Vodka given by Putin to Berlusconi violates European sanctions

The twenty bottles that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi received from Russian President Vladimir Putin for his 86th birthday are not only going to get him into trouble with the right-wing coalition in Italy, but also violate the European sanctions imposed on Russia after of the invasion of Ukraine, assured a spokeswoman for the European Commission.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
20 October 2022 Thursday 06:33
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Vodka given by Putin to Berlusconi violates European sanctions

The twenty bottles that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi received from Russian President Vladimir Putin for his 86th birthday are not only going to get him into trouble with the right-wing coalition in Italy, but also violate the European sanctions imposed on Russia after of the invasion of Ukraine, assured a spokeswoman for the European Commission.

The audio of a meeting between Berlusconi and his parliamentarians, leaked to the Italian outlet LaPresse, has generated a huge political storm in Italy and in Europe due to the way in which Berlusconi defends his old friend Putin, blames the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky for the invasion and announces that he has resumed relations with the leader of the Kremlin. The closeness materialized with this birthday present, accompanied by a “sweet letter”, to which Berlusconi responded with bottles of lambrusco and another equally friendly letter.

Although the European Commission has not commented on the content of the letters, which remains private, a spokeswoman has said that this violates the package of sanctions approved in April on Russian items that include distillates, including vodka, and that they are not they provide “exceptions relating to gifts or specific amounts”.

However, the spokeswoman added that it is the European states that must implement the sanctions individually, and at the moment there is no sign that the Italian government will study this case. This Thursday Mario Draghi is still the leader of the Executive, and he is in Brussels for his last European Council as prime minister before he is relieved by the far-right Giorgia Meloni in the coming days, if there are no last-minute surprises.

Berlusconi's outbursts have generated great discomfort not only for the right-wing coalition led by Meloni, but also for the European People's Party (EPP), of which Forza Italia is a part, accused by its rivals of sponsoring ambiguous formations with Russia. .

Antonio Tajani, former president of the European Parliament and Berlusconi's number two, is the one who will have to face today in a meeting with the European popular family. A complicated position, because he was the first to come out to defend him and lie, alleging that the vodka episode was an anecdote relating to 2008. Until now, Tajani was the best positioned to become the foreign minister of the next Italian executive, but today many they wonder whether on Russian issues he will obey Meloni or Berlusconi, and therefore whether he is the right person for the job.

Meloni is furious with her ally, and has even threatened to leave him out of the executive if he does not guarantee Italy's favorable position to the EU and NATO. “On one thing I have been, am and will always be clear. I want to guide a government with a clear and unequivocal foreign policy line, ”she stressed in a harsh statement after the second leak. She has even been forced to have a conversation with the US ambassador to Italy to ratify her positions.

Meanwhile, in Forza Italia they are immersed in a witch hunt to find the wayward deputy who leaked the audios to the press. This Thursday the regulatory consultations of the political parties with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, have begun and, except for surprises, Meloni should receive the commission to form a government this Friday afternoon. Then he will have to decide what to do with Berlusconi.