On the occasion of the Ministerial Meeting with the countries of the Western Balkans and the “Friends of the Western Balkans” Group hosted in Rome today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, presented a national position paper containing some concrete proposals to step up the EU accession of candidate countries, including those of the Western Balkans.
The Italian proposal focuses on three fundamental aspects: gradual integration (starting from key sectors such as cyber-security, strengthening of the Public Administration, migration management and business cooperation); streamlining and simplification of the process, in order to avoid blockages and crossed vetoes especially on technical steps; strategic communication to enhance the benefits of integration for the population.
The proposal was illustrated by Minister Tajani to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and to the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, with whom the Minister held bilateral meetings, and to the countries participating in the meeting, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The priority given to the stability of the Balkan region and to stepping up the EU integration process of these countries was also highlighted in the Presidency Conclusions adopted at the end of the Ministerial Meeting.
