arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Friday, 15 February, 2002, 12:33 GMT
UK and Italy launch reform drive

A new alliance within Europe?

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, are meeting in Rome to launch a joint drive for European economic reform.
The two leaders are expected to announce their ideas for freeing up Europe's labour and energy markets to make them more competitive globally.

Despite progress in recent years, the figure of 17 million unemployed people in Europe is still too high

Tony Blair
Mr Blair's first formal bilateral meeting with the Italian leader and billionaire tycoon has raised speculation that Mr Berlusconi hopes to create a new power-base in the EU, to rival the Franco-German axis.

But sharp divisions on future European integration persist between Mr Blair and Mr Berlusconi.

Strike

The two men are expected to sign a joint declaration calling for a shake-up of Europe's employment laws.

"The European labour markets must be more flexible," Mr Blair wrote in an open letter to the Italian broadsheet Corriere della Sera on Friday.

"Despite progress in recent years, the figure of 17 million unemployed people in Europe is still too high," he wrote.

But the issue is a sensitive one in Italy. Trade unions striking in protest at changes to employment laws have caused disruption to public transport in several cities on Friday.

New alliances

Italian officials say Friday's meeting shows there is a new alliance of free market governments which is winning the argument against more left-wing administrations in France and Germany.

But British diplomats are playing down such talk and say Mr Blair wants to build alliances across the European Union without confronting other major leaders.

Nonetheless, the results of the two leaders' talks are expected to be presented as a common position to the EU summit in Barcelona next month where the UK prime minister is keen to push for reforms of the union.

Forthcoming elections in France and Germany are expected to hold up any progress until later in the year.

Mr Berlusconi is a controversial figure within EU circles.

He took over the foreign ministry after Renato Ruggiero resigned his post in a row over euroscepticism within the cabinet.

He is also embroiled in a dispute over the potential clashes between his business and political roles and faces several bribery and corruption charges relating to his business empire.

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