Italy to Take over European Union Presidency

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, July 01, 2003

Italy to Take over European Union Presidency

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With Italy putting the final touches to preparations for taking over the helm of the European Union, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Monday that boosting Europeand its international standing would be top priorities during Italy's six-month presidency.

Speaking to French radio the day before Italy begins its term as EU presidency, Berlusconi said that "Italy's semester won't change the world but it will contribute to the building of a Europe that is greater and a bigger player on the international stage."

The premier noted that Italy would present a detailed list of its plans and priorities for the presidency Wednesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

But he indicated that a key aim would be to heal divisions withthe United States following the downward turn in relations caused by the war on Iraq.

"The West should be united... It is possible to be a great European and at the same time a great friend of the greatest democracy in the world," the Italian center-right premier said, adding that competition with America should be limited to the economic field.

But he observed that in order to become a "more modern" political entity, Europe had to invest more in defense. "There canbe no political or diplomatic power without a military force," he said, stressing that the EU devoted 1 percent of its GDP to defense spending compared to America's 4 percent.

Italy faces a particularly tough term focused on final negotiations on a historic new constitution for the soon-to-be-enlarged EU.

Europe's first draft constitution was unveiled at an EU summit nine days ago marking the end of Greece's EU presidency.

Italy will now convene and preside over a special Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) that has the difficult task of adopting the constitution.

The IGC will open in Rome in mid-October and EU leaders hope its work will be completed by the end of December when Italy's term as EU duty presidency expires.

If all goes according to plan, the constitution will then be signed in Rome in May 2004 when ten countries, most of them from Eastern Europe, are slated to join the EU.

During the IGC, future members will join the bloc's 15 current members in deciding on the final wording of the constitution, which was hammered out over 16 months of often difficult talks by the Convention for the Future of Europe.

On one of the thorniest issues, voting in the enlarged EuropeanCouncil where decisions currently need to be unanimous, the draft constitution proposes majority voting in most policy areas.

But Italy will also be expected to tackle the problem of slower economic growth in Europe.

Italy will also be expected to take a strong lead in the Middle East peace talks, representing the EU within the Quartet of international mediators who have drawn up the "road map" to peace in the region.

A large section of the European press has expressed concern over the past few days that Berlusconi may not be up to the task of guiding the EU through such a critical time.

Focusing on the unsolved conflict between Berlusconi's political powers and his vast business interests, a corruption trial against the premier and criticism that he has passed a number of laws designed to ease his legal woes, many papers concluded at the weekend that Berlusconi was not the right man forthe job.

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