Italian premier urges EU to prioritize enlargement to Western Balkans

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged the EU to develop a new vision for the Balkan region and prioritize the enlargement process to the Western Balkans.

"We cannot allow this strategic part of our continent to stay outside the common European home for long," Meloni said on Tuesday, in a video address to the national conference on Italy and the Western Balkans: Growth and Integration.

The conference, organized by the Italian Foreign Ministry, was held in the northeastern city of Trieste.

"Italy will continue to fight so that the process of European integration to the Western Balkans can continue with even more impetus and determination," the Italian prime minister added.

Meloni stressed that many Italian companies are already active in the region, and encouraged them to renew their presence there and invest in strategic sectors.

"We have always acted in solidarity with each of our neighbors in difficult times and we are on the side of everyone in the effort for shared growth and security. All this can only happen within a European context," she said.

Meloni mentioned among the key areas of cooperation the fight against corruption and illegal trafficking, the management and containment of irregular migration flows, and fighting "radicalism in all its forms."