Bravo to the Italian presidency

As the Italian presidency of the Council of the European Union began in July 2003, there were expectations of a more balanced European approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now, as the Italian semester draws to an end, we can evaluate the measure in which the presidency lived up to such expectations and how it managed its course, despite all the difficulties and obstacles along the way.

A clear-cut answer to this question was given to anyone participating in the trilateral press conference held by the foreign ministers of Italy, Israel and the Palestinian Authority at the end of the donors' conference in Rome two weeks ago. One needed only to listen to the compliments heaped by Nabil Sha'ath on his colleague Franco Frattini regarding Italy's balanced and inspired policy in order to to understand the extent to which the Italians succeeded for the first time in the history of the EU in leading a fair and balanced foreign policy. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom also complimented the Italian presidency. Italy's action at the donors' conference has shown, along with its management of the Barcelona Conference in Naples and the Association Council in Brussels, how a balanced policy can turn into an influential and reconciling factor when taking into account the constraints and needs of both sides to the conflict.

For the first time in years we saw a presidency that completely liberated itself from the megaphone policy that was characteristic of its predecessors. That policy had manifested itself in frequent criticism of Israel, including diplomatic protests over any event, imaginary or real, in which Europe felt a condemnation of Israel could serve its own position in the Arab world - at our expense.

Italy never hesitated in applying its influence and pressure in order for Europe to finally decide to include Hamas in its list of terror organizations. At the United Nations, Italy coordinated its actions with Israel and with other countries in order to avoid making a mockery of the organization in the face of a stream of condemnations of Israel.

Italy's efforts were not always successful, but if the coordination mechanism with Italy becomes a model for future Israeli collaboration with Europe, this will constitute a major achievement for all of us.

During its six-month presidency, Italy continued to maintain its communication channels on the bilateral level with both the Arab countries in the Middle East and Israel, including an impressive series of visits at the highest levels.

Italy ended its presidency with an additional show of courage as it included a condemnation of anti-Semitism in the EU's final declaration. Italy has certainly understood that this plague will not only harm its Jewish victims but will also shake the foundations of Europe itself.

In conclusion, over the course of the coming months there will probably be politicians, diplomats and other experts who will analyze the actions and ramifications of the Italian presidency in regard to the European Convention and the expansion to 25 member states. In the meantime, we can conclude that as far as the Middle East is concerned, the Italian presidency was managed in a skillful and fair manner and it deserves the highest compliments from all those concerned in our region.

Ehud Gol is Israel's ambassador to Italy.