Italian Ambassador to Serbia Luca Gori said his country “remains one of the European Union (EU) members that deeply believes in the importance of accelerating the process of enlargement to the Western Balkans.”

If it is true that the Balkans and Serbia need the EU, then the same applies the other way round, their strategic interests coincide, Ambassador Gori told the daily Blic, adding: “There are no insurmountable obstacles on Serbia’s path to Brussels,”

He said the biggest risk he sees “is fatalism, reconciliation with the status quo.”

“Italy understands the Serbs’ frustration with the length of the process. Still, achieving a European perspective remains a realistic goal for Belgrade. The EU and its member states are the region’s main economic partners. Europe is Serbia’s historic and cultural destiny,” said Ambassador Gori.