Trials and allegations involving Silvio Berlusconi persons (including Silvio Berlusconi) for having committed false accounting and embezzlement. If the embezzlement charges would be proven by the court, this part of guilt would however be granted impunity due to a 1988 amnesty for the crime. First Court: A "Prima facie" case was issued, but the magistrate decided to drop the charges. The state attorney refused to file the case and appealed against the ruling.<br> Appeal Court: statute of limitations expired before the appeal was completed so Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted. First Court: On 26 September 2005, Berlusconi was acquitted because the new law on false accounting makes
Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy was marked by the global financial and economic crisis. As president of the European Union during the last six months of 2008, and as the president of a member country of the G-8 and the G-20, Nicolas Sarkozy was very much involved in the international debates and propositions to fight against the crisis. He had also to cope with the economic and social effects of the crisis in France. In particular, he had to renounce to reduce the public deficit as he had promised, and instead he had to launch a stimulus package, as part of the 2008