Berlusconi says Italy committed to Europe

Berlusconi wants Italy to be a leading force in the EU

The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has robustly defended his European policies in his first parliamentary speech since taking over the country's Foreign Ministry.

Nobody, I repeat nobody, can think they can put us under their control or worse still treat us as a subject with limited sovereignty

Silvio Berlusconi

Mr Berlusconi said Italy had a strong commitment to the European Union, and that concerns about changes in his cabinet's policy were unfounded.

"Italy's position in Europe is solid as it has always been and, possibly, it is more solid than ever."

However, he warned that nobody should interfere in Italy's internal politics, saying that the government would vigorously defend the country's interests in the EU.

"Nobody, I repeat nobody, can think they can put us under their control or worse still treat us as a subject with limited sovereignty."

Mr Berlusconi has been trying to reassure the EU over his government's European policy, following the abrupt resignation of Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero earlier this month in a cabinet row over Europe.

Assertive

Mr Berlusconi also said the EU would have to remain a union of nation states, led by national governments and parliaments if it wanted to be successful.

Mr Ruggiero was widely embraced by Europe

"A Europe driven by a directorate, to the exclusion of others, would be a lame duck, a spectacular strategic error for those pursuing this objective."

Analysts say that Mr Berlusconi's new, more assertive stance on Europe shows that he wants Italy to be one of the leaders - not followers - in the EU.

They say the prime minister is more businessman than politician, and that he treats his cabinet like a boardroom.

Judiciary row

Mr Berlusconi' government is involved in an increasingly bitter row with the judiciary over a long-running corruption trial of the prime minister and some of his allies in Milan.

Prosecutors accuse the cabinet of curbing their independence

On Saturday, Italian prosecutors staged a nationwide protest accusing the government of trying to curb their independence and meddle in trials to protect Mr Berlusconi.

Milan's chief appeals prosecutor Francesco Borrelli urged his colleagues to resist government pressure.

This follows a statement by former Italian President, Francesco Cossiga, who had said that Mr Berlusconi should resign if convicted.

However, European Minister Rocco Buttiglione said Mr Berlusconi should stay, adding that the trial in Milan was part of "a relentless judicial persecution" of the prime minister.

Mr Berlusconi has successfully appealed three convictions for fraud and corruption, and had been cleared in other cases.