Meloni in Tirana: “After the Russian aggression, it is now time to strengthen the Balkans’ EU membership”

Giorgia Meloni is in Tirana to participate in the summit organized by the European Union and the Balkan countries. A summit which has an important geopolitical implication, and which is intertwined with one of the major issues concerning Europe: the management of immigration, given that a good portion of the migrants passing through the Balkan route pass through European continent (entrances from this direction in 2022 were 168 percent more than in 2021). Moreover, today we will discuss the action plan for this route, which the European Council and the European Parliament have drawn up on the model of the Mediterranean route.

So Meloni, arriving in the Albanian capital, wanted to clarify Italy’s position. “I think we have a great responsibility with the countries” of the region, said the premier. ”Especially after the Russian aggression against Ukraine it is very important to strengthen the accession process of countries in the EU and there are many issues on which we want to work together, such as the economy, cyber security and many others on which Italy she is fully engaged”, recalled the head of government. In short, and it is the line of this executive, which does not differ from the previous ones, ”we will try to do our best on the many issues we are discussing, including roaming and more. You can count on Italy”, added Meloni.

At the end of the summit, the 27 countries of the Union and those from the Balkan area are expected to sign a joint conclusion in which they recognize immigration as a “common challenge”.