01/07/2003 12:51
Italy took over the presidency of the European Union from Greece on Tuesday amid widespread concerns centring around the country's mercurial prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the richest men in Europe.
US relations with Europe were soured earlier this year when France, Germany and others refused to back the US-led war in Iraq, a position never shared by Berlusconi.
His government will have the responsibility of conducting the transatlantic relationship during a difficult period with the resumption of world trade negotiations later this year.
It must also pave the way for a smooth transition to an enlarged EU in May next year, when 10 new member countries are expected to join the current 15.
In October, Berlusconi will open an intergovernmental conference to finalize a constitution for the enlarged Union. He wants the results to be enshrined in a new Treaty of Rome, 46 years after the first one was signed.
Greece's Prime Minister Costas Simitis will review the Greek presidency in a speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, and Berlusconi was scheduled to outline his plans to the assembly on Wednesday.
Berlusconi can expect some hostile questioning over his strongly pro-American stance, on his views on the future of Europe and on a new law in Italy that suspends a corruption investigation against him.
The Italian court trying the corruption case against Berlusconi on Monday formally challenged the controversial law granting the premier immunity and appealed to the country's constitutional court to examine the legislation.
The trial against Berlusconi, who is charged with bribing judges in a 1985 business deal, will however remain suspended until the constitutional court renders its decision, a process which could take several months.
The Italian parliament passed the controversial immunity bill in record time on June 18. The law protects the country's top five officials, including the prime minister, from prosecution while they are in office.
The head of the left wing of Germany's governing Social Democratic party, Michael Mueller, said Berlusconi's assumption of the leadership "casts a cloud over Europe".
"Berlusconi is nepotism personified," Mueller, the Social Democratic parliamentary group's deputy leader, said in a statement.
He "demolishes the independence of the judicial system, adapts the law to his measure, places his private interests on the same level as those of the state and controls the media," he added
The influential Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera said the doubts "writ large on front pages across the continent" raised the question whether Berlusconi possessed "the moral qualities and competence necessary to take on the leadership of the Union."
La Stampa of Turin said Europeans have been disconcerted by Berlusconi's repeated calls for Europe to be enlarged further to include Turkey, Russia and Israel. Political observers said he was likely to use his position at the head of the EU to expand the Union's role in the Middle East. He has called for the convening of a peace conference to be held in Sicily.
Berlusconi has also called for a "strong" Europe with an effective common defense.
"Europe only dedicates one percent of its gross domestic product on defence, compared to four percent for the United States," he said Monday. "If we have international peace and security, it is thanks to the contribution of the American taxpayers."
Although France and Italy differed sharply in their approach to the Iraq crisis, Berlusconi said his relationship with French president Jacques Chirac was one of "friendship and reciprocal respect."
Berlusconi said he would be giving up one EU tradition -- the courtesy visit by the new president to the Union's capital cities. "There is the telephone and the Internet," he said.
US relations with Europe were soured earlier this year when France, Germany and others refused to back the US-led war in Iraq, a position never shared by Berlusconi.
His government will have the responsibility of conducting the transatlantic relationship during a difficult period with the resumption of world trade negotiations later this year.
It must also pave the way for a smooth transition to an enlarged EU in May next year, when 10 new member countries are expected to join the current 15.
In October, Berlusconi will open an intergovernmental conference to finalize a constitution for the enlarged Union. He wants the results to be enshrined in a new Treaty of Rome, 46 years after the first one was signed.
Greece's Prime Minister Costas Simitis will review the Greek presidency in a speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, and Berlusconi was scheduled to outline his plans to the assembly on Wednesday.
Berlusconi can expect some hostile questioning over his strongly pro-American stance, on his views on the future of Europe and on a new law in Italy that suspends a corruption investigation against him.
The Italian court trying the corruption case against Berlusconi on Monday formally challenged the controversial law granting the premier immunity and appealed to the country's constitutional court to examine the legislation.
The trial against Berlusconi, who is charged with bribing judges in a 1985 business deal, will however remain suspended until the constitutional court renders its decision, a process which could take several months.
The Italian parliament passed the controversial immunity bill in record time on June 18. The law protects the country's top five officials, including the prime minister, from prosecution while they are in office.
The head of the left wing of Germany's governing Social Democratic party, Michael Mueller, said Berlusconi's assumption of the leadership "casts a cloud over Europe".
"Berlusconi is nepotism personified," Mueller, the Social Democratic parliamentary group's deputy leader, said in a statement.
He "demolishes the independence of the judicial system, adapts the law to his measure, places his private interests on the same level as those of the state and controls the media," he added
The influential Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera said the doubts "writ large on front pages across the continent" raised the question whether Berlusconi possessed "the moral qualities and competence necessary to take on the leadership of the Union."
La Stampa of Turin said Europeans have been disconcerted by Berlusconi's repeated calls for Europe to be enlarged further to include Turkey, Russia and Israel. Political observers said he was likely to use his position at the head of the EU to expand the Union's role in the Middle East. He has called for the convening of a peace conference to be held in Sicily.
Berlusconi has also called for a "strong" Europe with an effective common defense.
"Europe only dedicates one percent of its gross domestic product on defence, compared to four percent for the United States," he said Monday. "If we have international peace and security, it is thanks to the contribution of the American taxpayers."
Although France and Italy differed sharply in their approach to the Iraq crisis, Berlusconi said his relationship with French president Jacques Chirac was one of "friendship and reciprocal respect."
Berlusconi said he would be giving up one EU tradition -- the courtesy visit by the new president to the Union's capital cities. "There is the telephone and the Internet," he said.
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