Apology demanded from target of 'Nazi' slur

The leader of Europe’s centre-right MEPs demanded an apology today over a “Nazi” jibe – not from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but from the target of his outburst.

Mr Berlusconi yesterday made the “ironic” suggestion that Mr Schulz would be ideal to play a Nazi concentration camp leader in a film being made in Italy about the second world war.

Hans-Gert Poettering, who leads a coalition of national centre and far-right parties, including Italy’s Forza Italia, amazed fellow political bosses in Strasbourg with his suggestion during an emergency meeting in Strasbourg today.

His idea of pressing German Socialist MEP Martin Schulz to apologise to Mr Berlusconi for attacking him in the first place was rejected out of hand.

But Mr Poettering issued a statement this afternoon blaming Mr Schulz for offending Mr Berlusconi so much that the Italian leader likened him to a Nazi concentration camp leader.

“The President of the European Council (Mr Berlusconi) was offended by Mr Martin Schulz, who made unacceptable remarks concerning the Italian Prime Minister and the Italian people.

“The EPP-ED Group (the centre-right political group led by Mr Poettering in the European Parliament) expects Mr Schulz to apologise for his offending remarks,” said a statement.

Even though Mr Poettering goes on to describe Mr Berlusconi’s remarks as “inappropriate“, he then accuses the other big political bloc in the European Parliament, the Socialist Group, of trying to “convert this incident into an institutional issue between Council and Parliament".

UK Labour leader in the European Parliament Gary Titley said: “The reason Poettering is seeking an apology from Mr Schulz is so as not to upset the Forza Italia contingent in Mr Poettering’s centre-right grouping.

“If they left the group, the EPP-ED would qualify for less funding and would not be so powerful. Poettering is prepared to prostitute his beliefs for political convenience.”

The emergency meeting, having thrown out the notion of an apology from Mr Berlusconi’s target, decided instead that European Parliament President Pat Cox would seek a “fair and balanced solution” by “making contact” with members of the Italian government.

The outcome of the talks reflects fears that issuing ultimatums and deadlines to the Italian Prime Minister would only make matters worse, backing both sides into an impossible political corner, according to Parliament officials.

Unofficially, nothing less than a full formal apology from Mr Berlusconi will do – not just to Mr Schulz, but to all Euro-MPs.

And the hope is that Mr Berlusconi’s plans to talk directly to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder this afternoon will resolve the issue.

The European Commission was keeping a diplomatic silence today. The twenty Commissioners, including President Romano Prodi, were saying nothing which could worsen a verbal incident which has all the makings of a long-running bitter dispute.

“We are convinced that this matter will not affect the Italian government running a successful term of office in the EU presidency,” said Mr Prodi’s spokesman.

“The presidency is not a question of personalities but of governments, and the Italian presidency will, we are sure, be a success“.

He denied that Mr erlusconi’s outburst would worsen relations between the Italian Prime Minister and Mr Prodi, a former Italian Prime Minister and adversary.

“There is no rivalry between them,” the spokesman insisted.

The only talking point in the EU corridors of power in Strasbourg and Brussels today was Mr Berlusconi’s outburst.

And everyone agreed that, even if a fulsome apology is uttered from Rome today, the blight on Italy’s term of office running EU affairs will continue.

Mr Prodi and his fellow Commissioners are due in Rome tomorrow for the ritual discussions with the incoming presidency, which has just passed from Greece to Italy in the usual pattern of six-month rotation – something which would end under proposals being discussed on streamlining the EU.

Instead there would be a permanent “President of Europe” supervising the political agenda – something Mr Prodi strongly opposes on the grounds that it would undermine the Commission’s powerbase.

Asked if the Berlusconi bombshell had changed Mr Prodi’s mind about having a more long-term European President, his spokesman said: “We think that two competing presidencies will bring more bureaucracy and less transparency.”

But other Commission officials observed today that ending the system of rotating presidencies would at least limit the risk of political surprises and ensure that the person in charge was chosen for his or her ability to forge consensus across Europe, and not generate controversy.