Giorgia Meloni

Rule Changes

Defending Italy's suspension of Schengen with Spain

For decades, a traveler could fly from Rome to Madrid without showing a passport. On August 9, that stopped. Spain began checking the documents of people arriving from Italy, matching controls Italy had imposed nine days earlier.

Updated 2 hours ago

Rule Changes

Summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy in protest

For roughly 270 years, under Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli rule, a delicate arrangement called the "status quo" has kept worship running at Jerusalem's holiest sites, even through wars and occupations. On Palm Sunday March 29, 2026, Israeli police broke that streak by turning away Cardinal Pizzaballa, the senior Catholic leader in Jerusalem, though only four church representatives were entering without a procession.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

Concedes referendum defeat as 'lost opportunity'; plans to continue mandate ahead of 2027 elections

Italy's postwar constitution placed judges and prosecutors in a single, self-governing body to prevent a repeat of fascist-era political control over the courts. On March 22-23, 2026, voters rejected the Nordio Reform by 53.23% to 46.77%. The reform would have separated judicial and prosecutorial careers, split the governing council, and replaced elections with a lottery.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

Attended April 17 Paris summit; Italy 'ready to play its part'; linked Hormuz security to global food security; maintained non-combat conditions

Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, after US-Israeli strikes, cutting off roughly a fifth of global oil supply. The US-Iran ceasefire, extended by Trump on April 21, holds formally. But Iran's May 10 counter-proposal demanded Iranian sovereignty over the strait, an end to all US sanctions, and an immediate lifting of the naval blockade. Trump called the response "totally unacceptable," and roughly 1,500 commercial vessels remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

In office; signed the decree into law

For more than 160 years, anyone who could trace an unbroken bloodline to an Italian ancestor could claim Italian citizenship, no matter how many generations had passed. On March 12, 2026, Italy's Constitutional Court upheld a law that ended that principle, capping eligibility at people with an Italian-born parent or grandparent and requiring that ancestor to have held only Italian citizenship. The ruling cuts off millions of descendants in Brazil, Argentina, the United States, and elsewhere who could previously claim an Italian passport and the right to live and work anywhere in the European Union.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

Questioning legality of U.S.-Israeli military actions; coordinating Strait protection efforts

The Iran-US war reached its 73rd day with talks at a deadlock. Trump called Iran's May 10 response 'garbage' and declared the ceasefire on 'massive life support'.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

In office since October 2022

Brazil protected Argentina's embassy in Caracas for 14 months after Nicolás Maduro expelled Argentine diplomats in July 2024. That arrangement ended January 16, 2026, when Italy assumed custodianship. The shift was triggered by Brazil's opposition to the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro two weeks earlier, and accelerated by Argentine President Milei's sustained social media attacks on Brazilian President Lula.

Updated May 21