SILVIO BERLUSCONI Prime Minister of Italy İtalya Başbakanı We Believe In Europe, We Consider It an Ideal Italy's position in Europe is sound, as ever and perhaps more than ever. The government and its foreign policy are in the best of health and this clinical picture is in no way changed by the odd spot of media fever over preconceived notions entertained in Italy and generated from within. The Prime Minister will be committed and energetic in discharging the interim responsibilities he has assumed at this critical moment and in guiding our diplomacy. He will make way for a suitable person to direct the new Foreign Office as soon as the foundations have been laid for the necessary "reorientation" and adaptation of our "cooperative and competitive" stance, with head held high, within the gathering of nations. It may not suit part of the opposition, which of all areas in which to mount its umpteenth attack has chosen this very sensitive matter of foreign policy, but the fact is that the title of the latest performance on the domestic politicking stage is "Much ado about nothing". I should like yet again to express my high regard for Dr. Renato RUGGIERO and my thanks for his invaluable assistance to the government, especially in its initial stages, and for the fine work he has done in tandem with the Prime Minister's office and in cooperation with Parliament, but also for the proper and dignified manner in which he has relinquished his position at the head of Italian diplomacy. He had shown great generosity in his willingness to undertake this task, although he himself had said it could be only for a limited time for personal reasons and because of personal commitments. Partly on these grounds, once the Convention on proposals for a European charter was underway and the single currency had been effectively launched, we decided by mutual agreement that his role should cease in order to open a new phase of energetic innovation in the external projection of our country. As is only natural, there have been differences of temperament and occasional misunderstandings, but for months the government has worked zealously to promote the national interest. As Prime Minister, I have spent about 60% of my time on foreign policy, and have had the privilege of chairing the G8 meeting in Genoa and the Trieste summit of the 18 countries involved in the Central European Initiative. I have had about 100 official meetings and innumerous contacts and conversations, establishing cordial relations with the main actors on the European and international stage. No chancellery in Europe or in the world has ever cast doubt on the right of the Italian government to set its own foreign policy course and, in this new departure, to pursue it through new ideas, new tools and new individuals. We of course offer and seek clarification on a footing of absolute equality with our reliable and cooperative partners within our system of alliances, but no one can imagine that we can be placed under tutelage or, worse, be regarded or treated as if we were a country with limited sovereignty. And if some buffoon of a politician presumes to award us bad marks, just because he feels he has the support of the current presidency, we can merely smile as ever at the sight of such clumsy and misplaced playing to the gallery. The prestige of a great country and the civic sense of its political classes are above all asserted by doing what has to be done and ignoring all vain chatter, malicious gossip and groundless defamation. I would therefore hope that the opposition will now be capable of drawing a line under its spiteful and tendentious criticism and engaging in debate with us, unobscured by point-scoring, on how the new Europe is to be built and what part Italy has to play in this task of political integration. If this is not done, we will be left with the regret for yet another lost opportunity and concern for the damage done to the country. But anyone who is unable to distinguish between party-political advantage and the national interest, at a time in which a new national impetus is required, does most damage to himself. As I said this government's mission is to change Italy, to modernise the state, to breathe new life into the economy by giving individuals more power and responsibility and getting rid of the obstacles to progress and innovation. This we cannot do alone, without remaining very firmly wedded to Europe. The euro is working: this is the truth, a fine truth that cannot now be questioned, and the currency is already a popular symbol for the citizens of the continent. All this is clearly apparent, and the most recent and enthusiastic assertion of our commitment to Europe was made "to all and on behalf of all of us" by the Head of State in his New Year's address. But the real pressing political problem, for which we have most direct responsibility, is "where we should stand in Europe", "what we should be doing in Europe and in the world" at this new juncture, after the launch of the euro, in view of the entirely new issues arising and the long shadows cast in the world by the tragic events of 11 September. A French newspaper which is never slow to promote the European cause published on its front page an editorial which started as follows: "By creating the euro, Europeans have written a vital page in their own history but, to paraphrase Marx, they do not seem to know what page it is". "No one" Ğ continues the columnist Ğ "seems to know whether the euro marks the end of the long process of economic integration which began with the Rome treaties or the start of a 'new cycle' of political integration". Well, on the basis of a very solid tradition and cultural background, the Italian government takes the view that what our future holds is indeed a "long cycle" of political integration. But we are also aware that the nature, scale, pace, procedures and constitutional profile of this cycle of integration are not a book already written by an unknown author, an instruction manual to be applied without question. Europe's political future will grow out of the joint efforts of the elected European institutions, primarily the parliaments and governments, with a contribution from the executive Commission and the Brussels Convention, from the men and women active in culture and law, from diplomacy, civil society and industry. And also with the assistance of all the secular forces and all the religious institutions which rightly admonish us, as did Pope John Paul II, against the danger of spawning an organism without memory and without soul. Europe will naturally be a lay construction, but true laicism, as demonstrated by the best in our national history, lies in recognising the ethical and spiritual dimension, the Christian tradition in the life of society and hence the central position of the Churches alongside the autonomous role of the State. In other words, religion is not and cannot be merely an afterthought. The debate is open on the "action programme for a politically integrated Europe", for what has been authoritatively described as a federation of nation states. As far as Italy is concerned, we assert with conviction that this debate cannot and must not be conducted within the majority parties alone. The debate will not be over quickly: it will keep step with the controlled and balanced expansion in the Union's membership and will culminate in the proposals for a Constitutional Manifest for the new Europe on which we have held most useful discussions with many Heads of Government and, with the Spanish foreign minister, Mr PİQUé, and the Chairman of the Convention, Mr Giscard D'ESTAING. Italy will appoint her representatives at the Convention, who will work in accordance with the remit we have given them under the guidance of the presidium and in collaboration with an Italian statesman, Giuliano AMATO, for whom we have always felt genuine personal esteem. We would have wished to see him as Chairman and had nominated him for that post. And while the balance within the Council was such that he in fact became Vice-Chairman, this will not make his contribution to the Convention's deliberations any less valuable and decisive. We cannot put the cart before the horse and draw up a design for the new Europe in the abstract, sitting at our desks in isolation, deciding "how" decisions are to be taken and whether the rule of unanimity on the most important issues needs to be "abolished or modified" on the basis of assumptions as to the actual pace and nature of enlargement, which as yet are only vaguely sketched out. It is not possible today to pronounce Ğ on no basis whatsoever Ğ on issues which are still to be debated by many states and governments, such as full liberalisation of the energy sector, reform of the labour market and the welfare system, the future of the agricultural support policy, tax harmonisation, the new supranational rules of corporate governance, the common foreign policy, the common defence policy within NATO when steps are already being taken to form a European military corps for peace-keeping and peace-enforcing, i.e. for crisis intervention. The political dimension of Europe is a matter too complex to be left to farmyard squawking matches and the trumpet-blowing of the propagandists. As the honourable member Giorgio NAPOLITANO wrote, "we must never lapse into uncritical acceptance of the cult of a Europe, which, in many respects, is still to be reformed and constructed". What is quite clear is that we are working to ensure that political integration rests on a broader basis of consensus and legitimacy, since no European polity can ever become established without European citizenship in the full sense of the word. In Berlin, last November, the President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI, declared that "The Convention will succeed only if it expresses a 'dynamic' vision of the future of the European Union." Our Head of State went on to point out that in mapping out the reforms it would be counterproductive to present the vital interplay of the supranational and intergovernmental aspects in the process of European unification in terms of antithesis. The two may proceed in parallel and we should not forget the insight of the Founding Fathers and the lesson they have taught us: whenever they perceived that intergovernmental cooperation was unable to ensure lasting progress, supranationality provided a way out of the difficulty. For our part, we shall continue to oppose any dirigiste, centralising and bureaucratic approach to the integration process. In all relations between the centre and the peripheral elements of the system, and also in a federal arrangement among sovereign nations, the guiding principle of subsidiarity must always prevail: the central level must do only that which cannot be done by the combined efforts of the lower-level components. The door is also open to "enhanced cooperation" and the 12-country eurozone is essentially a form of enhanced cooperation which is not exclusive, but rather requires the closest attention to be paid to the future options of those who have remained outside, such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark. A Europe based on a Directoire and on exclusion would be crippled from the start, a disastrous strategic error by anyone who were to pursue such an objective. Italy will make its voice heard to safeguard the national interest together with the joint interest in integration that is rapid and effective but whose legitimacy is also firmly established step by step. We have nothing in common with the euro-fanaticism of the new converts, since our coalition and government programme, as endorsed by the European Popular Party and incorporated into its overall platform, is the expression of a long-standing pro-European tradition in the mould of a De Gasperi, which continues calmly and self-confidently in the new world situation some 60 years after the end of the Second World War, of which Europe was the unfortunate epicentre. As Italians, we have all the more reason to be European. Rome indeed created the legal system and culture which made Roman citizens out of the various peoples of Europe. It introduced to Europe and the Mediterranean the principle of citizenship which underlies the modern edifice of the European Union. For us, as Italians, there is a certain religious element to Europe, the conviction that its origins ultimately lie not in politics, but in Christianity, which fused the Hellenic and Roman traditions. The government which it is my privilege to lead is inspired by the Italian builder of European union, DE GASPERI Ğ the man who brought Italy into the Atlantic Pact in 1949 and into Nato in 1952 and who understood how the unity of the West, as a solid philosophical bulwark against Nazism and Communism, would have to generate civic unity in Europe. That religious, cultural and civic unity which united the peoples on both sides of the Atlantic as "the West" had also to form the basis for European union. The government is aware that it is continuing along the path traced by past governments which, against opposition from the Left, made Italy a member of the Union. Our attachment to the European Union thus goes beyond individual facts: we believe in Europe, we consider it an ideal, an aspiration, a goal, a necessity, but we must distinguish Ğ and distinguish clearly Ğ between our faith and uncritical, dogmatic fideism or maximalist europeanism. The contribution Italy can make to European construction is thus a large one. The contribution Italy wishes to make and will make with firm determination will also consist in fighting for a less rigid, less hidebound Europe, a Europe capable of curing its bad habits and moving towards a "social" market economy, a Europe capable of becoming more competitive, of creating work and wealth, of investing in development and technology in order to keep pace with the American economy and the world market, a Europe capable of maintaining the necessary social safeguards while eliminating the corporatist privileges and statuses inherited from an old "socialist and leftist" conception of the economy, which is anything but liberal. That part of the European left which is furthest advanced in its liberal reform has already done this. We expect that the Italian left, too, once it has emerged from its cocoon of resentment against the winners of the elections, will succeed in doing the same thing. The sooner, the better. One need only think of the embarrassment which must be felt by certain trade-union leaders, who are engaged in a series of strikes of uncertain social purpose and obvious political inspiration, when they hear that, in Strasbourg and through the Commission presided over by Romano PRODI, the Europe in whose flag they are so keen to wrap themselves will call openly for an increase in the effective pensionable age and a reduction in fiscal pressure. My temporary tenure of the foreign affairs portfolio will last no longer than it takes to put our old and "wise" diplomatic network to the best possible use, introducing the reforms and innovations which are necessary today without sacrificing a tradition which redounds to Italy's credit and has done the country great service and brought it great successes. All the national states manage to pursue their economic interests and those of their production and market systems along with the common interests of Europe, often to best advantage in both areas. We, too, must learn to do it "better". We must be proud of what we create and produce by our labour. We must be at least as uninhibited in selling the product of our talent and creativity as our partners are in selling theirs. And in order to do this, we have to bring all our nation's strength and all its political, economic and cultural weight to bear in the market place. There have been those who have indulged in witticisms about "made in Italy" and about diplomats obliged to work as "commercial travellers". Now wit is always a very fine thing, but here it is quite out of place. Here it shows short-sightedness, thoughtlessness or, what is worse, ignorance and prejudice. Just ask the French, British, German or American diplomats and they will tell you that for centuries trade has been one of the main avenues, if not the main avenue, by which the aims of foreign policy are attained and a nation can assert its position in the world. The other major theme on which we will make our voice heard is that of freedoms and rights. Not the freedoms and rights of those in positions of power, as claimed by our detractors, but those of all citizens, including those from outside the Community who wish to live and work in Europe legally. As a matter of principle, we reject the idea of Europe's becoming the new frontier of judicial abuse or other forms of affront to personal dignity. The battle against old and new forms of illegality, against organised crime, money laundering and corruption and the uncompromising and courageous struggle against terrorism in all its forms must not be confused with a resuscitation of inquisitorial practices which ignore the right of defence and the sacred principle of the presumption of innocence. We must certainly create a European legal and judicial area but we must do so in a clear and coherent manner, with the aim of combining firmness in suppressing illegality with a clear strengthening of the rules of the law-based state. The Europe which Italy seeks to build is a Europe characterised by security, legality and order but also a Europe founded on the bedrock of the habeas corpus and personal freedoms. In these six months, the government has honoured all its pledges to the electors and to Parliament. Of 100 instruments launched by the Cabinet, 44 have become law thanks to the perseverance and cohesion of the majority, to which I express my thanks. Without the efforts of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr FINI, and the entire cabinet, without the tenacious, committed and sustained efforts of the majority parliamentarians, our record-breaking performance in terms of the speed and volume of government action would not have been possible. In a few cases, an active, if critical, contribution was made by the opposition Ğ or at least that part of the opposition which does not spend all its time reciting a litany of criticism of what it sees as the "regime" and "coups" of the majority. I hope that the President of the Republic's appeal for calm debate, which has been so raucously flouted in these last days, will finally be heeded. We have always been open to dialogue and we still are so today. But be quite clear about this: everyone should be aware that we will not be intimidated by anything Ğ by anything in the world. Italy pledges support for Turkey's EU bid Italian Premier Silvio BERLUSCONI pledged growing support and concrete steps to boost Turkey's bid to join the European Union after his country takes over the rotating presidency of the wealthy bloc for six months, starting from July. "We have been a supporter of Turkey's EU membership on every platform that this issue has been discussed. Italy's backing for Turkish membership will continue at a growing rate during its EU presidency," said the Italian premier after a mee- ting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN. Italy is taking over the EU's rotating presidency on July 1 from the current president Greece. Turkey was declared a candidate in 1999 but its hopes for membership in the near future were dashed in December 2002, when the EU leaders turned down its request for a date to start membership talks at the end of 2003 and said instead that Turkey's performance would be discussed in December 2004 with a view to open talks without delay.Ê ERDOGAN said for his part that the government was determined to carry on political reforms on the way of meeting the union's Copenhagen criteria. Government spokesman Cemil CİCEK announced that the government was due to present a new reform package to Parliament to bring Turkish laws into line with the EU's human rights and democratic administration standards.ÊFollowing the election victory of his Justice and Development (AK) Party's election victory in November, ERDOGAN toured EU capitals in an effort to boost support for Turkey's EU bid, receiving perhaps the warmest welcome from Italy.ÊHe said he was confident that his "friend" BERLUSCONI, an active supporter of Turkey's EU bid from the outset, would continue with his backing.ÊTurkish-Italian relations have steadily improved since 1999, when Italy granted temporary asylum to now-imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah OCALAN.Ê BERLUSCONI's visit comes at a time when Turkey has intensified its efforts to breathe life into its troubled EU bid in the wake of strain in ties with long-time ally the United States over the Iraq war.ÊLeading members of the U.S. administration have frustrated Turkish leaders by saying that Turkey should admit that it had made a mistake by not allowing in U.S. troops to open a northern front against Iraq.ÊThe Italian premier said Turkey's accession into the EU was necessary for the creation of a "grand Europe" that could negotiate with the United States not as its inferior but as its equal.ÊThis grand Europe, he said, should include, in addition to Turkey, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.Ê Cyprus, Turkey's role in Middle EastÊThe two leaders discussed Cyprus and the Israeli-Palestinian disputes, as well as the restructuring of Iraq and ERDOGAN said he was glad to see that the two countries were sharing similar beliefs on everything that was discussed.ÊTurkey said it was ready to contribute to Iraq's restructuring by sending peacekeeping troops and Turkish firms are keen on participating in reconstruction tenders in Iraq. Yet, the United States has not come up with any request for contributions.ÊBERLUSCONI said he was willing to benefit from Turkey's experience and diplomatic power in Iraq's restructuring and efforts to resolve the Palestinian conflict, when his country took over the EU's presidency.Ê He also came up with an offer to help efforts to solve the Cyprus dispute by accompanying ERDOGAN and Greek Premier Costas SIMITIS in a visit to the island.ÊBERLUSCONI also met President Ahmet Necdet SEZER and Parliament Speaker Bulent ARINC. ERDOGAN said economic relations with Italy had developed considerably over the recent years and added they would develop further.ÊAfter a boycott of Italian goods during the OCALAN crisis, trade rose consistently, making Italy Turkey's second largest partner with US $6.3 billion in bilateral trade in 2002.ÊERDOGAN pledged a solution during BERLUSCONI's stay to a dispute over a Turkish-Italian mobile phone operator that has filed a suit against Turkey's telecommunications industry regulator seeking nearly US $3 billion in damages for allegedly not enforcing roaming agreements.Ê European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Günter VERHEUGEN said he considers Italian Prime Minister Silvio BERLUSCONI's date that Turkey's EU membership would be realized in 2007 to be "very presumptuous." Going to Brussels to investigate the EU accession period, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah GUL met with VERHEUGEN, who made a statement to journalists saying that he considered BERLUSCONI's statement "rather interesting and a surprising opinion." During a recent trip to Ankara, BERLUSCONI had said that the date for Turkey's EU membership would be 2007. Referring to the pronouncement by BERLUSCONI, who is leader of the country that will assume the rotating EU term presidency from Greece, VERHEUGEN said, "It is necessary to examine and analyze Turkey's candidacy; therefore, I find the prime minister's 2007 date to be very presumptuous. " Following this comment, GUL said: "For us, the important thing is to start the negotiations. We will do our best; we will take into consideration any sort of suggestion. However, the first thing to be done is to start the negotiations." Approving of GUl's words, VERHEUGEN added, "We shouldn't put the cart before the horse." AVRUPA'YA İNANIYOR VE ONU BİR İDEAL OLARAK GÖRÜYORUZ İtalya, Avrupa'da ve dünya da gerçekleşen en son gelişmeler ışığında hem Avrupa hem de dünya sahnesinde kendini nasıl konumlandırması gerektiği konusu üzerine yoğunlaşmış durumda. İtalya özellikle de Avrupa Birliği (AB) içinde enerji sektörü, işgücü piyasası reformu, gelecekteki tarım destek politikaları, vergilerin uyumlaştırılması, kurumsal yönetişim ve ortak dış politika vb. konulardaki katkılarının ne olması gerektiğini düşünüyor. Bu arada İtalya, Türkiye'nin AB'ye tam üyeliğine en çok destek veren ülkelerden biri. Nitekim İtalya Başbakanı BERLUSCONI kısa süre önce Türkiye'ye yaptığı ziyaret sırasında Temmuz ayından itibaren devralacakları 6 aylık AB dönem başkanlıkları sırasında bu konuda Türkiye lehine bir tutum sergilemeye devam edecekleri vaadinde bulundu. İtalyan Başbakanı bu temasları sırasında, Türkiye'nin AB üyeliğinin özellikle ABD karşısında daha güçlü bir konuma sahip olması gereken Avrupa'nın büyüyüp güçlenmesi yolunda bir gereklilik olduğunu ve Türkiye'nin 2007 itibariyle AB'ye üye olacağına inandığını belirtti. Bu arada ÖCALAN konusunda iki ülke arasında yaşanan krizin ardından sürekli artış gösteren ikili dış ticaret eğrisi sonucunda bugün İtalya, 6,3 milyar dolarlık ticaret hacmiyle Türkiye'nin ikili dış ticaretteki ikinci büyük ortağı konumunda.