League party

In his remarks at a League party event in northern Italy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban referred, once again raising the stakes, to the management of illegal immigration.

Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday.

The outlook for the Italian economy is improving but higher interest rates designed to curb inflation could pose a threat to growth, Italy's economy minister said on April 1, sending a warning to the European Central Bank (ECB).

"Fighting inflation with monetary policy is not enough, recession cannot be the price paid for fighting inflation," Giancarlo Giorgetti said.

Fifteen boats packed with hundreds of migrants landed on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday and officials said they were expecting numbers to increase as the weather improved, news wires reported.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte resigned on Jan. 26 after a key coalition ally pulled his party's support over Conte's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for consultations this week to determine if he can form a third government.

Italian senators voted on Feb. 12 to lift immunity for far-right leader Matteo Salvini, opening the way for a potentially career-ending trial over accusations that he illegally detained migrants at sea last year.

Italy faced a government crisis on Aug. 8 after Interior Minister Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party called for a new election, saying his party's coalition with the populist 5-Star Movement had collapsed over policy differences.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will run in the European Parliament election in May, he announced Thursday.

"At my lovely age, I've decided out of a sense of responsibility to head for Europe where there is a lack of deep thinking about the world," said Berlusconi, 82, in Sardinia on the first stop of his campaign tour, POLITICO EU reported.

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday he hopes credit agencies show no prejudice toward Italy when they review their ratings of the country's debt, and again ruled out an exit from the euro.

Moody's, which has a negative outlook on Italy's Baa2 rating, has been waiting for Rome to announce its fiscal plans and said it would pass judgment by the end of October.

Montenegro confirmed on Wednesday that it has been approached by Italy and asked to take in a number of migrants and refugees, to help end a 10-day standoff with a ship docked off the Italian coast at Catania.

The government in Podgorica said it was still mulling whether to take the mostly African-origin migrants and refugees, but has not yet taken a stance.