The European Union fully supports the Italian government in regard to the case involving two Italian marines detained in India, and continues to give the case the “maximum priority” in its dealings with its Indian counterparts. This was the assurance from EU High Representative Catherine Ashton’s spokesman Michael Mann, who expressed “surprise and disappointment” with an Italian daily newspaper’s reconstruction of the situation accusing Europe of having “dumped” the marines.
Today’s “Il Giornale” quotes a letter from the European Diplomatic Service to the Facebook page ”Ridateci i nostri leoni” and its 70,000 followers, which had called for Brussels’ intervention. According to the newspaper, Europe has taken its distance, maintaining that the EU’s intervention “would not be appropriate in a question that concerns the legal authority of a foreign government”. Brussels’ response was quick in coming: “The letter”, explained Mann, “cites the High Representative and Diplomatic Service’s numerous efforts in support of the Italian government in resolving the controversy, also in relation to the international legislation that regulate those institutions”. While the reference to the legal authority being examined by the court underscored “the need to allow the legal proceedings to run their course”. To the extent that, the letter’s closing sentence underscored the EU’s intention “to continue to give the maximum priority to the case in all dealings with our Indian counterparts”.
