Italian Prime Minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi said today his government wanted to open a dialogue with anti-globalisation protest groups in view of the Group of Eight meeting he will host in Genoa in July.
"We say to Italians and Europeans who are getting ready to demonstrate, as is their right to do so, that we are open to dialogue," Mr Berlusconi said in a keynote policy speech for his new centre-right government in the upper house of parliament, the Senate.
He also said the protests should be held without violence and extremists should be isolated.
Mr Berlusconi also said his government was committed to the timetable of EU enlargement.