Dačić: Italy wants to be more present in the region and support European integration

In a press statement given after his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani, Minister Dačić said that the ministerial meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Western Balkans in Italy was a useful initiative.

“Tajani was clear that, as he had emphasised before, Italy wanted to be more present in our region, which suits us, and that Italy wanted to support European integration of the entire Western Balkans, which is also our strategic goal”, stated Minister Dačić, who took part at the Ministerial Meeting and the Conference on the Western Balkans in Rome.

He reaffirmed that Minister Tajani had visited Belgrade and the Belgrade Economic Forum, one of the biggest business conferences in Serbia in the last few years.

In his words, Minister Tajani had also visited the Serbian stall at the Verona Wine Fair, where he talked to President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama and Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski. He also said that Minister Tajani was thus making the Italy–Serbia relations more dynamic and showing that he supported Serbia’s European integration.

Minister Dačić said that Minister Tajani had stated that he would convene a similar meeting with Ministers from Western Balkans by the end of the year, in order to make the effects of the cooperation visible and so the two of them could “complain about the length of the negotiation process to each other”.

“There are two kinds of problems here. On the one hand, the enlargement fatigue in the European Union itself, and on the other hand, taxpayers are not exactly ready to further finance any new EU Member States”, stated Minister Dačić.

In his words, the long European integration had also caused enlargement fatigue in candidate countries, creating the belief hat the accession would never happen.

“These are real, existing dangers. I think that it is very important that we have heard Sweden, the European Commission and Minister Tajani expressing their support to Serbia’s European integration, but we must also do out part of the work, and look for out common interests in the Western Balkans”, said Minister Dačić.

He stated that he had informed the attendees of the meeting about our constructive approach to the agreements in Brussels and Ohrid, and reaffirmed that the provisional institutions of Pristina wanted to avoid the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities and were doing everything to prolong and postpone it for the next period.

“The geopolitical situation is still very complex. What matters to us is that we preserve our national and state interests while remaining on our European path”, highlighted Minister Dačić.

Source: Tanjug