Policies of Silvio Berlusconi period because during the Cold War Italy had the strongest communist party in western Europe. Vladimir Putin has many times expressed his appreciation for the respect shown by the Italian Prime Minister towards the leadership of the Russian Federation. Silvio Berlusconi is among the most vocal supporters of closer ties between Russia and the European Union. In an article published to Italian media on 26 May 2002, he said that the next step in Russia's growing integration with the West should be EU membership. On 17 November 2005 he commented in regards to the prospect of such a membership that
Death and funeral of Helmut Kohl of the memorial ceremony in Strasbourg, and for denying Helmut Kohl a German act of state in Berlin, as desired by most German politicians, out of spite for Chancellor Angela Merkel. Richter, who is known for hard-right anti-immigrant views and for her support for Hungary's controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, also attempted to bar Chancellor Merkel from speaking at the European memorial ceremony and wanted to have Orbán speaking instead. She only relented when told by confidantes that it would cause a scandal and be considered extremely inappropriate. The Kohl family has declined to participate in the funeral in Speyer