The political strength of our continent in the coming decades will depend on the accession of the Balkan countries to the European Union. It is the most important geostrategic investment of our time, because security, competitiveness and enlargement are now inextricably linked: unless it completes its reunification, the Union will never achieve the scale required to compete in today’s world.
The Balkans are an integral part of Europe’s history, geography and political landscape. Italy has made this a cornerstone of its diplomatic policy: as a country bordering both the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, we are well aware that the security of our seas also depends on the stability of the region. That is why we strongly support speeding up their path to EU membership, in order to reunite the European family and expand the area of peace and opportunity.
Italy’s commitment has taken the form of a widespread diplomatic presence and ongoing political dialogue: since 2022, over a hundred high-level visits, bilateral meetings and multilateral initiatives have accompanied the reforms in the applicant countries and provided tangible support for their progress towards joining the Union.
With this in mind, Italy is one of the driving forces behind the informal ‘Friends of the Balkans’ group, which brings together those Member States most committed to keeping the region high on the European agenda. The meeting we are hosting today in Rome, with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the area, confirms Italy’s commitment to giving fresh impetus to the Balkans’ European integration process.
Membership requires far-reaching reforms: the rule of law, efficiency of public administration, digitalisation, and quality of institutions. Italy supports these efforts with concrete operational measures. We are leaders in administrative twinning and short-term technical assistance – Twinning and TAIEX – which lie at the heart of the accession process, as they transfer expertise, experience and institutional capacity from Member States to applicant countries.
In the Western Balkans, Italy is the leading Member State in terms of the number of experts deployed under these programmes: we believe, in fact, that integration must deliver tangible and perceptible benefits in the daily lives of citizens and businesses even before accession, thereby strengthening confidence in the European project. For this reason, we believe it is counterproductive to delay the accession process for countries such as Serbia, which has already made progress on many key issues.
Investing in the growth of the Balkans means investing in Europe’s strength. Italy, not least through our many companies operating in the region, is already one of the region’s main economic partners, with trade worth over EUR 10 billion and around 800 companies operating in the region, which contribute to local growth, skilled employment, the modernisation of production, and the green and digital transition. Through development cooperation, we are active in key sectors, ranging from healthcare to infrastructure, and from energy to education.
Another equally important aspect concerns connectivity. The Balkans form a link between the Adriatic, the eastern Mediterranean and Central Europe. We therefore support the development of major infrastructure corridors, starting with Corridor VIII, which will link the Adriatic to the Black Sea, and the upgrading of the rail, port, energy and digital networks. With this in mind, we are also looking at the India-Middle East-Europe (IMEC) corridor, on which we are working with partners such as India and the Gulf countries. Thanks to its geographical location, Italy can establish itself as the European hub for these new routes, making the Balkans the natural bridge to Central Europe and the Euro-Asian corridors. The issue of connectivity is inextricably linked to that of our continent’s strategic autonomy, the security of supply chains and food security: that is why we have also invited the FAO’s Deputy Director-General, Maurizio Martina, to today’s meeting.
European integration, economic development and connectivity require a robust security framework. In this area too, Italy has taken on a leading role: we have led the NATO KFOR mission in Kosovo on fourteen occasions, the EULEX Kosovo mission twice, and the European EUFOR Althea mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina three times, contributing through both civilian and military means to regional stability and the implementation of the Dayton Agreement (General Framework Agreement for Peace).
The integration of the Balkans is a geopolitical choice for Europe: bringing them fully into the Union means consolidating its south-eastern flank, strengthening its stability and giving it greater capacity to exert influence on the world stage. Italy will continue to work to ensure that the region’s European path remains credible and merit-based, whilst also becoming faster, more predictable and closer to the people. For our continent, this is a matter of historical consistency, even before it is a strategic necessity.
