Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi met the European Commission on Friday in a frescoed Rome villa, hoping to patch up Italy's scarred European Union presidency after his Nazi jibe upset much of the continent. Berlusconi appeased German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Thursday, telling him that he regretted having compared a German politician to a Nazi concentration camp guard. Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi told a glittering gala dinner for the Commissioners that he hoped a line could now be drawn under the row, which erupted on Italy's second day at the helm of the EU. "We cannot allow the painful controversy that shook the debate to weigh on any future work," said Ciampi. "We must quickly regain wisdom and serenity." Friday's closed-door meeting of commissioners marked the formal beginning of work on Italy's ambitious program for its six-month presidency. Berlusconi and Commission President Romano Prodi were to hold a joint news conference at 1300 GMT. The two men are old rivals on opposite sides of the political spectrum, and Berlusconi's diplomatic blunder aggravated the tensions between them. At Thursday's gala dinner, Berlusconi clinked champagne glasses with Ciampi, but conspicuously failed to repeat the toast with Prodi, who did a double take. **FOCUS ON PLANS*** Italy's plans for its presidency include hosting negotiations to decide the bloc's historic first constitution and steering the economy back to sustained growth by pumping massive funds into infrastructure projects. Berlusconi, a staunch ally of George Bush during the Iraq war, in contrast to France and Germany, also wants to improve transatlantic ties. But many question if he now has the credibility to do so. "If he cannot even communicate in civilized language with fellow EU leaders such as Gerhard Schroeder and Jacques Chirac, he is hardly the best man to bridge the divide," London's Financial Times wrote in a scathing editorial on Friday. Berlusconi's statement of regret for the Nazi comment appeared to stop short of Schroeder's demand for a full apology. "In order to feed the cult of his own personality, Berlusconi faked an apology, kicking off the most tempestuous presidency in the history of the European Union," the leftist newspaper La Repubblica wrote. However, the German leader told reporters on Thursday that as far as he was concerned the issue was closed and he hoped Italy's presidency would get back on track. Reaction from other EU countries to the latest in a long line of Berlusconi's gaffes has been mixed. Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio struck a positive note, saying she had no doubt the Italian presidency would be excellent. But others were less charitable. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said it would have been better for Berlusconi to retract the remark at once, while Luxembourg said Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was shocked. **PHOTO CAPTION*** German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder addresses the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin July 3, 2003. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)