Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Rome on 23 January for the first full inter-governmental consultations between Italy and Germany since Merz entered office last autumn. Eleven Italian and ten German ministers signed a raft of agreements ranging from defence cooperation to the mutual recognition of digital company records, but migration and labour-market mobility dominated both the closed-door talks and the joint press conference. (panorama.it)
The two leaders pledged to draft joint proposals for the 12 February extraordinary EU summit that would “deepen the single market, cut red tape for cross-border business and reinforce Europe’s external borders.” A centrepiece of the new Action Plan is a promise to pilot fast-track work-permit corridors for qualified technicians in the automotive-battery, rail and green-hydrogen sectors—industries where German investment in northern Italy is accelerating. Officials said the aim is to match skilled non-EU workers with binational supply chains, reducing delays caused by Italy’s annual visa-quota (‘decreto flussi’) system.
On irregular migration, Rome and Berlin signalled a hardening stance: both governments will back the EU’s “safe countries of origin” regulation and lobby for EU-funded return hubs in North Africa. Yet Meloni stressed that legal labour channels must expand in parallel, citing Italy’s record three-year quota of 497,550 work visas for 2026-28. German ministers, for their part, briefed Italian counterparts on Berlin’s new ‘Opportunity Card’ points-based immigration route and discussed mutual recognition of vocational qualifications to ease intra-EU postings.
![Rome–Berlin summit puts migration and talent mobility at centre of new Italian-German Action Plan]()
Companies and professionals looking to seize these new mobility channels can simplify the process by turning to VisaHQ. The service’s Italy hub (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time guidance on work-permit categories, document digitisation and appointment booking, and its multilingual team can coordinate filings with Italian authorities and German consulates alike—helping HR departments stay compliant as bilateral rules evolve.
For multinational employers the summit matters in three ways. First, a bilateral pilot for expedited work visas could shorten deployment timelines for German and Italian firms that hire non-EU experts for cross-border projects. Second, the pledge to streamline digital company records hints at easier documentation when proving corporate relationships for intra-company transferee permits. Third, tougher EU external-border measures may translate into stricter screening at Italian airports—companies should be prepared for incremental compliance steps when moving third-country nationals.
The two governments plan to publish a detailed roadmap within 60 days. Mobility managers with German-Italian operations should monitor forthcoming ministerial decrees for pilot-programme eligibility criteria and potential updates to posting-of-workers notifications.
The two leaders pledged to draft joint proposals for the 12 February extraordinary EU summit that would “deepen the single market, cut red tape for cross-border business and reinforce Europe’s external borders.” A centrepiece of the new Action Plan is a promise to pilot fast-track work-permit corridors for qualified technicians in the automotive-battery, rail and green-hydrogen sectors—industries where German investment in northern Italy is accelerating. Officials said the aim is to match skilled non-EU workers with binational supply chains, reducing delays caused by Italy’s annual visa-quota (‘decreto flussi’) system.
On irregular migration, Rome and Berlin signalled a hardening stance: both governments will back the EU’s “safe countries of origin” regulation and lobby for EU-funded return hubs in North Africa. Yet Meloni stressed that legal labour channels must expand in parallel, citing Italy’s record three-year quota of 497,550 work visas for 2026-28. German ministers, for their part, briefed Italian counterparts on Berlin’s new ‘Opportunity Card’ points-based immigration route and discussed mutual recognition of vocational qualifications to ease intra-EU postings.
Companies and professionals looking to seize these new mobility channels can simplify the process by turning to VisaHQ. The service’s Italy hub (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) provides real-time guidance on work-permit categories, document digitisation and appointment booking, and its multilingual team can coordinate filings with Italian authorities and German consulates alike—helping HR departments stay compliant as bilateral rules evolve.
For multinational employers the summit matters in three ways. First, a bilateral pilot for expedited work visas could shorten deployment timelines for German and Italian firms that hire non-EU experts for cross-border projects. Second, the pledge to streamline digital company records hints at easier documentation when proving corporate relationships for intra-company transferee permits. Third, tougher EU external-border measures may translate into stricter screening at Italian airports—companies should be prepared for incremental compliance steps when moving third-country nationals.
The two governments plan to publish a detailed roadmap within 60 days. Mobility managers with German-Italian operations should monitor forthcoming ministerial decrees for pilot-programme eligibility criteria and potential updates to posting-of-workers notifications.
