WRITTEN QUESTION P-0757/02

by Giuseppe Di Lello Finuoli (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(19 March 2002)

Subject: Statements by Mr Bossi

The Italian minister responsible for institutional reform, Mr Umberto Bossi, has recently described the European Union as Stalinist and as a kind of Forcolandia (a colourful, pejorative term which suggests that the EU promotes acts which undermine the fundamental freedoms of the individual). Other government representatives share or at least endorse his deplorable views.

Mr Silvio Berlusconi, who is not only President of the Italian Council but also Italy's temporary Foreign Minister, attended the Lega Nord congress, where Mr Bossi repeated his accusations and invective aimed at the entire European Community. Not only did Mr Berlusconi not react to those accusations; he implicitly endorsed them through his silence and his smiling acquiescence.

Such behaviour on the part of leading representatives of the Italian Government may cast doubt on Italy's genuine desire to cooperate fairly in European integration.

In particular, such statements indicate that Italy might not facilitate the achievement of the Community's tasks and might encourage actively or passively measures which could jeopardise the attainment of the EC Treaty's objectives (Article 10 of that Treaty).

What action is the Council intending to take in order to clarify this state of affairs?

Joint answerto Written Questions P-0748/02, P-0756/02, P-0757/02 and P-0779/02

(26 June 2002)

The Council would inform the Honourable Member that it is not in the habit of commenting on statements made by political figures.