Italy-Slovenia-Croatia, pact against traffickers

(ANSA) - ANCONA, 10 LUG - Common commitment in the fight against human traffickers, to avert new tragedies of the sea and stem irregular flows: Italy, Slovenia and Croatia renew and strengthen the pact on migrants, giving substance to the trilateral meeting on Adriatico which this year was hosted in Ancona. A "very positive result", underlined Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who with his colleagues from Zagreb and Ljubljana renews his appeal to the other EU partners to take another leap forward: "A solution that can only be European" for resolve the migration crisis as a whole.

Translated, shared protection of external borders and support for Africa, addressing the root causes that drive people to abandon their land. In the upper Adriatic quadrant, the gaze is directed above all to the Balkan route, with increasing numbers that are worrying, admitted the Slovenian minister Tanja Fajon.

On this front, the trilateral of Ancona has identified the priorities: "Enhancement of joint patrolling activities, improvement of readmission procedures, strengthening of the exchange of information, coordination of national positions in the competent institutional bodies of the EU", as stated in the declaration signed at the end of the meeting. Which also highlights the "cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime, with particular attention to the networks of trafficking in migrants and trafficking in human beings". To win this challenge, Italy is also counting on the progressive European integration of the Western Balkans. "We want to be protagonists in carrying out an action of stability without which everything becomes more difficult", remarked Tajani, with an evident reference to the tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

Supporting the development of the region "is a European theme", echoed the Croatian Gordan Grlić Radman. The containment of migratory flows is only one part of the broad spectrum of cooperation between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, who want to work together to fully exploit the growth and development potential of the area. Starting from the enhancement of port systems. "They have to be more competitive, not only for exports, but also for imports from China or India," explained Tajani, noting that the Adriatic is the fastest route to Europe compared to the big northern ports such as Antwerp and Rotterdam. Another dossier is that of the protection and sustainability of the Adriatic ecosystem, essential not only from the point of view of the environment but also for the economy of the sea and tourism. And there will also be space to look to the future with innovative solutions. Trieste, for example, will host the Big Science Business Forum next year, dedicated to the creation of a hydrogen valley. The meeting on the Upper Adriatic, now in its fourth edition, is by now a consolidated cooperation mechanism, but the goal is to broaden the horizon even further. In Ancona, at the end of the trilateral meeting, the format was extended to include the Austrian colleague, Alexander Schallenberg, for an exchange on international current affairs and the European agenda. New interlocutors, new ideas that can be translated into "concrete solutions" for Europe's challenges, explained the head of the Farnesina. Making an appointment in Slovenia for next year.

(ANSA).

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