Schroeder decides to visit Italy

By Francis Kennedy
BBC, Rome

It is not clear whether the visit will improve relations

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has decided to visit Italy this summer, after cancelling his family holiday on the Adriatic coast over insulting remarks about Germans by an Italian junior minister.

A spokesman for the chancellor said he had accepted an invitation from European Commission President Romano Prodi to visit the northern city of Verona to attend an opera at the city's amphitheatre.

He will take in a performance of Carmen on 22 August at the evocative venue.

Mr Schroeder's night at the opera follows two months of diplomatic gaffes that have soured relations between two of Europe's closest neighbours.

It is unclear whether the meeting of the two politicians will lead to a warming in relations between Rome and Berlin after a distinctly chilly period.

No apology

The trouble began in June when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi likened a German deputy in the European Parliament to a concentration camp guard.

In the face of widespread indignation, he expressed regret but stopped short of an apology, saying he had been provoked.

Just a week later a junior minister, a member of the Northern League, described Germans as belching, unintelligent, Teutonic hordes invading Italian beaches.

Berlin protested officially, Chancellor Schroeder cancelled his summer holiday, and Italian tour operators feared that millions of German visitors might do likewise.

The minister involved eventually resigned.

Mr Prodi is a political rival of Mr Berlusconi.

The mayor of Verona has asked Mr Berlusconi to attend the performance as well, but there has been no confirmation from the prime minister's office.