Spain announced on August 7 it would introduce temporary border checks on travelers from Italy starting at midnight on August 8 and running until September 7, in direct retaliation for Italy's own Schengen suspension triggered by the mass migrant crossing into Spain's Ceuta enclave on July 30; Spain had first threatened Italy with countermeasures and received a rebuff from Rome before following through

On August 8, Italy and Belgium marked the 70th anniversary of the Marcinelle mining disaster at the Bois du Cazier colliery in Charleroi, Belgium, where 262 miners died on August 8, 1956, in one of the deadliest industrial accidents in post-war European history; the majority of the victims were Italian migrant workers who had come to Belgium under a bilateral labour agreement

Italy placed all its major cities under its highest-tier health alert on August 6 as another heat episode struck Europe, while Hungary introduced emergency energy-saving measures as soaring temperatures strained electricity supplies; the Pakistani Tribune reports France and Spain have been hardest hit; the Danube's record-low water levels are compounding the strain on power and transport across central Europe

EU interior ministers met in emergency session on August 4 to seek shared lessons after the Ceuta migrant surge killed at least 72 and triggered an unprecedented Schengen suspension by Italy; Spain and other EU member states moved to de-escalate bilateral tensions after days of mutual recrimination; analysts said Italy's suspension of border-free travel with Spain was political rather than operationally effective

An EU naval mission led by Italy boarded the Toa Payoh, an EU-sanctioned tanker sailing under a Cameroon flag from Benin to Istanbul, in international waters west of Pantelleria on August 2; the captain initially refused to provide documentation; the following day the same mission boarded a second sanctioned vessel, the third such interception in under two weeks

A small tourist plane crashed into a field near the city of Nazca in southern Peru on August 1 while flying over the Nazca Lines UNESCO archaeological site, killing all 13 people on board, including 11 passengers and two pilots; at least seven of the dead were Italian nationals, Euronews and Il Sole 24 Ore confirmed on August 2; the aircraft lost contact with the control tower shortly after takeoff, and sightseeing flights over the Nazca Lines were suspended as Peruvian authorities opened an investigation into the cause.

Franco Baresi, the AC Milan captain and Italy national team defender widely regarded as the greatest of his generation, died on July 31 at the age of 66; AC Milan confirmed his death; Baresi had undergone surgery in 2025 for a pulmonary nodule; he won six Serie A titles and three European Cups with Milan and played in four World Cups for Italy

Italy formally suspended the EU Schengen border-free travel agreement with Spain for one month on July 31, closing air and sea crossings to passport-less travel, after an estimated 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain's Ceuta enclave in 24 hours; at least 57 died in the crossing. Spain said 37,500 had returned by Friday morning; the EU confirmed none reached continental Europe.

An estimated 60,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta, Spain's North African enclave bordered by Morocco, over several days ending July 31, killing at least 67, NPR and Moroccan outlet Hespress confirmed on August 1, up from 57 confirmed by CNN; Spain deployed military and said most had returned to Morocco; on July 31, Italy unilaterally suspended its Schengen free-movement agreement with Spain, citing the crisis, triggering an EU-level legal dispute; by August 1, 22 EU leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni had signed a joint statement opposing Sanchez's migration policies

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on July 28 that Italy would draw on the EU's SAFE defence loan programme for up to €14.9bn by year end; within an hour, Lega opposed the move and Fratelli d'Italia braked, creating a ruling coalition split over the EU-backed borrowing for defence spending

Simultaneous wildfires across southern France, Spain, and Italy on July 23 killed three firefighters and forced at least 20,000 evacuations in France's Gironde region alone; a new fire near Bordeaux broke out as existing blazes burned in Spain and Italy, with Japan Times also reporting heat damage to Europe's grain harvest is the largest in decades

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with coalition leaders Salvini, Tajani and Lupi at Palazzo Chigi on July 21 and agreed to activate the EU's national energy safeguard flexibility clause, giving the government approximately EUR 14 billion in extra fiscal headroom concentrated on high energy costs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened a majority summit at Palazzo Chigi on July 21, reaching agreement with coalition leaders to activate the EU national safeguard clause and direct approximately 14 billion euros in additional spending over two years toward energy cost relief

Italo NTV, Italy's private high-speed rail company, signed a contract with Siemens Mobility on July 20 for 26 new trains with an option for 14 more; the deal, backed by Germany's Bundesnetzagentur approval, will bring Italo into competition with Deutsche Bahn on 18 German cities from mid-2028, with 2,500 new hires planned

Abderrahim Fakir, a 43-year-old Moroccan man, died on July 20 in Bologna after being pinned to the ground by two police officers at the Pilastro district; a five-minute video of the incident circulated widely; Italy's Interior Minister Piantedosi said no 'penal shield' would apply to the officers but opposition parties demanded a parliamentary briefing and demonstrations broke out in the city

Thousands of Italian soldiers, police officers, and security force personnel marched in central Rome on July 18-19, demanding wage increases, higher pensions, a new collective agreement, and greater social support for military families

An Italian court on July 16 convicted 32 people, including the former CEO of Autostrade per l'Italia, for the 2018 Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa that killed 43 people; 25 defendants were acquitted or cleared by statute of limitations

A wildfire tore through the Fontainebleau forest near Paris on July 13-14, forcing highway closures and mobilising water-bombing aircraft, as Italy braced for 44C temperatures and Spain's Almeria wildfire death toll rose to 13 in western Europe's third major heat episode of the summer

The European Commission confirmed on July 12 it has instructed the EACEA, its culture funding agency, to suspend a €2 million grant to the Venice Biennale, citing Italy's reopening of the Russian national pavilion for the first time since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine; EC Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said European culture must not platform Russia's narratives; Italy's Lega politician Luca Zaia called the move an act of institutional arrogance

The GCAP Agency signed the second major development contract on July 3, funding completion of the advanced concept phase and detailed design of the sixth-generation stealth jet through end-2027, with a prototype flight targeted before December 2027 and service entry in 2035

Carabinieri arrested suspects in Naples and Avellino for the October 2025 bombing at Sigfrido Ranucci's home in Pomezia; the attack destroyed two cars and damaged a wall, and investigators say the commando acted on commission, with mafia-style methods an aggravating charge

At their Antibes bilateral summit, Macron and Meloni announced plans to build a European-led force to take over from UNIFIL when its UN mandate expires December 31; President Aoun called it a sincere commitment to Lebanese sovereignty

Paris and Rome deepen cooperation on the SAMP/T air-defence system, nuclear energy and a European satellite venture to rival Starlink

Formal government-to-government security treaties that complement or bypass NATO, now numbering 160-plus among European states after Russia's 2022 invasion accelerated their pace.

Italy's first female Prime Minister leads a far-right coalition from 2022, shaping EU defence, the Ukraine war, and Italian politics heading into a contested 2027 election.

Bloomberg reports a snap-vote calculation as ratings slide and Vannacci eclipses Salvini

A 7-year sentence for Osama Almasri reopens the case against Meloni's ministers

The DFP 2026 cuts growth and dashes hopes of exiting the excessive-deficit procedure early

Trump says Meloni 'begged' him for a photo; she calls it fabricated and her diplomat cancels his US trip

The first leaders' summit under the 2021 Quirinal Treaty, focused on defence, space and energy