Italy Presides over EU: Western Balkan Countries and Turkey Among Strategic Priorities

During Italy's presidency of the European Union, as announced, the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkan countries and Turkey is among the strategic priorities, reports the BH News Agency Patria (NAP). This is contained in the document presenting Italy's program, which was published yesterday in Brussels.

Candidate and potential candidate countries should be encouraged to continue internal reforms in line with EU standards, and in return, they should clearly demonstrate their commitment to EU membership, the document states.

As for BiH, it still needs to fulfill the requirements to become a candidate, while Serbia and Montenegro will intensify negotiations, and Serbia is expected to open its first chapter, and Montenegro new chapters on the path to the EU.

Albania, which gained candidate status at the end of June, is also expected to make progress, along with Macedonia, whose status is blocked due to the dispute with Greece over the country's name.

Regarding Kosovo, Italy, as the presiding EU member, intends to encourage the finalization and signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).

In the next six months, Italy will also try to renew negotiations with Turkey, which have lost their initial momentum, the document states, reports Patria.