Ambassador Lo Cascio: Italy Encourages Serbia to Act in the Right Direction

Carlo Lo Cascio (Beta/Milan Obradovic)

Outgoing Italian Ambassador Carlo Lo Cascio has said that Italy "has always been an unwavering advocate of Serbia and the Western Balkans joining the EU and continues to see the policy of enlargement, which needs a new impetus, as one of the pillars of relations with the countries of the region."

"Over the past several years Serbia has been conducting key reforms. The EU has gradually recognized these efforts and they have enabled important results in accession talks, the last of which were reforms of the justice system," Lo Cascio told the Blic newspaper, which recalled that June 2 was Republic Day in Italy.

However, he stressed, "There remains much to be done." "We hope that the new national parliament and new cabinet will resolutely continue the job that has already begun as soon as they are formed. The current international situation, which is characterized by the war in Ukraine, demands that Serbian institutions invest further efforts, especially with regard to alignment with the EU's joint foreign and security policy. As a friendly country we encourage them to act in the right direction," Lo Cascio said.