German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has demanded a public apology from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over remarks comparing a German politician to a Nazi guard. To applause from the German parliament in Berlin, Schroeder said he expected Berlusconi to "apologise fully for this unacceptable comparison". The Italian leader triggered uproar in the European Parliament when he suggested that Martin Schulz, a heckling German MEP who had criticised him, would be perfectly cast as a Nazi concentration camp guard in a forthcoming film. MEP leaders have threatened to break off relations with the European Union's top decision-making body, the European Council now headed by Berlusconi, unless they receive a formal apology. A diplomatic row of this kind between two of the European Union's biggest countries is extraordinary, the BBC's Chris Morris reports from Berlin. It comes as Italy takes over the presidency of the EU for the next six months. The Italian leader himself has offered a partial apology through an aide, after at first refusing to do so when asked by the president of the European Parliament. But his deputy, Gianfranco Fini, said it would have been better if Berlusconi had apologised. "No accusation, however annoying, can justify the epithet of Nazi guard for a political adversary," Fini said. **EU critics*** Berlusconi's outburst on the first day of his six-month presidency of the EU has given ammunition to those who believe he is unfit to represent Europe in the world, the BBC's world affairs correspondent William Horsley says. Commenting on the row, Schulz told the BBC: "It's certainly very difficult for the president of the government of a state with Italy's history - with Mussolini in the past - to make ironic remarks about the victims of the concentration camps". "Yes, I am angry," he added. Berlusconi made the remarks as he was setting out his programme for Italy's presidency of the EU. He rounded on Schulz after the German Socialist MEP had criticised his business and political conduct. Schulz had referred to an alleged conflict of interest between the political role of Italy's richest man and his extensive media empire, and deplored outspoken comments on immigration by Italian Reforms Minister Umberto Bossi. "I know there is a man producing a film on the Nazi concentration camps," Berlusconi exclaimed. "I shall put you forward for the role of Kapo (guard chosen from among the prisoners) - you'd be perfect." The remark provoked instant uproar, but Berlusconi refused to withdraw it. The Italian leader has expressed surprise that the remark had caused offence. "I'm sorry," he said on Wednesday. "I am saddened that there's been a misinterpretation." **PHOTO CAPTION*** Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg, July 2, 2003. (Jean-Marc Loos/Reuters)