Berlusconi faces European backlash

Berlusconi (l) faced Ruggiero's wrath over the euro

By European affairs correspondent
William Horsley

Representatives of several western European governments have questioned Italy's commitment to the cause of European integration, following the weekend resignation of the country's staunchly pro-European foreign minister, Renato Ruggiero.

The customary diplomatic restraint of Italy's allies has broken down, following Silvio Berlusconi's assertion that he is the only guarantor of Italy's foreign policy and will now hold the post of foreign minister as well as prime minister for as long as necessary.

Mr Berlusconi has now shown he can be ruthless in pursuing his own political goal of, as he sees it, modernising Italy and asserting its interests more forcefully

French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius called for confirmation of Italy's "European commitment".

Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said these events were a victory for anti-European tendencies in Italy, while the German and the French foreign ministers have expressed their deep regret.

Mr Ruggiero is a former head of the World Trade Organisation and a much-respected figure across Europe.

Officially he resigned in protest at remarks by several other ministers in Mr Berluconi's right-of centre government, who appeared scornful of the significance of the introduction of the euro currency and cast doubt on the common policies of the European Union.

Berlusconi's battlegrounds

Despite Mr Berlusconi's protestations of his commitment to Europe, the view is gaining ground elsewhere that Mr Berlusconi himself has distanced Italy from its EU partners.

His wrangles have included threatening to block a new cross-border system of European arrest warrrants, and vetoing any decision on where to site several European agencies because other EU leaders would not accept his own demand that the new Food Safety Agency must go to the Italian city of Parma.

Italy's minister for Europe has described the new policy as seeking better to make his country's interests felt in Europe, and Mr Berlusconi has now shown he can be ruthless in pursuing his own political goal of, as he sees it, modernising Italy and asserting its interests more forcefully.

The dismay of Italy's partners is all the more acute because managing the euro currency will require close co-ordination - and the EU is about to launch a far-reaching debate on the final goal of European integration.