“On the Italian side, we welcomed the recommendation of the European Commission in favor of opening accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, we sincerely hope that the European Council will be able to adopt this decision,” Italian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Marco di Ruzza told Fena news agency today.
He said this in response to questions about his country’s attitude towards the European Commission’s recommendation to the European Council for the start of accession negotiations with BiH, and whether BiH can count on Italy’s support at the upcoming meeting of the European Council on Thursday and Friday in Brussels.
“Italy strongly supports the perspectives of the European ‘anchorage’ of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire Western Balkans region,” said Di Ruzza.
He reminds that Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani visited Sarajevo on March 4, together with his Austrian colleague Alexander Schallenberg, precisely to show Italy’s strong support for Bosnia and Herzegovina at this historic moment for the country.
“This was Minister Tajani’s second visit to Sarajevo within a year, and it once again shows that the Balkans has an absolute priority in the foreign policy of the Italian government. During the meetings with all the highest institutional actors in the country, great recognition was expressed for the progress that is Bosnia and Herzegovina recently made on the way to Brussels. At the same time, the aim of the visit was to encourage the BiH authorities to implement further reforms with the utmost determination, which the European Commission considers crucial for giving greater strength to the country’s European aspirations,” the Embassy says.
He goes on to say that Bosnia and Herzegovina has always been part of Europe and its future can only be within the European Union family: this is a strong and clear message that Minister Tajani wanted to send during his visit to Sarajevo.
“Italy will do everything to ensure that a favorable decision for the opening of accession negotiations is possible at the upcoming European Council, especially since it is part of the informal group ‘Friends of the Western Balkans’ in Brussels,” Ambassador Di Ruzza points out.
He hopes that the overall political dimension of this decision will also be well considered in the debate, especially in light of the current geopolitical context.
“I would like to remind you that Italy leads, or is about to lead, many twinning and other European projects aimed at harmonizing BiH legislation with European Union legislation and optimizing cooperation between local authorities and the European Union. This is happening in many sectors of crucial importance: fight against human trafficking and illegal immigration, indirect taxation system, anti-corruption strategies, phytosanitary sector, digitization of services to citizens, etc. Our support for the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina therefore consists not only of high diplomacy but also of diligent and concrete daily work alongside the authorities of this country. Italy intends to continue to be an important point of reference for the country both in the context of bilateral relations and in support on the path of European integration, which we firmly believe in ,” Ambassador Di Ruzza concluded.
