TIRANA, Nov 10 /ATA/ – Italian President Sergio Mattarella said the European Union would remain incomplete without the accession of Albania and other candidate countries, reaffirming Italy’s support for the Western Balkans’ European integration.
“Italy will always consider the European Union incomplete and diminished until Albania and the other candidate countries become part of it, which I hope will happen as soon as possible,” Mattarella said.
The statement was made during a meeting Italian President Sergio Mattarella held yesterday at the Quirinal Palace with Albanian President Bajram Begaj and a delegation of mayors from Italian municipalities with Arbëresh communities.
According to Mattarella, the prospect of European integration is directly linked to the future of the peoples of the Western Balkans, for whom the process represents a lasting project of peace, freedom and progress.
During the meeting, the Italian president also praised the Arbëresh communities as an example of friendship and successful integration, stressing that preserving one’s roots, culture and language does not hinder integration into another society but rather enriches it.
Mattarella stressed that safeguarding pluralism, one of the pillars of democracy, is an integral part of Europe’s fundamental principles.
He also highlighted the historic ties between Albania and Italy and Rome’s support for Albania’s EU accession process.
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