Relations with Egypt and relations with the U.S. in matters of data management were the topics of a briefing by Minister Emma Bonino before the joint Parliamentary Constitutional Affairs, Foreign and Defence Commissions.<\/P>
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Process of constitutional normalisation obligatory, respect for fundamental rights<\/STRONG><\/P> The minister explained that, in Egypt, a \u201csignificant\u201d portion of the population considered the events under way as a \u201cphase of revolution to correct recent deviations\u201d, while another saw it as a \u201cstep backward in the democratic transition that limits the freedom of the Muslim Brotherhood\u201d. The minister underscored that she \u201cis never happy when the military comes into play\u201d and that Italy was working so that \u201cthe exceptional measures last the shortest time possible\u201d and toward the launch of \u201ca process of constitutional normalisation respectful of fundamental rights \u201c.<\/P> Appeal to all Egyptian political parties for maximum moderation and responsibility <\/STRONG><\/P> Italy launched an \u201cappeal to all <\/STRONG>Egyptian political parties for the maximum moderation and responsibility <\/STRONG>in loosening the tensions\u201d, in order to establish a \u201cdialogue capable of achieving consensus on a constitution based on the rule of law and inclusive institutions\u201d. Italy is working toward \u201cfacilitating dialogue among the parties concerned\u201d and \u201claunching an electoral process that puts an end to the exceptional measures\u201d. Italy \u201cwill once again be Egypt\u2019s partner\u201d, Bonino assured the Egyptian ambassador to Italy. The foreign ministry has employed a special team to monitor the situation of 19,000 Italians in Egypt. <\/P> EU-U.S. meeting in Washington<\/STRONG><\/P> <\/STRONG><\/P> Italy awaits clarification on Datagate, since a relationship of trust between allies is at stake. At the same time, suspending free-trade negotiations set to being on Monday in Washington would run counter to our own interests, stated Minister Emma Bonino in a briefing on the government\u2019s relations with the U.S. in matters of information management before the joint Parliamentary Constitutional Affairs, Foreign and Defence Commissions.<\/P> The minister underscored that \u201cEdward Snowden\u2019s alleged revelations\u201d had resulted in an incident that was \u201cdelicate and in need of clarification and everyone is awaiting answers, which the highest U.S. authorities have promised\u201d. At stake \u201cis not only the right to privacy but, above all, a relationship of trust between allies\u201d. The U.S. is Italy\u2019s \u201cprincipal ally\u201d, and protecting this relationship of trust \u201cin in our interests, but also in theirs\u201d. The affair, if not clarified, \u201cwould hurt us and them at a moment when we need mutual trust\u201d with, for example, \u201cthe Mediterranean in flames\u201d. The U.S. has promised clarification and will host a U.S.-EU meeting on the issue in Washington on Monday. Representing Europe at the meeting will be members of the European Commission, Council and the Lithuanian duty Presidency. Moreover, it has been decided that two groups of EU and U.S. experts would be set up: one to examine the protection of data (U.S.- Commission) and the second on \u201cdata gathering\u201d, with experts from Member States that include Italy\u201d.<\/P> Italy never involved<\/STRONG><\/P> As for the former American National Security Agency employee\u2019s revelations regarding two surveillance programmes (telephone, e-mail and internet data gathering), the U.S. has explained that these were \u201cprogrammes authorized by Congress as part of counter-terrorism efforts and that required the authorization of a judge\u201d, Bonino pointed out, specifying, in any case, that Italy \u201cwas never involved, nor consulted, nor informed in this regard\u201d. As for the alleged spying on European embassies, Bonino recalled that there had been ample demands for \u201cassurances\u201d from the U.S. both at European level as well as at the level of individual countries, Italy included, even though \u201cat the moment, we have no evidence of espionage in our embassy in Washington\u201d. The goal is to understand \u201cwhat protections\u201d are provided within the American national security strategy. <\/P> No conditions to grant asylum to Snowden<\/STRONG><\/P> \u201cThere are no legal grounds for Italy to accept the request for asylum\u201d from Snowden; there are technical reasons, since that request was submitted via fax, while it must be done in person. Moreover, \u201che cannot be granted political asylum either\u201d the minister explained. <\/P> <\/STRONG><\/P> Morales flight: Italy could not do anything<\/STRONG><\/P> In the case of Bolivian President Morales\u2019 flight, en route from Europe, Italy could not have done anything because, \u201conce it landed in Vienna\u201d its request to fly over Italy expired, the Minister reported.<\/P> <\/STRONG><\/P> Explanations, yes, but without damaging relations<\/STRONG><\/P> Bonino concluded by underscoring that it was necessary to obtain clarity on the case of Datagate but, she remarked, \u201cwithout damaging trans-Atlantic relations\u201d, because that \u201cwould go counter to our own interests\u201d. It is necessary \u201cto avoid polemics on the free-trade treaty\u201d, which is one of the \u201cessential instruments for creating a more dynamic market by which to overcome the European economic crisis\u201d, she added, pointing out that this position was \u201cshared at European level\u201d. This affair \u201chas damaged the U.S. most of all\u201d, the minister commented in conclusion, asserting her certainty that the American\u2019s rapid response, of which she had been assured by Ambassador to Rome David Thorne, would soon be forthcoming. <\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Relations with Egypt and relations with the U.S. in matters of data management were the topics of a briefing by Minister Emma Bonino before the joint Parliamentary Constitutional Affairs, Foreign and Defence Commissions. Process of constitutional normalisation obligatory, respect for fundamental rights The minister explained that, in Egypt, a \u201csignificant\u201d portion of the population considered […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[397,6,76,42],"class_list":["post-16427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-approfondimenti","tag-america-settentrionale","tag-mediterraneo-e-medio-oriente","tag-ministri-precedenti","tag-unione-europea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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