Brussels, 12/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The meeting between the head of the Italian government, Silvio Berlusconi, and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, scheduled to take place in Strasbourg at around 4.00pm on Tuesday 13 September, was organised at the behest of the Italian government, a Commission spokesman said on Monday 12 September.
“It was the Italian government which asked for this meeting. The meeting was arranged to suit the schedules of the two men. I can't tell you why or how”, the spokesman said. Berlusconi is due to meet Barroso at the European Parliament in Strasbourg for official discussions on economic and current affairs issues.
The meeting, arranged “at the end of last week” according to the Commission, will spare Berlusconi an embarrassing appointment. The Naples public prosecutor's office had planned to interview him that same day in government headquarters as the “victim” of alleged blackmail by Bari businessman Giampaolo Tarantini. (L.C./transl.rt)