Berlusconi Praised for Remarks on Immigrants

Silvio Berlusconi won rare plaudits in the European parliament yesterday for highlighting the painful issue of illegal immigration - and failing to make any of the gaffes for which he is now notorious.

Reporting to MEPs on last week's EU summit, the Italian prime minister spoke movingly of his "great sorrow and grief" at "the horror of the recent tragedy" in the Mediterranean.

On Sunday, 13 corpses were discovered heaped on a boat drifting off Italy. Fifteen Somalis who survived said they had dumped overboard the bodies of 50 other people who had died of cold and hunger during a nightmarish two-week voyage from Libya.

Last week seven other migrants died on a boat bound for Lampedusa, off Sicily.

"The loss of so many lives of people driven by desperation to seek a better future must spur us on to strengthen our cooperation to prevent such disasters from ever happening again," a grim-looking Mr Berlusconi told the 626-member parliament, meeting in Strasbourg.

"We all need to think very carefully about how this civilised and Christian Europe, this Europe of prosperity, can open up to welcome those who come here with a desire to seek a better future for themselves and their children."

The Forza Italia leader won praise even from Martin Shultz, the German MEP whom he compared to a Nazi concentration camp guard when launching Italy's EU presidency in July.

"I have the impression that what Mr Berlusconi said came from the heart," said Mr Shultz, "and we share his concern."

Warming to his theme, the German socialist even suggested the Italian prime minister stand for EU president, a powerful new post being created in the union's new constitution.

"I'm far too old for such a post, Mr Schulz," replied a smiling Berlusconi. "But thanks for the suggestion."

MEPs urged Mr Berlusconi to press the US to free or put on trial 26 EU nationals held as terrorist suspects at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Italian prime minister said the issue was not discussed at the summit because no member state had raised it.