The court of Milan on Thursday ruled that requiring parents from outside the EU to provide proof of their assets both in Italy and their birth countries in order to get help paying for the school canteen and other services constituted "direct discrimination".

Instead, the judge said, non-European families should be able to access subsidies on the same terms as Italian or EU citizens – i.e., by demonstrating their income in Italy alone. "It's a victory for legality and good sense," commented Alberto Guariso and Livio Neri, two lawyers who mounted the legal challenge on behalf of child protection associations and charities.