BALKAN ENLARGEMENT KEY THEME OF ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY
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BALKAN ENLARGEMENT KEY THEME OF ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY

BALKAN ENLARGEMENT KEY THEME OF ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY

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(VELINO) Roma, 30 Jun - Enlargement of the Balkans will be a"central theme of the Italian Presidency of the EuropeanUnion," said Italy's ambassador to Sarajevo Ruggero Corrias. Hewas speaking after meeting Croat member of the tripartitePresidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zeljko Komsic. Themeeting was to prepare for Foreign Minister FedericaMogherini's mission to Bosnia in July, as part of a tour of thecapitals of the Western Balkans. "Europe will help Bosnia torecover from the floods. But only with structural reforms, willthe country boost its economy, create jobs and accelerate theprocess of integration into the Euro-Atlantic institutions,"the ambassador said. The meeting focused on aid to Bosnia tohelp it recover from the floods in May and on the donors'conference to be held in mid-July in Brussels. It alsodiscussed how to bring about structural reforms launched by theEuropean Union with the Compact for Growth and Jobs, which arecentral to the Bosnian government's agenda after the electionsin October. These reforms are considered essential for thecountry to move closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. Themeeting also discussed bilateral issues and candidacies ofmutual interest, such as Italy standing for the United NationsSecurity Council. President Komsic said he was "confident inthe results of the Italian presidency," and that he knew thatBosnia would have to play its part to move towards the EuropeanUnion. He also stressed the strong bonds of friendship betweenItaly and Bosnia. vel.
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