(ANSA) - TRIESTE - ''According to this Regional Administration priority should be given to railway and highway accessibility, particularly with regard to strategic cross-border sections, and to the improvement of maritime services and investment for the Adriatic harbour system''. This was underlined today in Trieste by the Regional Councillor for Infrastructure and Mobility of the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, Mariagrazia Santoro, who spoke at the opening the international conference 'The role of the EU in the Western Balkans-transport connections and enlargement', organized by the Central European Initiative along with the European Commission. Highlighting the geopolitical position of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, ''which is a bridge between southern to central Europe, and between the Alpine region to south-eastern Europe'', Santoro said that the economic prosperity and social cohesion of the region should be promoted by strengthening the integration process of other countries into the EU. ''It's necessary - Santoro remarked - to strengthen cooperation between the countries of the Adriatic-Ionian region, in order to cope with the persistent infrastructure deficit. Bottlenecks should be removed - she added - and all the missing transport links should be completed, while enhancing intermodal hubs and traffic management systems, even for maritime traffic''. (ANSA).