Italy's Meloni on protests & penalties: If, during a march or demonstration, you join a group of five or more people and start throwing stones, firecrackers, sticks... you risk up to five years in prison and a fine of up to €20,000. You break it, you pay for it. And if the person who breaks it is a minor, their parents pay. The parents of that kid who had fun smashing everything will have to pay. An additional 500 military personnel will arrive in Milan by the end of the year to support the police and Carabinieri. We will do everything we can to prevent what we have seen in recent days from becoming the new normal. The youngest of the youths identified in Milan was reportedly just 11 years old. 11 years old. It hurts, and it is scary. There is nothing revolutionary about causing devastation and stealing. Devastating and stealing is not a protest, it is criminality.

NEW: Germany's AfD is set to unveil a plan to radically overhaul the European Union rather than leave it. The program, to be presented by co-leader Alice Weidel in the European Parliament calls for turning the EU into a looser “federation of sovereign nations” focused mainly on the single market, border protection and security. It proposes ending direct elections to the European Parliament, limiting the European Commission to administrative tasks and replacing the EU’s top court with an intergovernmental arbitration body. If the reforms fail, the party wants a referendum on Germany’s future in the EU and the euro. The plan marks a softening from the AfD’s earlier calls for a German exit, with the party eyeing a right-wing majority in Europe by 2029. Source: Politico