Italian President on Importance of Italian-German Ties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, July 13, 2003

Italian President on Importance of Italian-German Ties

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Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said that the recent tensions between Italy and Germany should not be allowed to undermine the friendship and ties betweenthe two countries, Italian media reported Saturday.

In an interview with German Sunday daily Bild am Sonntag that will hit newsstands Sunday, Ciampi said that "we cannot allow the painful polemics that have upset Italian-German relations to cast a shadow over our future cooperation."

"Both countries must return to wisdom and calm as soon as possible," the head of state said.

"I firmly believe in the friendship between Germany and Italy and the shared values that bind our two countries together," he said, adding that "of course German tourists are welcome in Italy."

Italian-German relations were upset this month by a highly-publicized gaffe by Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi in the European Parliament and anti-German comments by an undersecretary who held a briefing for tourism.

Berlusconi sparked uproar in Strasbourg on July 2 after comparing a German Euro MP who had criticized him to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

Italian Production Activities Ministry Undersecretary Stefano Stefani, a member of the Italian populist Northern League, compounded the row with an attack on German tourists, branding them as "arrogant hyper-nationalistic blondes."

Stefani refused to apologise for his remarks and resigned Friday evening. But the resignation came more than a week after hecaused a storm with a barrage of insults about German tourists.

The undersecretary's remarks outraged Germany, sparked an anti-Italy campaign in the German media and led Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to cancel his vacation in Italy.

But Berlusconi, who took over the six-month European Union rotating presidency on July 1, stressed that Italian-German relations would not be damaged by the affair, saying "ties are excellent and deep."

The German government refused to comment on Stefani's resignation. Schroeder's spokesman Bela Anda told the press that "this is a sovereign decision by the Italian government and it's not up to us to comment."

But he said the chancellor would not backpedal on his decision to change his holiday plans and vacation in Germany.

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