HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
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"Berlusconi further grated his EU partners by
temporarily blocking an EU-wide arrest warrant to
speed up the fight against terrorism."
[Even Tony Blair's buon amico Silvio Berlusconi isn't
immune from the long arm of NATO's new order.]
EU Official Takes Aim at Italy
By Raf Casert
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, January 8, 2002; 10:35 AM
BRUSSELS, Belgium �� A key European Union official
sharply criticized the Italian government Tuesday,
saying it needed to set a clear stance on European
integration and calling the resignation of its foreign
minister a blow to its credibility.
The comment from European Antitrust Commissioner Mario
Monti, an Italian, came as Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi was trying to reassert his credentials as a
backer of European integration following the departure
of pro-EU foreign minister, Renato Ruggiero, over the
weekend.
Monti said Ruggiero's resignation was a serious loss
"for a country not overly well-endowed with credible
big-hitters on the international stage."
Monti also targeted Berlusconi, criticizing the prime
minister for a series of controversial comments. Monti
said Berlusconi will have to define Italy's role
within the EU "with greater attention than he has done
so far."
Berlusconi's center-right coalition, which has taken
an ambivalent line on European integration, needed to
set a clear policy, he said. "This debate will need to
clarify the issues and not be marked by sound bites
that project an image unworthy of Italy," Monti said.
Monti is known as one of the most soft-spoken and
understated of the EU's 20 commissioners, making his
candid comments Tuesday all the more surprising.
Ruggiero resigned over the lukewarm reception given to
the euro currency by some Italian ministers.
Berlusconi has taken over as foreign minister until a
successor can be found, a process he said might take
six months.
However, one candidate had already emerged on Tuesday,
Deputy Premier Gianfranco Fini, a former fascist who
is one of Berlusconi's closest allies and considered
pro-European.
Berlusconi has often been in conflict with EU
officials over the past year, partly because of the
inclusion of the right-wing, anti-EU Northern League
within his coalition.
His post-Sept. 11 declaration about the "superiority"
of Western civilization also caused an uproar. He said
later he had been misunderstood.
Berlusconi further grated his EU partners by
temporarily blocking an EU-wide arrest warrant to
speed up the fight against terrorism.
And in Brussels last month, his insistence that a new
EU food agency should be based in Parma contributed to
the summit's failure to agree on the headquarters for
a host of agencies.
Berlusconi has tried to reassure Italy's European
partners that his government remains a committed EU
partner.
In an interview published Monday in the Milan daily
Corriere della Sera he said the future of Italy lies
with "a stronger Europe that can speak with a single
voice."
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