Franco Frattini

In 2018, on the occasion of the Italian presidency of the OSCE, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano appointed Frattini as "Special representative of the OSCE presidency for the process of resolving the conflict in Transnistria". Among his credentials, Frattini said: "I have excellent relations with the Russian authorities, which undoubtedly played a fundamental role in the resolution [of the conflict] in Transnistria", in addition to reminding his own role in starting the process of liberalization of Schengen visas for Moldova.

Since 2014, Frattini is a member of the high court of sports justice of CONI, a court of last resort of the Italian sports system. He exercised his function as judge for the Parma case, decreeing in May 2014 that the Emilian soccer team could not play in the Europa League.

Frattini was a candidate to succeed to Anders Fogh Rasmussen for the post of NATO's secretary general in October 2014, but the post has been given at the beginning of the year to Jens Stoltenberg.

Frattini did not run for the 2013 Italian general election, while supporting the "Agenda Monti" and Scelta Civica. Frattini has since recovered his position as member of the judiciary and Chamber President of the Italian Council of State.

Since 2013 Frattini is a consultant to the Serbian government of Aleksandar Vucic for the European integration of Serbia, succeeding to Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Alfred Gusenbauer.

The European Court of Human Rights, in the Hirsi v. Italy ruling of 23 February 2012, condemned Italy for breach of the Convention, in particular with regard to Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) and Article 4 of Protocol IV (prohibition of collective expulsions ); in this case, 200 Somali and Eritrean migrants had been rejected in Libya under the Benghazi agreement, without having the possibility of applying for asylum in Europe.

The reaction of Italian diplomacy, led by Frattini, to the revolts of the Arab spring and the Libyan civil war has been defined as "reactive" and "unrealistic" by the ISPI-IAI 2012 report edited by Alessandro Colombo and Ettore Greco. Like other Western countries, Italy has been completely taken aback by the Arab uprisings, and after a first moment at loss it has tried to frame the phenomenon in the reassuring discourse of democratization, reassured by the absence of Islamist symbols or anti-Western slogans. If the initial hesitations and the abrupt U-turn on the Qaddafi regime can constitute an element in common with other countries, Italy is the only international actor who long sought to "cling to its own imaginary role of mediator ", for which however lacked both power and necessary authority. With the evolution of the conflict, Frattini and Italian diplomacy have resorted to the "usual option to follow the stronger allies", facilitated in this by the "dilution of Franco-British unilateralism in the multilateral framework of NATO" and by the guarantee of participation American.

In December 2012, Frattini left Il Popolo della Libertà, later defining the leadership of the new Forza Italia as "extremists".

In 2012 Frattini received the honorary citizenship of the city of Tirana.

In 2011 Frattini was briefly president of the Alcide De Gasperi Foundation and from 2011 he was president of the Italian Society for International Organization (SIOI), an emanation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Frattini was the first politician to hold SIOI chairmanship, until then reserved for diplomats and academics of the highest level. In 2014 he was appointed president of the "Institute of Eurasian Studies".

In November 2010, Frattini dubbed the WikiLeaks revelations as the "September 11 of Diplomacy" and stated that Julian Assange "wants to destroy the world".

In September 2010, on the occasion of the second visit of Qaddafi to Rome, Frattini declared "We have blocked the trafficking of illegal immigrants", despite the figures showing the continuation of migratory flows, and despite being mainly people entitled to forms of international protection. In February 2011, in a set-up changed by the Arab spring uprisings, Frattini claimed to want to "mobilize the Mediterranean countries" and the EU, through the Frontex agency, for patrols and refoulements. Yet again in August 2011, a boat with more than 100 migrants, intercepted at sea, was transferred to the Tunisian authorities, among the criticisms of NGOs and UNHCR.

On 22 October 2010 he declared to the Osservatore Romano that Judaism, Christianity and Islam should ally to fight atheism, which he defined, in the same interview, as a "perverse phenomenon" on a par with extremism . These statements raised criticisms of numerous commentators and members of UAAR, who requested his resignation. Frattini reiterated in 2017 that relativism is the third threat to Europe after religious extremism and militant secularism.

In November 2010 he defined the revelations of WikiLeaks as "the 9/11 of world diplomacy" and said that Julian Assange "wants to destroy the world".

In October 2009 he was awarded the Premio America of the Italy–USA Foundation.

Since September 2009 Frattini is president of section at the Council of State section, and in 2012 he is assigned as president to the Advisory Section for Regulatory Acts.

During the first summer of his ministry the "Treaty of friendship between Italy and Libya" was signed (so-called Benghazi agreement); with this treaty, Qaddafi's Libya agreed to repatriate the boats of sub-Saharan migrants from the Libyan coast to Italy. Cooperation between the two coast guards started in May 2009, with protests from international groups for the protection of human rights, which criticized the return of migrants – including eligible asylum seekers – to Libya, which had not ratified the UN convention on refugees; the policy was subsequently suspended but not officially repudiated. Frattini had openly supported the policy of "respingimenti", contrary to the international humanitarian law principle of non-refoulement, describing such policy as a "due application of European rules", and stamping as "unworthy" the 2010 report by Amnesty International that highlighted the critical nature of this policy in light of international and European law.

In March 2009 Frattini condemned the Durban 2009 UN Conference against Racism, calling the final document as unacceptable, since it included anti-Israeli positions that emerged in the 2001 conference, which qualified Zionism as a form of racism.

In November 2009 he called "suggestive" Roberto Castelli's proposal for a constitutional amendment to include a cross in the Italian flag: "For now we wish to defend the right to keep the crucifix in our [school] classes, later we'll see if we can do more ". "There are nine European countries that have the cross in their flag, it's an absolutely normal proposal".

In 2008 Frattini left in unpaid leave as Commissioner to run for election in Italy. He did not directly resign from his Commissioner post, to avoid that his successor be appointed by the out-going Prodi II Cabinet. He only resigned as Commissioner after taking up the position of Foreign Minister in the Berlusconi IV. The role of European Commissioner from Italy was then assigned to Antonio Tajani, with responsibility for transports rather than for justice. Frattini was the second ever European Commissioner from Italy to choose Italian over European politics, after the resignation of Franco Maria Malfatti in 1972.

At the 2008 snap election Frattini was nominated for the People of Freedom party in the north-eastern constituency of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and elected to the Chamber of Deputies. From 2008 to 2011, during the Berlusconi IV Cabinet, Frattini was back as Foreign Minister of Berlusconi, as between 2002 and 2004.

During the Russian invasion of Georgia in the summer of 2008, Frattini was on vacation in the Maldives. The representation of Italy during the urgent meetings of EU foreign ministers was ensured by the undersecretary Vincenzo Scotti.

At the end of December 2008, during Israel's war on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead), Frattini is on holiday again. Frattini's live interview with TG1 in a skiing suit raises controversy over inappropriate and disrespectful clothing. Frattini answers via Facebook.

Frattini received Medaglia Teresiana at University of Pavia in 2008.

November saw the commissioner's concern for child welfare extended to video games, calling for tougher controls; anything relating to stricter self-regulation to an outright ban In 2007 he called for a ban on the horror title Rule of Rose, and criticised the EU-endorsed PEGI system for granting the game a 16-years-or-over age rating. Reports on GameSpot showed he was seeking a Europe-wide ban on violent videogames. On 6 February 2007 – Safer Internet Day 2007 – Frattini recalled the need to protect children's rights, saying: "I am deeply concerned at this potential harm by the internet to children. This could involve people preying on them or children accessing racist, cruel or violent material."

At the start of 2007, Frattini backed an Italian push for EU support of a worldwide ban on the death penalty.

In April 2007 he has called for more powers to be given to Eurojust, with the power to initiate prosecutions with a European Public Prosecutor.

Following the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack he criticised the handling of Islam by member-states and called for a "European Islam".

Interviewed by Reuters in 2007, he said his intention to investigate technical possibilities for implementing internet monitoring of "dangerous words" such as "bombs", "killing", "genocide" and "terrorism". The project did not see the light.

In 2007, Frattini was censured by the European Parliament for its statements against the freedom of movement of people in the EU. In the interview granted and published 2 November 2007 Frattini stressed that to respond to the security problem «... what is to be done is simple: you go to a nomad camp in Rome, for example on the Christopher Columbus, and to those who are there you ask" what's your life? ". If all year "I do not know", you take it and send it back to Romania. This is how the European directive works: simple and without escape. » The motion of censure, presented by the European left, was voted to a large extent: 306 yes, 86 no and 37 abstentions.

In February 2006 during the Danish cartoons row Frattini defended the media's freedom of speech, though did express disagreement with subject of the cartoons.

During his term as European Commissioner, Frattini was also appointed by the Prime Minister Berlusconi to the coordination of assistance from the government for the conduct of the Winter Olympics in Turin 2006

From 2001 he took part in the Berlusconi II Cabinet as Minister for Public Administration. The so-called Frattini Act, namely Law no. 215/2004, on "Rules on conflicts of interest", approved by Parliament on 13 July 2004, received criticism from the Council of Europe's Venice Commission on its compatibility with international standards on freedom of expression and pluralism of the media.

In 2004, Frattini had to leave office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which passed to Gianfranco Fini following a government reshuffle. Italy's participation to the post-war occupation of Iraq remained unpopular with Italian public opinion. At the beginning of 2006 the Berlusconi III government announced its intention to withdraw the Italian contingent from Iraq by the month of November, a calendar later respected by the Prodi II government that succeeded to it.

On 4 November 2004, Frattini he was named by Silvio Berlusconi to take up the Justice and security portfolio in the European Commission, in place of the controversial Rocco Buttiglione, whose appointment had been rejected by the European Parliament. The appointment of Frattini to the European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security raised concerns from the British Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford, due to accusations of belonging to Freemasonry, raised by Buttiglione himself towards Frattini and denied by the latter. Frattini was also afforded one of the five seats as vice-president of the European Commission. In the 2007 tax return, his Italian tax base was zero because his income as a European Commissioner was taxed in Brussels.

Frattini later sent an Italian military and police contingent to Iraq, in what he called a "humanitarian emergency intervention". An Italian contingent of about 3,200 men was sent to Iraq shortly after the official end of large-scale military operations (Bush's announcement of 1 May 2003). On 15 July 2003, the "Operation Ancient Babylon" began at the dependency of the British forces in the southern Dhi Qar province, centered in the town of Nassiriya where the Italian Barbara Contini was charged with civilian administration by the Coalition Provisional Administration. A suicide attack there killed 19 Italians, among military and civilians. Other clashes in the Italian sector occurred during the fights between the Shiite militiamen of the Mahdi Army and the coalition troops (spring-summer 2004), including the "battle of the bridges" of 6 April 2004 in Nassiriya, in which the Italian Bersaglieri made about fifteen casualties among Iraqi insurgents and civilians.

From 14 November 2002 to 18 November 2004 Frattini served as Foreign Minister: the appointment of Frattini followed ten months of interim by Berlusconi himself, after the resignation of the forme FM Renato Ruggiero due to his contrasts with the foreign policies of the government.

In 2001 Frattini was a candidate for the Chamber of Deputies in the constituency of Bolzano, supported by House of Freedom.

From November 1997 to August 2000 he was also City Councillor in Rome.

In 1996 Frattini is a candidate to the elections within the Pole for Freedoms, the electoral coalition of Forza Italia. He was elected in the northern constituency of Bolzano – Laives.

From 1996 to 2001 he was chairman of the parliamentary committee for the supervision of intelligence (COPACO), elected by unanimous vote of the majority and the opposition.

In 1994 he becomes member of Silvio Berlusconi's newly-founded Forza Italia party and is named Secretary-General of Presidency of the Council of Ministers during the Berlusconi I Cabinet in 1994–1995. He was Minister for Public Administration and later Minister for Regional Affairs in the following technocratic Dini Cabinet (1995–1996).

In 1990 and 1991 he worked as a legal adviser to the deputy chairman of the PSI, Claudio Martelli, in the Andreotti VI Cabinet.

From 1984 he was State Attorney and magistrate of the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) in Piedmont. In 1986 Frattini was named member of the Italian Council of State and legal adviser of the Treasury Ministry.

Frattini attended the "Giulio Cesare" Classical High School in Rome and graduated in law in 1979.

Franco Frattini (born 14 March 1957 in Rome) is an Italian politician, twice foreign minister of the Berlusconi cabinets (in 2002–2004 and 2008–2011) and once European Commissioner in the first Barroso Commission (2004–2008).

As European Commissioner he promoted a "visa facilitation agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation" (2007/340/EC: Council Decision of 19 April 2007), which however led to the expulsion of countless citizens Europeans domiciled for a long time in Russia on the basis of annual visas, which due to the introduction by the agreement of a limit of stay in the territory of maximum 90 days out of 180 were forced to leave the country, not being able to reside on the spot on the basis of unlimited annual visas as happened in the past. Article 5 of the law of the Russian Federation 25/7/2002 n.115, provides in fact the limit of 90 days of stay only to those who are not subject to the visa regime, but the agreement drawn up by Frattini extends this limit to all the citizens of the Union.