TURKEY: The EU must not “freeze” talks, says Bonino Chapters on rights and justice should be opened

The European Union cannot, and must not, “freeze” negotiations with Turkey, nor can it give in to its instinctive reaction to adopt a harder and more closed stance in the face of events. For Turkey’s accession negotiations, Europe should open not just Chapter 22 (regional policy) but also the chapters on rights and justice. These […]

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MADRID – Technical University of Madrid-cnr agreement on joint laboratory

The Technical University of Madrid (Spanish initials UPM) and the National Research Council (CNR) in Rome have signed an agreement to set up a joint Italian-Spanish laboratory to study complex biological systems. The new lab will be located in Florence at the CNR’s Complex Systems Institute (ISC). Read more, in Italian.

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SLOVAKIA – Kuasar String Kuartet to close the “Dolce Vitaj” Festival

The closing concert of the 6th Italian “Dolce Vitaj” Festival will take place on Saturday 29 June 2013 at the National Gallery in Bratislava. The concert will feature Italy’s Kuasar String Kuartet. The National Gallery is also hosting an exhibition of Italian paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries, which will run until 17 November […]

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Minister Bonino meets the President of the African Union, Zuma at the MFA

Foreign Minister Emma Bonino met the President of the African Union (AU), the South African Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, at the Foreign Ministry today, 26 June. The meeting reflects Italy’s policy of strengthening dialogue with Africa and with the African Union. Women and young people in African societies The need to increase women’s role in Africa societies […]

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Bonino sees Malki – full support for Middle East Peace Process

Recent developments in the United States initiative to revitalise the Peace Process, Italian support for the Palestinian institution-building process, and bilateral relations. Those were the topics discussed at Foreign Minister Emma Bonino’s meeting at the Farnesina with her Palestinian colleague, Malki, today, 26 June. Minister Bonino observed that Prime Minister Letta’s forthcoming visit to the […]

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Pistelli in Lebanon: Syria, UNIFIL and Italian Development Cooperation discussed

A trip to examine Italy’s political, cooperation and military initiatives in Lebanon. That was the theme of the visit by the Deputy Foreign Minister with responsibility for Development Cooperation, Lapo Pistelli, to Lebanon on 25 and 26 June 2013. He visited Beirut, where he met the President of the Republic, Michel Suleiman; the Prime Minister […]

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ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: “Villa Mondragone International Economic Seminar” – MFA, 27 June 2013

The round table event concluding the 25th Villa Mondragone International Economic Seminar will take place on Thursday 27 June, starting at 9.30. The event is being organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Economic Foundation of Università di Roma Tor Vergata. Both sessions of the round table will be open to […]

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BULGARIA – Great success in Plovdiv for Verdi’s Attila

The premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Attila” was a great success in Plovdiv, in Bulgaria. The performance, organised in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, attracted an audience of about 1500 and is part of the Italian Festival Bulgaria 2013. Read more, in Italian.

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HONG KONG – A book tells the story of 500 years of Italians in Hong Kong and Macau

About 140 Italians of every age and occupation, lay persons and religious, long-term residents and new arrivals, helped to write the book “500 years of Italians in Hong Kong and Macau”. The book, an initiative of the Italian Consulate General in Hong Kong, was presented at an event attended by 200 guests. It contains forewords […]

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Titian exhibition opens in Moscow

The exhibition “Titian 1488/90-1576. From the collections of Italy’s museums” has opened at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and will run until 29 September 2013. The first major exhibition of the Venetian master organised in Russia, the event is the highlight of the cultural promotion initiatives following the Year of Italian Culture and Language, in […]

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«A crucial week for Europe», says Bonino (Il Messaggero)

This is a crucial week for Europe: a week of internal and external challenges The economic and financial crisis is severely testing the ability of our common institutions to balance austerity and growth, a vital condition to address the key problem of unemployment. Europe is more than just a spread. A healthy Union must also […]

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Pistelli in Beirut: Lebanon is paying the price of the terrible crisis in Syria

Lebanon is paying a high price for the war in Syria, especially in terms of refugees. This was the comment of the Deputy Minister with responsibility for Development Cooperation, Lapo Pistelli, during his visit to Beirut. Speaking in the margins of his meeting with senior representatives of Lebanon’s institutions, Pistelli commented that “Lebanon is at […]

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