Policies of Silvio Berlusconi despite the policy divide between the U.S. and many founding members of the European Union (Germany, France, Belgium) during the Bush administration. Under his lead the Italian Government also shifted its traditional position on foreign policy from being the most pro-Arab western government towards a greater friendship with Israel and Turkey (Silvio Berlusconi acted as wedding witness for the son of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) than in the past, hence rebalancing relations with all the Mediterranean countries to reach "equal closeness" with them. Berlusconi is one of the strongest supporters of Turkey's application to accede to the
Congress of the French Parliament take the floor before Parliament convened in Congress for this purpose. His statement may give rise, in his absence, to a debate without vote." This Congress, like the Constitutional one, is convened in Versailles. The first President to use this new Constitutional right was Nicolas Sarkozy on 22 June 2009. The previous presidential speech to France's parliament was in 1873, before lawmakers banned the practice to protect the separation of powers and keep the president in check. François Hollande made a speech to Congress under this provision on 16 November 2015 regarding the November 2015 Paris attacks. Emmanuel Macron made