Foreign Minister of Italy, Trajani: The EU is too late, so accelerate the Western Balkans' integration

Antonio Tajani speaking in the Parliament 

 Start with Trieste, a natural "bridge" to the East, and relaunch Italy's role in the Balkans. Regarding the accession of the Western Balkans to the European Union, this is what Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated in an interview.

According to Tajani, the region's integration process has been significantly postponed, so everything should be done to accelerate rather than postpone it. He says that the Trieste Summit, which will be held on January 24 in Italy, is one of the main ways.

"The Trieste conference is the starting point for restarting Italy's action in the Western Balkans. The government considers this objective an absolute priority and intends to pursue it with a structured approach, including all components of the Italian system. Let's start from Trieste because this territory has always been the bridge that unites Italy with the Balkan region", said Tajani.

When asked how he sees Italy's role in the Balkans over the next few years, the Italian Foreign Minister suggested that Italy should lead and help the Balkans work together and talk to each other.

"Italy must play a leading role, aiming to establish itself as a platform for dialogue and cooperation with the Balkans, a facilitator of regional reconciliation and its integration into the EU. The commitment of the government is to work concretely in this direction by promoting concrete projects of cooperation between our realities, above all the productive ones, and the Balkan world" , stated the Foreign Minister.