BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a wise man and called for an orderly transition to democracy.

"I hope that in Egypt there can be a transition toward a more democratic system without a break from President Mubarak, who in the West, above all in the United States, is considered the wisest of men and a precise reference point," he said.

"I hope there can be continuity in government," he told reporters, adding he welcomed the fact that Mubarak had announced he would not run in the next elections.