Stabilizing the Balkan area is a priority: Italy's FM

(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 13 OTT - "Today's priorities are stabilizing the Balkan area and accompanying the EU accession process. The decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, strongly supported by the Italian government, confirms the vitality of the European project and the need to continue with renewed determination on the path taken. " Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said this in a video message sent to the Conference of the Chairmen of the Foreign Commissions and Parliamentary Delegates of the CEI member countries, underway in Trieste.
    "The Balkans and the whole region are a priority of the Italian government's foreign policy," the minister reiterated.
    According to Tajani, it is significant that "Today's meeting "takes place in Trieste, a historical and future crossroads of Europe. It is in Trieste that, not by chance, last January, I wanted to hold the conference on the Balkans, the first stage in defining a national strategy that would mark Italy's newfound prominence and promote growth and integration aiming at stability and security." "Also because of my personal experience," he added, "I am a convinced supporter of the role of parliamentary diplomacy; it can give a strong impulse to political dialogue, integrate the action of governments, bring different cultures and sensibilities closer together, and promote the values that unite us." The CEI, he said, "is the oldest forum for regional cooperation in the area and can claim a historic role in contributing to the reunification process of the European continent after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. More than 30 years later, the CEI continues to represent a privileged forum to support the reunification process of Europe" and "will always find in Italy a constant point of reference." (ANSA).