Podgorica, (MINA) – The meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” group, held on Friday in Rome, confirms Italy’s strong commitment to giving a new impetus to the European path of the region, said Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani.

In his op-ed entitled “Italy and the Balkans: a Strategic Choice for Europe”, Tajani said that the political strength of Europe in the coming decades will depend on the accession of the Balkan countries to the EU.

“It is the most important geostrategic investment of our time, because security, competitiveness and enlargement are today inextricably linked: without completing its unification, the European Union will never reach the scale necessary to be competitive in today’s world”, Tajani wrote in an op-ed published ahead of the ministerial meeting of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” group.

Tajani said that Italy believes that European integration should bring concrete and visible benefits to citizens’ lives and the economy even before membership itself, strengthening confidence in the European project.

“For this reason, we consider it short-sighted to postpone further steps in the accession process of countries such as Serbia, which has already made significant progress in a number of key areas”, Tajani wrote in his op-ed.

According to him, investing in the development of the Balkans means investing in the strength of Europe.

Tajani said that the integration of the Balkans represents a geopolitical choice for Europe, and that its inclusion in the EU means strengthening the EU’s southeastern flank, its stability and ability to act and exert influence globally.