Policies of Silvio Berlusconi in Prague Silvio Berlusconi proposed an 8-point road map to accelerate the Euro-Atlantic integration of the western Balkans. During that summit the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini urged his European colleagues to send "visible and concrete" signs to the countries concerned (Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania). The first point concerns the liberalisation of visas between the EU and the Western Balkans. The Italian Government hopes that liberalisation can begin between late 2009 and early 2010, with priority being given to Serbia and Macedonia. The second point calls upon the European Commission to prepare a technical report on
Death and funeral of Helmut Kohl Death and funeral of Helmut Kohl Helmut Kohl, the former Chancellor of Germany, died at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, 16 June 2017 in the Oggersheim district of Ludwigshafen, his home town, aged 87. Kohl is widely regarded as the "father of the German reunification" and as a principal architect of the Maastricht Treaty which established the European Union (EU) and the euro currency, and became the second person to be named an Honorary Citizen of Europe in 1998. Following his death, he was lauded by world leaders as "the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century"