04/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reacted strongly to an interview of Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero who, in Thursday's Corriere della Sera, deplored the fact that, whereas President Ciampi had made "a very, very nice speech" on the occasion of the arrival of the euro, within the government "we heard few voices, and all highly sceptical, if not critical, of the event" (allusion to what Antonio Martino, Giulio Tremonti and Umberto Bossi had had to say). Berlusconi, who will discuss these issues with Ruggiero on Monday in Rome, replied on Friday in La Repubblica: "I'm in charge of our foreign policy. And I don't see how one could doubt its European inspiration (…), of course without ever forgetting the need to protect Italy's national interests".