ITALY:SILVIO BERLUSCONI has told his ministers to boycott EU meetings if there is no documentation available in Italian, and to consider walking out of any in which they are forced to speak another language.
His instructions, contained in a letter published yesterday, are the latest example of a more nationalistic spirit being cultivated by the prime minister.
Mr Berlusconi said it was vital that his government "counteract the practice, begun by the European commission" of "introducing the ambiguous notion of 'working' or 'procedural' languages".
The effect was to create a hierarchy with English, French and German at the top.
English, French and German are indeed the languages used by the commission for day-to-day business. Even Mr Berlusconi's foreign minister Franco Frattini conducted a press conference in English when he was a commission vice-president.
Mr Berlusconi said he wanted "constant monitoring" of the languages used at EU meetings. He urged his colleagues to initiate proceedings at the European court of justice if they spotted lapses. - ( Guardian Service)