International media unions in Brussels mounted a protest Thursday against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over his alleged attempts to intimidate European newspapers which have reported extensively about his controversial private life. The International Federation of Journalists, the International Press Association and Reporters Without Borders urged journalists covering Thursday evening's informal European Union summit in Brussels to wear stickers defending freedom of the press.
"For the first time in the history of the European Union, a chief of government, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, launched a virulent offense against press freedom by carrying out legal action against various Italian and European media," the unions wrote in a leaflet. "In short, Mr Berlusconi did not hesitate to use his political and economic power to muzzle information in Italy and in the European Union," it said.
The summit marked Berlusconi's first visit to Brussels since his threat to block EU proceedings over perceived criticisms of his country by European Commission spokespersons.
During a visit to Gdansk, Poland, on September 1, Berlusconi threatened to "block the functioning of the European Council" of EU leaders unless the EU's "commissioners and their spokespersons stopped making public comments on any theme." The threat came after a commission spokesman told journalists that Brussels was seeking clarifications from Rome over reports that Italy had sent a boat full of would-be immigrants back to Libya.
Simultaneously, the media mogul-turned-politician has sued, or threatened to sue, Italy's La Repubblica and L'Unita newspapers, Spanish daily El Pais and French publication Nouvel Observateur, over articles or editorials deemed by Berlusconi to be defamatory. The left-of-centre daily La Repubblica, in particular, has been targeted by incessant attacks from Berlusconi after it published a list of 10 questions concerning the premier's alleged involvement with prostitutes and minors.