Brussels - Belgium apologised to Italy yesterday for criticism of the Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, by the outspoken Belgian Foreign Minister, Mr Louis Michel, an official said.
Mr Michel, also president of the EU council of foreign ministers, had said on Belgian television Mr Berlusconi deserved "zero out of 10" for his controversial assertion that Western civilisation was superior to Islam.
The Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, wrote to Mr Berlusconi yesterday calling Mr Michel's comments "unfortunate".