Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, met today in Malta with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policies and Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, on the sidelines of the Conference of the European People’s Party.
The meeting focused primarily on preparations for the Western Balkans Summit, which is due to take place under the Italian Presidency in Trieste, on 12 July. The meeting provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on the recent ministerial meeting in Sarajevo, on 16 March, and a chance to take stock of the work carried out so far on various aspects of the process in preparation for the Summit.
“The Rome Declaration has confirmed the EU’s ‘open doors’ principle to those European countries that respect shared values and undertake to promote them”, pointed out Alfano in relation to the Italian position regarding European prospects for the Western Balkan countries, just a few days after the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome.
During the talks, Minister Alfano and Commissioner Hahn also spoke about the future of relations between the EU and Turkey ahead of the constitutional referendum of 16 April.
