Wednesday June 25, 01:45 PM
Italy's Berlusconi seeks EU reply to his strong euro concerns UPDATE
(Updates to add further Berlusconi comments on the EU)
MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said the EU has not given a clear reply to his concerns about the strong euro and industry's loss of competitiveness in the face of Asia imports.
Speaking at a conference for small- and medium-size business, he said: 'Europe has not known how to give a reply, (there has been) no reply, and I believe that it ought to work in this direction.
'I will make myself heard ... to make a concrete defence of the interests of business operators and citizens,' he said.
In further comments, Berlusconi said the EU is weighed down by its decision-making processes after rising to 27 member states, from 15.
The Irish vote against the EU's Lisbon treaty was 'terrible' because without this simplifying treaty, decision-making will remain blocked, he said.
Berlusconi urged common EU policies for foreign affairs, energy, defence and immigration, he said, adding he wants simplification of EU bureaucracy.
Competitiveness is weighed down 'by the enormous binding requirements from series of legislation and European directives, that is unsustainable', he said.
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