Milan Court rules Italian Ministry of Defense job call discriminatory

The Court of Milan has ruled that a recruitment call by the Italian Ministry of Defense was discriminatory for requiring Italian citizenship for all applicants. The ruling specifically addressed a competition for 1,100 non-managerial positions, including roles such as cooks, mechanics, healthcare assistants, IT specialists, and technicians.

Following the decision by Judge Francesca Saioni, the Ministry must modify the call to allow participation from EU citizens and their family members, as well as non-EU citizens holding long-term EU residence permits or international protection status. The court ordered the application process to be reopened within three days, subject to a daily fine for delays.

The competition is not restarting from scratch: the original positions, locations, and testing procedures remain unchanged. Applications from Italian citizens submitted previously remain valid, and written exams conducted in October will not be repeated. New eligible candidates can submit applications via the inPA portal until December 5, 2026.