Amb. Gori, Italy to accelerate EU enlargement to Balkans

(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 03 OTT - Italy's firm belief in the need to accelerate the process of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans and Serbia was underlined by Italian Ambassador to Belgrade Luca Gori. In statements to the Tanjug news agency today, Gori said he understood the sense of frustration in Serbia over the long delays in the enlargement process, noting, however, that on this issue a renewed momentum has now emerged in Brussels that Serbia will be able to take advantage of. "The enlargement process is once again on the agenda, and I hope that Serbia will be able to take advantage of that, implementing the necessary reforms to accelerate the entire process," said the ambassador, who granted the interview to the Serbian news agency on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and Serbia, and 15 years since the signing of the agreement on the strategic partnership between the two countries.
    Surveying the intense dynamism in political, economic, and cultural relations, witnessed by the numerous bilateral cooperation events in recent months between Rome and Belgrade, Gori also referred to the field of sports and the charity football match between the Italian National Actors and Singers Team and a representative of Red Star veterans, scheduled for next Saturday in Belgrade. A charity initiative of the Italian Embassy, in cooperation with the Intesa Foundation and the Novak Djokovic Foundation, whose aim is to finance, through donations, a kindergarten in Serbia. An event, said Ambassador Gori, decided in the context of the Day of Italian Sport in the World, and as a testimony to the friendship and solidarity between Italy and Serbia. "We have involved the entire Italian System in Serbia, in an authentic teamwork of Italian institutions in the country and Serbian friends," the ambassador noted.