citizen. I could have kept my pain and cry in silence”, she said. “But when it comes to my pain as a citizen, I had to bring it out”.

Falcone recalled that her brother and Borsellino were far from the first notable anti-mafia figures to have been murdered, highlighting the murder of the head of Sicily’s regional government Piersanti Mattarella – brother of Italian president Sergio Mattarella – in 1980, the assassination of Carabinieri general Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa two years later, various members of the judiciary and journalists who “were killed like Daphne was”.

Aquilina expressed similar sentiments in his own address, recounting how he and other activists had recognised in the wake of Daphnès death that they could not let the shock they felt overcome them. “We began a process, we began a journey – often an uphill one – to find the truth, to obtain justice and so that Malta could be cured of the disease that led to the killing of a journalist”, he said.
Aquilina recounted that his subsequent contacts with the Fondazione Falcone helped him understand that many “many of the challenges we are facing in Malta had been previously faced by them in Italy… that many challenges faced by Daphne were very similar to those faced by Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, their colleagues, journalists, activists, politicians and Italian citizens who chose right over wrong”.

– Photo xf3/Italpress –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, met the Tunisian Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Fatma Thabet Chiboub, at Palazzo Piacentini. At the centre of the bilateral discussion, industrial cooperation between Italy and Tunisia, with a focus on supporting SMEs and innovative start-ups, in particular in the strategic sectors of technological innovation, digital and artificial intelligence.?During the meeting, the two Ministers expressed their intention to create new opportunities for interaction and investment in the sector of renewable energy and essential raw materials and to promote institutional cooperation between the research centres and tech hubs in both
countries, with the aim of enhancing innovation, creating new infrastructures and encouraging the development of the sector’s supply chains.
Finally, the focus turned on the decisions taken by the G7 ministerial meeting on Industry and Technological Innovation with regards to new technologies and on the AI Hub for Sustainable Development, a project of the Italian presidency, in line with the key principles of the Mattei Plan, aimed at encouraging engagement between Italian and Western companies and African startups, to strengthen local AI ecosystems and create new opportunities for industrial growth.

– Photo MIMIT press office –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The main political forces in Malta have congratulated United States President elect Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has expressed his best wishes to Donald Trump for his US election victory. Abela said he looks forward to working with the US “to deliver the peace, stabiilty and prosperity that the world’s people deserve”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and foreign affairs minister Ian Borg also congratulated Trump. In a Facebook post, Borg said that Malta looks forward to continuing working closely with the US.
Giving his best wishes to the returning president, opposition leader Bernard Grech stated he wants to see a strengthened relationship between Malta and the US. “We look forward to a strengthened relationship between Malta and the United States of America promoting shared values and opportunities that benefit both our nations and the people”.
-photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

BRUSSELS (BELGIUM) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltàs commissioner-designate Glenn Micallef was approved by MEPs to serve as European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport on Monday, following a three-hour European Parliament grilling.
Micallef, 35, is the youngest commissioner-designate who was assigned the portfolio by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Micallef answered MEP questions about a raft of issues, from screentime for young people to cyberbullying, equal pay for female and male athletes and transgender controversy in sports.
However, his replies stuck firmly to EU policy initiatives. He highlighted the Commission plans to introduce a cyberbullying strategy and a commitment to hold an inquiry on the impacts of social media.
The Maltese candidate faced a series of ideologically-loaded questions from members of the three political groups on the far-right: the European Conservatives and Reformers, the Patriots for Europe and the Europe of Sovereign Nations. However, Micallef repeatedly asserted his commitment to European values, including equality, diversity and non-discrimination.
He emphasized the need to give young people a voice in EU decision-making while noting with concern that young people are increasingly not bothering to vote.
He told MEPs that he had a clear commitment from von der Leyen to strengthen Erasmus+, the EU’s flagship youth, education and sports training programme.
His closing address saw Micallef hailing MEPs as staunch supporters of the young and of Europès sports model, and stating that it would be a great privilege to work with MEPs in the years to come. An invitation that was met with an encouraging applause from MEPs.
The final decision on whether to approve the new European Commission as a whole will be taken by the European Parliament, following a debate in plenary scheduled to take place between the 25th and 28th November. It will then be the European Council to officially appoint the Commission, so that it can start its five-year term.

– Photo Department of Information Malta –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

MALTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltese workers consistently register more hours than their EU counterparts. In 2023, full-time employees in Malta worked an average of 40.4 hours per week, compared to the EU 27 average of 39.6 hours. This trend has been consistent over recent years, with Maltese workers consistently putting in longer hours. The gender gap in working hours is also evident. In 2023, male full-time employees in Malta worked an average of 40.7 hours per week, while females worked 39.9 hours. Both figures exceed the EU averages of 40.1 hours for males and 38.9 hours for females. Over the past six years, Maltàs labour market has experienced significant growth, particularly in the 15-64 age group, where the activity rate rose from 74.1% in 2018 to 80.7% in 2023. This increase was largely driven by female participation, with their activity rate rising by 9.7 percentage points, compared to a 3.1 percentage point increase for males. The highest activity rates were observed among those aged 25 to 54, with 96% of males and a notable 10 percentage point rise for females in this group. In 2023, 78% of individuals aged 15-64 were employed. Male employment rates grew by 0.7% annually, while female rates saw a stronger rise of 1.9% per year. Maltàs national employment rates generally exceeded EU27 levels, particularly for the 15-24 age group, where 50.4% of Maltese youth were employed compared to 35.2% in the EU.
The gender employment gap narrowed between 2018 and 2023, largely due to initiatives encouraging female participation in the workforce. However, in 2023, Maltàs employment gender gap was still 4.3 percentage points higher than the EU27 average. The service sector was the primary driver of employment growth, increasing its share from 57.0% in 2018 to 63.1% in 2023.
Unemployment in Malta has steadily declined, with the rate falling to 3.5% in 2023, below the EU27 average. Youth unemployment, at 5.1%, was also lower than the EU27 average. Additionally, the rate of young people not in employment, education, or training, stood at 8.2%, which was lower than the EU27 figure. Long-term unemployment in 2023 was notably low at 0.8%, 1.3 percentage points below the EU27 average.

– Photo Agenzia Fotogramma –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has announced a set of proposals to ease the traffic situation on the island. The proposals will be subject to consultation with the public and stakeholders as confirmed by the Transport Minister Chris Bonett. He added that the measures will start to be implemented in the second quarter of 2025, and end in the third quarter of 2026.
Among the proposals unveiled by the government to ease traffic congestion, Minister Bonett announced off-peak service provision, revised bus routes, increased parking in public spaces, and better coordination on road works.
The government’s proposals are based on six pillars: a 24-hour economy, incentives to limit the use of vehicles, parking, public transport, road works coordination, and sustainable mobility.
The government is expected to lead by example, proposing services such as waste collection, cleansing, landscaping and driving licence lessons should not be carried out during peak hours. The government will also discuss with the private sector minimise the 60,000 commercial vehicles during peak hours.
The Transport Minister referred to the proposal to limit the use of passenger vehicles by introducing incentives for people to surrender their driving licence and convincing youths to refrain from obtaining their licences. He added that the finance ministry has already allocated €5 million to such incentives.
Meanwhile, more park-and-ride facilities, open spaces that can be used as parking facilities such as schools and technology-based solutions to improve the parking situation in localities are being proposed to solve parking problems.
The Maltese government is proposing a complete overhaul of the public transport system. This measure would take place in the medium term. The changes to take place in short term include new bus routes to industrial estates, circular bus routes within big localities, and new bus routes that have fewer stops.
Meanwhile, a new committee will be created to improve coordination on roadworks.
There are over 225,000 car owners in Malta, with over 55,000 individuals having more than one car to their name. Transport Minister said he does not believe the number of vehicles is the main problem, but the biggest issue concerning traffic is the fact that they are being used at the same time.
– photo Doi –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to visit Malta next month to represent Russia in a meeting for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which Malta currently chairs.

This means that Malta will be the first European Union country to host Lavrov since Russia invaded Ukraine.

When Russian media asked the Maltese embassy in Russia, it replied that every member of the OSCE is invited to the organisation’s meetings. According to Russian media, the information was also confirmed by the official representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The meeting in Malta will take place between 5th and 6th December.

Lavrov has been serving in this position since 2004. In recent years, he has strongly defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, alleging that the Ukrainian people needed to be freed from the “tyranny” of the Ukrainian government.

Despite the invasion, Lavrov maintained that Russia did not attack Ukraine and that it had a mission to free Ukraine from a “Nazi regime”. Last year, during a meeting of the G20 nations in India, various delegates were unimpressed by his claims that Ukraine attacked Russia, not the other way around.

Lavrov, together with the remainder of Vladimir Putin’s Cabinet, is under European Union sanctions in connection with the illegal invasion. Despite this, this does not mean that Lavrov is completely barred from entering the EU.

The last time Lavrov visited an EU country was a trip to Stockholm for an OSCE gathering in December 2021, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

In 2023, Lavrov traveled to North Macedonia for an OSCE ministerial, after Bulgaria gave permission for his plane to cross its airspace en route to Skopje. The move sparked criticism from Kyiv, with several countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania choosing to boycott the meeting over Lavrov’s participation.

(ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

Source: medNews