Brussels, 12/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten is on a visit to Rome on 13 September where he is to meet Italian Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as having talks with Giuliano Amato and Lamberto Dini. He is then to move on to the Vatican for talks with Cardinal Sodano.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Mr. Patten stipulated that the main topics he was to broach with Mr. Ruggiero were developments in the Balkans and the Middle East (as well as the Mediterranean and Latin America). Mr. Patten, who has met the minister on several occasions, including in Genval last weekend, remarked that, in his new post, Renato Ruggiero "obviously" provided "considerable international experience, as well as of Brussels, which is a formidable asset" (Mr. Ruggiero has, among other things, been Italy's Permanent Representative to the EC, Director General at the Commission - for regional policy and information - and Director General of the WTO: Ed.).
Mr. Patten was to make a speech in Bologna, at the John Hopkins University, on "The EU external relations and the EU national interest vs multilateralism". On that occasion, "I shall say in particular why the United States has to continue to respect the rules of multilateralism", he told a few journalists. And, asked about anti-globalisation movements that tend to be violent, he remarked that this phenomenon highlighted two very important problems today: - the fact that the nation-State, that continues to "focalise people's loyalty" "does not alone manage" to control the difficulties of today's world, but that the other institutions do not have the same legitimacy; - the fact that globalisation is there, and that there is no question of being for or against it, but of seeing "how to face up to it" and offer the greatest number of people all the opportunities it offers. "It is important to make enough progress in the legitimisation of global governance so that the discussion leaves the street and moves to there where it can really make a difference to people's lives", said Chris Patten.