Western Balkans 'at heart of Europe,' says Meloni, urging strategic EU enlargement

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday called for a renewed European commitment to the Western Balkans, stressing that the region lies at the heart of Europe.

"The Western Balkans do not lie on Europe's finger or beyond our continent. They are in the very heart of our continent," Meloni told the European Political Community summit in Tirana. The Western Balkans, including Albania, lie close to Italy, just east across the Adriatic Sea, and the European Union has been working to integrate the region more closely with the rest of the continent.

"Italy is committed in Brussels, so (is) asserting a strategic approach to the Western Balkans … to provide these countries with a clear EU integration perspective," she said.

Meloni also stressed Europe's responsibility to pursue unity despite diversity: "Several (countries) have decided not to join the EU. Others (are) inspired to be part of it. Both are no less European than the 27 EU member states."

Turning to embattled Ukraine, she emphasized continued support for Kyiv amid the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year.

"Every day, the heroism and tenacity of the Ukrainian people remind us what Europe is and what the deepest aspect of our common identity is: freedom."

Meloni also delivered a passionate defense of European values. "We need to regain awareness, which is mainly awareness of who we are, what the European civilization is, of great achievements it has accomplished across the history of humankind"

"A civilization that respects the identities of the others without denying its own, and that builds peace where instead others see destruction," she added.

She concluded by urging that Europe reflect on its roots: "We are this before everything. And I think we have, first of all, to remember it every day if we want to build a Europe up to the role we see from history.”