EU Commission monitors Italy's 30% cap on foreign pupils in classrooms

Commission reply to PD question

On Tuesday, 3 November 2026, Executive Vice President for Social Rights Roxana Mînzatu answered a question from the Democratic Party (PD) in the European Parliament about the Italian decree on foreign pupils. She said the Commission is following the legislative process closely and recalled that EU treaties forbid discrimination on grounds of nationality. The ban covers direct discrimination, where a rule openly draws distinctions by nationality, and indirect discrimination, where other criteria produce the same result. Her reply cited settled case law of the Court of Justice, under which every EU citizen can invoke that ban under Article 18 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

“The EU treaties prohibit any form of discrimination based on nationality, whether direct or indirect.”

Mînzatu added that nationality-based discrimination is permitted under EU law only where a treaty derogation applies, such as public order, public safety or public health. Those derogations must be read restrictively, she said. She also noted that the decree-law must still be converted into law by Parliament, and that the Commission will follow that process closely.

What the decree sets out

The measure appears in the decree-law dated 30 September 2026, no. 170, which entered into force on 1 October. It sets a 30% cap on the number of foreign pupils with serious Italian-language difficulties in Italian classrooms. The decree was pushed by Education and Merit Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who says it targets pupils who do not know the language and therefore creates no discrimination. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the cap one of the "common-sense measures" in the decree, arguing that it prevents the formation of "ghetto classrooms" and ensures equal opportunities for all students.

Government and opposition reaction

Valditara rejected the discrimination charge in a reply to Brussels, and his answer was short.

“The problem does not exist. The government is moving forward without hesitation.”

Valditara also argued that education is not an area of exclusive EU competence, as international reports indicate. He said that in most European countries, first-arrival foreign pupils are even placed in separate classes. Nicola Zingaretti, head of the PD delegation in the European Parliament, read the Commission's answer as a rebuke of the government. He said the decree sits outside both common sense and the European treaties.

“We ask Prime Minister Meloni to withdraw the decree before Europe imposes it on her.”

Zingaretti said Italian schools need teachers of Italian as a second language, cultural mediators, smaller classes, full-time schooling and action against early school leaving. He claimed the government is cutting thousands of teachers in the new budget law and is looking for an enemy instead. He also said his delegation will keep following each step alongside the Commission.

What comes next

The decree still has to be converted into law by Parliament, and none of the sources gives a date for that vote. The Commission says it will follow developments closely while the text is debated. Valditara says the government is moving ahead without hesitation, while Zingaretti wants the decree withdrawn before Europe forces the issue. The PD says it will keep tracking each step with the Commission.