President Sergio Mattarella
said Wednesday there was too much criticism of the EU and its
rules.
He said the Union was "not just oppressive bureaucracy and
has led to great conquests".
He said the EU project had to be "cultivated on a daily
basis".
Mattarella said it was "wishful thinking to build walls in
Europe".
He said that, by doing so, certain EU members were "calling
into question the founding values of the Union".
Borders can be "transformed into bridges," Mattarella said.
He also stressed the importance of "spreading EU values
among young people".
Speaking at a monument to WWI dead in northeastern Italy,
Mattarella went on to say that Slovenia and Italy were "models
of cooperation".
Mattarella attended a ceremony marking the 100th
anniversary of Italian troops taking Gorizia in the First World
War.
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