by Cristiana Missori

(ANSA) - ROME - A relentless fight against terrorism, Islamic radicalism and foreign fighters. This was the leitmotif of the meeting held in Rome between Skender Hyseni, Kosovo's Interior Minister, and his counterpart Angelino Alfano. '' Kosovo is committed to stemming the flow of foreign fighters and extremism', Hyseni said. ''No one can sleep soundly at night'.

The small balcanic country, which has long been objective of proselytizing by radical Islam, sees some of his citizens among Isis leaders.

''Our fight is relentless '', the minister underlined. ''In just a year we arrested about 300 men, some of them recruiters and some of them preachers'', who were praising jihad, ''while 70 people are currently in prison on terrorism-related charges''. Kosovo's authorities are now focusing on dozens of Arab NGOs that finance the construction of mosques throughout the country and support the dissemination of Wahhabi Islam in the Balkans.

''We know how many they are and where they operate and in many cases we have already withdrawn the authorisation to work and reside in the country''. Another important issue is keeping an eye on mosques and on the training of imams. This issue has long since been discussed in several European countries, focusing on the training of those who lead the prayer, their enrollment in a register and the language they use while preaching. But putting in place these measures takes a long time, Hyseni said. ''We can not wait 5-6 years until a new generation of imams is born. And we can not force a preacher to use any language, since this would be a serious violation of a fundamental right''. The Kosovo Police are on alert and are constantly monitoring what happens in religious schools and religious institutions in the country. Kosovo is now facing another serious problem: the repatriation of hundreds of Kosovo Albanian emigrants who illegally entered EU countries, most of whom could not obtain asylum. ''The real problem is the visa liberalization'', according to Hyseni. ''Kosovo - he reiterated - is the only country in Europe to be cut off''. Seven years after independence, Kosovo is now facing a difficult economic situation. ''This country is able to stand up'', the interior minister said. ''Our unemployment rate tells us that over 30 percent of the population is unemployed, but more than 50 percent of those who try to emigrate illegally to neighbouring countries are looking for a better salary''. This government, he added ''is not able to increase wages. We don't have a single euro of public debt, but this tight budgetary constraint does not allow us to increase the charges ''. What Kosovo desperately needs is ''foreign investment to exploit our natural resources. There is no difference between us and Albania or Serbia''. A rebuke to Italian entrepreneurs, who are still too few, according to Kosovo authorities. (ANSA).