04/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Battisti: not within EU remit. While the diplomatic battle wages between Italy and Brazil after the outgoing president, Lula, decided at the end of December not to expel the far right former militant, Cesare Battisti, to his country of origin, the European Commission said on Tuesday, at midday, that it did not have any authority to put pressure on Brazil. Italy, via its foreign affairs minister, Franco Frattini, is said to be currently seeking to convince its European partners to rally to the cause. Not knowing of such contacts, the spokesman for High Representative Catherine Ashton stressed that the EU did not have an extradition agreement with Brazil, and therefore did not have the ability to intervene. The Commission underlined that this was a strictly bilateral matter and that, in the case in hand, it was “up to Brazil to decide”. (Cor./transl.jl)