Tajani Repeats Speech in SP and Ignores Citizenship Reform Protest

Italian Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani delivered a speech at the Circolo Italiano de São Paulo on the evening of September 9, 2026, during an official and business mission throughout South America. Before leaders of the Italian-Brazilian community, Tajani received a protest letter against the Italian citizenship reform, but avoided any public comment on the subject, according to Insieme.

What Happened at Circolo Italiano

Tajani arrived in São Paulo as part of an agenda combining diplomatic and business commitments throughout South America. At the Circolo Italiano, a traditional gathering place for the Italian community in the city, the Foreign Minister spoke to an audience of consular authorities, businesspeople, and representatives of associative entities.

According to Insieme, the speech reproduced virtually the same tone as a previous visit by Tajani to São Paulo two years ago: exaltation of Italian roots, the sense of belonging, and the historical role of Italians and their descendants abroad. However, there was no direct mention of the Italian citizenship reform, a topic that since 2025 has mobilized the Italian-Brazilian community and is closely followed by those seeking citizenship recognition through descent. To follow developments on topics like this, the portal maintains constant coverage in Italy News.

The absence of reference to the subject drew attention precisely because it occurred at an official event, at a time when the changes promoted by the so-called Decreto Tajani continue to generate legal and political debate both in Italy and among descendants around the world.

The Comites-SP Councilors' Protest

Also according to Insieme, five councilors from Comites-SP (Committee of Italians Abroad of São Paulo) took advantage of Tajani's presence at Circolo Italiano to personally deliver him a protest letter against the Italian citizenship reform. The document expresses the dissatisfaction of part of the community with the restrictions imposed by the new rules, which significantly altered access to citizenship through descent.

Accounts from participants cited by Insieme indicate that Tajani received the document from the councilors' hands but made no public statement about its content, neither during the handover nor during the rest of his remarks. The Foreign Minister's silence in the face of the protest was one of the most commented-upon points among those present at the event, who expected at least a nod or institutional response to the criticisms formalized by the elected community councilors.

The episode reinforces a perception already present among community entities: that Italian authorities have been avoiding taking a public stand on negative reactions to the reform, even when directly confronted at official events abroad.

Why This Episode Matters for Descendants in Brazil

The protest delivered to Tajani in São Paulo is not an isolated gesture. It reflects the concern of thousands of Brazilians descended from Italians whose access to Italian Citizenship was directly affected by the changes promoted by Decreto Tajani (DL 36/2025, converted into Lei 74/2025), which restricted judicial recognition and eliminated, in most cases, the old possibilities of recognition at the comune or consulate for more distant generations.

For this segment of the community, the silence of an official of Tajani's rank on a topic that directly affects the lives and plans of millions of descendants abroad sounds like a signal that the Italian government does not intend, in the short term, to review or soften the terms of the reform. The absence of any signal during a symbolic event like that at Circolo Italiano—a historic setting for meetings between Italian authorities and the community in São Paulo—reinforces the sense of distance between Rome and part of the diaspora.

The topic continues to be closely followed also by those who already live or plan to live in Italy, since citizenship rules have a direct impact on residence, documentation, and family planning. More context on these developments can be found in the portal's Life in Italy section.

Entities like Comites-SP have a formal role representing the Italian community before the Italian government, and episodes like the delivery of the protest letter tend to be used as a historical record of part of the community's resistance to the changes. It remains to be seen whether in future visits or statements, Tajani or other representatives of the Italian government will finally publicly address the criticisms that have been formalized by elected councilors in different countries.

Tajani's passage through São Paulo, marked by the repetition of a generic speech about belonging and by omission in the face of a formal protest, illustrates a contrast that has been becoming recurrent: on one side, the official discourse of valuing ties with the diaspora; on the other, silence about the practical consequences of citizenship reform for that same diaspora.

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Source: Insieme