Europe Lacking Vision & Leadership to Address Migration Crisis – Frattini to RT

Franco Frattini, former Italian Foreign Minister, currently President of the Italian Society for International Organization, talks to RT

Franco Frattini Pledges Support to Libyan Rebels
Al Jazeera's Cal Perry reports from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Franco Frattini's visit to Libya

Franco Frattini Talks to Al Jazeera
Franco Frattini, Italy's foreign minister, speaks to Al Jazeera's Barbara Serra about Italy's role in Libya and its support for the opposition rebels

Talk to Jazeera - Franco Frattini

Le départ de Kadhafi "inévitable"
leJDD.fr: Le départ du dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi est "inévitable", a estimé dimanche le ministre italien des Affaires étrangères Franco Frattini, ajoutant que la situation dans ce pays avait atteint "un point de non-retour". [Source: leJDD.fr] | Dimanche 27 Février 2011

Protesters Attack Italy's Embassy in Iran
THE JERUSALEM POST: Teheran summons Italian envoy; protests also held outside French, Dutch embassies.

About 100 Iranians protested Tuesday in front of the Italian embassy in Teheran, shouting "Death to Italy, Death to Berlusconi, " Italy's foreign minister said. Protests were also held outside the French and Dutch embassies.

The protests came a week after Premier Silvio Berlusconi announced — in Israel — that Italy was scaling back its economic dealings with Iran and wanted tighter sanctions against the Teheran leadership. Italy has long been Teheran's biggest trading partner in the EU.

Television footage of the protests shown on Sky TG 24 showed protesters throwing stones and eggs at the Italian embassy. Foreign Ministry officials said none of the protesters managed to get inside and that police intervened.

Frattini told the Senate that the protest was "hostile" and that the group tried to assault the building. >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Manifestation d'Iraniens devant l'ambassade d'Italie à Téhéran
LA PRESSE CANADIENNE: ROME/TEHERAN — Aux cris de "Mort à l'Italie, mort à Berlusconi", une centaine d'Iraniens ont manifesté mardi devant l'ambassade d'Italie à Téhéran, selon le ministre italien des Affaires étrangères. Des actions de protestation ont également eu lieu devant les missions diplomatiques de France et des Pays-Bas.

Les rassemblements ont été organisés une semaine après l'annonce par le président du Conseil Silvio Berlusconi d'une révision à la baisse des relations commerciales entre son pays et l'Iran.

A l'occasion d'un déplacement en Israël, le chef du gouvernement italien a également souhaité un durcissement des sanctions contre le régime de Téhéran. L'Italie est depuis longtemps le plus important partenaire commercial de l'Iran au sein de l'Union européenne.

La chaîne Sky TV 24 a diffusé des images montrant des protestataires qui jetaient des pierres et des oeufs sur l'ambassade d'Italie. Des responsables du ministère des Affaires étrangères ont déclaré qu'aucun des manifestants n'avait réussi à s'introduire dans le bâtiment et que la police était intervenue.

Le chef de la diplomatie italienne Franco Frattini a déclaré au Sénat que cette manifestation était "hostile" et que le groupe avait tenté d'attaquer le bâtiment. >>> | Mardi 09 Février 2010

Iraner greifen italienische Botschaft an
DIE PRESSE: Hunderte Mitglieder der regierungsnahen Bassiji-Miliz haben vor der italienische Botschaft in Teheran protestiert. Sie riefen "Tod Italien" und "Tod Berlusconi".

In Teheran haben am Dienstag vor den Botschaften Italiens, Deutschlands, Frankreichs und der Niederlande Dmonstrationen stattgefunden. Dutzende Milizionäre versuchten, die italienische Botschaft des Landes anzugreifen. Rund Hundert Mitglieder der regierungsnahen Bassiji hätten das Gebäude mit Steinen beworfen sowie "Tod Italien" und "Tod Berlusconi" gerufen, sagte Italiens Außenminister Franco Frattini. Die iranische Polizei sei eingeschritten, um Schlimmeres zu verhindern.

Italien ist traditionell einer der wichtigsten europäischen Handelspartner der Islamischen Republik. Doch die engen Beziehungen Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconis zu Israel und der wachsende Druck im Atomstreit haben zu einem Einbruch der italienischen Investitionen im Iran geführt. Vergangene Woche hatte Berlusconi bei einem Besuch in Jerusalem die Unterstützung für Israel betont und "wirksame Sanktionen" gegen den Iran wegen dessen Atomprogramm verlangt. Zudem kündigte er an, die Wirtschaftsbeziehungen mit dem Iran einzuschränken. >>> Ag. | Dienstag, 09. Februar 2010

Italy's Foreign Minister Says Post-Lisbon EU Needs a European Army
Mr Frattini said the experience of Afghanistan strengthened the 'necessary objective' of a Europe-wide army. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Italy is to push for the creation of a European Army after the "new Europe" takes shape at this week's crucial EU summit following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.

Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Minister, said that the Lisbon Treaty had established "that if some countries want to enter into reinforced co-operation between themselves they can do so". This was already the case with the euro and the Schengen accords on frontier-free travel, and could now be applied to "common European defence".

In an interview with The Times at his office in the monumental marble-halled Foreign Ministry on the banks of the Tiber, Mr Frattini said: "We have finally concluded a never-ending story". The Lisbon Treaty, which comes into force in December, will be sealed on Thursday with an EU summit to choose an EU President and Foreign Minister.

He warned that "if we do not find a common foreign policy, there is the risk that Europe will become irrelevant. We will be bypassed by the G2 of America and China, which is to say the Pacific axis, and the Atlantic axis will be forgotten. We need political will and commitment, otherwise the people of Europe will be disillusioned and disappointed. People expect a great deal of us. After Lisbon we have no more alibis". >>> Richard Owen in Rome | Sunday, November 15, 2009

Brussels Wants US to Protect Hirsi Ali
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The EU says the United States should ensure the security of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. 
The former Somali-born Dutch politician has received death threats for her criticism of Islam and lives in the US, though Washington insists its not responsible for her safety.

The Dutch government has refused to pay her security bills ever since she decided to quit politics and left the Netherlands. 



But EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini is now planning to turn up the heat on the US so that she and other Europeans are kept safe from danger.

New deal


Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a person in danger and deserves protection wherever she is - that's according to EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini. 



Frattini has told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that he wants Washington to change its rules over the protection of foreigners living in the States. 



Washington has refused to take responsibility for Ms Hirsi Ali's safety on the grounds that she's a Dutch citizen who came under threat because of her work in the Netherlands. 



That's not good enough, says Franco Frattini. There should be a new deal between the two continents to ensure the security of one another's citizens, he says:

"The best option would be to have a bilateral agreement with the US.

I will meet the Homeland Security Secretary (Michael Chertoff) next week and I plan to raise the topic then. As far as I know, we in Europe guarantee the same level of protection that is appropriate for all high-level officials and normal people who are under protection in the US."

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been living under police protection ever since the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004, with whom she made a film about Islam's treatment of women. 
A note targeting her by name was found on van Gogh's body. Brussels wants US to protect Hirsi Ali: Netherlands no longer guaranteeing safety of islam critic By Vanessa Mock

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Franco Frattini, the EU’s Justice and Interior Affairs Commissioner, Proposes EU-Wide Protection for Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Other Officials Threatened with Death
PR-INSIDE.COM: BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union's top justice official on Thursday proposed offering EU-wide protection to former Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali and other officials similarly threatened with death.


Franco Frattini, the EU's justice and interior affairs commissioner, said EU nations should draw up special measures to ensure Hirsi Ali and others in similar situations can move freely across the 27-nation bloc without fearing for their safety.

He said his plan won «unanimous» backing from EU justice and interior ministers, who agreed to draft rules to exchange and offer mutual recognition for people under national security protection.

Frattini said EU-wide regulation on the issue is important «to guarantee one of the most important rights: the rights of free movement.

«If you are not free, you are not safe,» Frattini said.

Hirsi Ali, the target of death threats over her criticism of radical Islam, has called on the EU for help with protection.

The Dutch government stopped paying for her security last October after she moved to the U.S., but Dutch authorities are keen to have the EU set up rules for cases like Hirsi Ali.

It was not clear whether Frattini's proposal would involve EU money or voluntary national funds used to pay for the security of people under special protection.

The Somali-born Hirsi Ali became the target of threats after writing the screenplay for the film «Submission,» a fictional study of abused Muslim women that includes scenes of near-naked women with Quranic texts engraved on their skin. EU justice chief proposes Europe-wide protection for ex-Dutch lawmaker Hirsi Ali ©AP >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

How Much Does Frattini Really Understand about the Threat Too Much Immigration Poses?
BBC: European governments should regard immigration as an "enrichment" not a threat, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told a conference in Lisbon.

Mr Frattini said he would outline proposals next month for a "blue card" system for skilled immigrants, modelled on the US green card.

He said the US was getting 55% of all skilled migrants, and Europe only 5%.

"Skills shortages are already noticeable in a number of sectors and they will tend to increase," he said.

Mr Frattini has long argued that Europe needs policies to encourage legal migration, and to prevent illegal migration.

However, the European Commission's plans could be resisted by a number of European governments, which want to maintain national control over migration flows. Migrants are good, says Brussels (more)

Sweden top for welcoming migrants

Mark Alexander