“The Italian government is heavily committed to pursuing the goal of creating an Adriatic-Ionian macro-region, and Italy is seeking to obtain a European Council and Commission mandate in December 2012”, stated Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Marta Dassù, speaking at a workshop on the future of an Adriatic-Ionian macro-region made up of Italian and other European regions located along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts. The workshop sessions were opened by Ambassador Nellie Feroci of the Italian permanent mission to the European Union.
A strategic region
“The region’s economic importance”, said Dassù,“is mainly owed to maritime cooperation, new infrastructure projects and new energy initiatives”, recalling that “we recently joined Greece and Albania in signing the TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) in New York, which shows how strategic the area is for us”.
Politically speaking, the Under-Secretary continued,“we believe that the Western Balkans must join the EU, but the process will be long and, therefore, macro-regional cooperation is a major means for keeping it going”.