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Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that the EU should emerge stronger from the historic challenges posed by the war in Ukraine and not see enlargement as a threat.
He expressed Italy’s support for the immediate opening of membership negotiations with Albania and northern Macedonia, and for enhanced negotiations with Kosovo and Bosnia.
Draghi: This is not a threat to the European project, but part of its implementation. Italy supports the immediate opening of accession negotiations with Albania and the Republic of Northern Macedonia. We also want to boost negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro and we want to support the expectations of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The conflict in Ukraine, he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, is “a security, humanitarian, energy and economic crisis all in one” that has revealed that the existing EU institutions were “inadequate” in their response.
Draghi, a former president of the European Central Bank known for rescuing the euro from collapse a decade ago, said EU eastward enlargement was key, including Ukraine’s membership.
“We need to fully integrate countries that have European aspirations,” he said.
Days after Russia invaded in February, Ukraine insisted on quick entry into the EU. Brussels responded by saying the process was rigorous, complex and took years, but offered Kiev an accelerated pre-assessment phase.
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