The government has given up on passing the ius soli law for children of foreigners raised in Italy before the end of summer — the bill has been stalled since 2015. It will be taken up again in autumn.
At the end of last year we included it among the good laws we were expecting from parliament in 2017, and indeed the approval of the reform of Italian citizenship law for foreigners resident in Italy seemed very close until just a few days ago. Then something changed and the matter was postponed: Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni assures that he still wants the law passed by next autumn, so hope has not yet faded. Criticism of the delay, however, was quick to arrive — including from Amnesty International through its spokesperson Riccardo Noury.
The bill known as "ius soli" (literally "right of the soil") — because it is based on the principle of the right to citizenship according to the country in which one is born or grows up — had already been passed by the Chamber of Deputies back in October 2015: the text provided (and still provides) that children born in Italy shall be Italian citizens if at least one parent holds an EU long-term resident permit or permanent right of residence (tempered ius soli); otherwise they will need to attend one or more school cycles for at least five years (the so-called ius culturae).
More than a year and a half passed before the bill began to be debated in the Senate as well, but things did not go smoothly: fierce protests from opposition parties — from Lega Nord to Fratelli d'Italia, as well as the Movimento 5 stelle — which linked the issue of citizenship to the increase in migrant landings in the Mediterranean Sea (even though the two matters are in practice entirely separate, there being no automatic link between arriving in Italy and acquiring citizenship), but above all the divisions within the governing majority itself slowed progress, with the Alternativa popolare faction led by Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano proving unconvinced by the bill. Matters even came to a head on 15 June last, when insults — and worse — flew in the Senate during the debate, with Education Minister Valeria Fedeli sustaining minor injuries after being pushed against a desk.
In the end, Prime Minister Gentiloni had to concede to the idea of deferring the matter until after the summer: "It is not possible to reach a final vote before the summer recess," he said, "but we are not giving up on the citizenship law — it will be done in autumn." And Speaker of the Chamber Laura Boldrini also warned that "it is necessary to reach approval before the end of the legislature, otherwise we are blocking integration and fuelling anger." It is now up to parliament to keep its word. We'll see in September.
