Brussels, 17/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Tuesday 16 December, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that she believed the issue of the two Italian navy personnel who were accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 - fishermen whom the Italians had mistaken for pirates - “has the potential to impact the overall European Union-India relations”. The two sailors have still not been charged.
Mogherini stated that the EU had “consistently called for a mutually agreeable solution, in the interest of both Italy and India, based on international law”. This issue also has a bearing on the global fight against piracy, to which the EU is strongly committed, Mogherini added. She reiterated her call for a “swift” solution, stating that the EU will continue to follow the issue closely and is in touch with the Italian government. The situation has been pending for nearly three years.
Mogherini believed that the decision to deny the plea of Massimiliano Latorre for an extension of his stay in Italy for medical treatment and to refuse Salvatore Girone permission to spend the Christmas period at home was “disappointing”, as “a long awaited mutually agreed solution has not yet proved possible”.
The Indian supreme court denied the Italian requests believing that the two sailors needed to be in India in order for them to be accused and for the trial to begin. The court added that the case had already been postponed and should not be so any longer. (CG)