Political relations between Serbia and Italy are very developed, said Jovan Palalic, stressing that the arrival of Giorgia Meloni to the post of Prime Minister of Italy opened up this country to the Western Balkans, especially Serbia, as the leader of this region. The good relations between the two countries are also evidenced in the holding of business forums and Italian companies interest in investing and working in Serbia, Palalic pointed out.

In the conversation, he assessed that Italy showed greater understanding and knowledge of the situation in the Balkans than the other members of the Quint, stressing how pleased he was that the new commander of the KFOR forces is Italian.

The Head of the PFG with Italy especially thanked his fellow parliamentarians for understanding Serbia's position and views on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija, as the Italian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe abstained from the vote on so-called of Kosovo’s bid to join the organisation, as well as in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He said that parliamentary diplomacy is very important, both at the bilateral level and within multilateral parliamentary organisations, for the mutual protection of the interests of the two countries.

Palalic pointed to the possibility of closer cooperation between parliamentarians in terms of European integration, so that they may exchange experiences with the Italian colleagues in the implementation of all the tasks that await the Parliament in the opening of new negotiation clusters.

The Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Stefania Craxi agreed that the two countries share a historical friendship, opining that there are contemporary challenges that we should face together and exchange experiences and best practices, such as migration and climate change.

Craxi said that Italy respects Serbia's pivotal role in the stability of the Balkans and strongly supports Serbia's European integration, stressing the need to speed up the process and assessing that Serbian citizens still see Europe as an area of freedom and social progress.

The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Serbia in the Lower House of the Italian Parliament, Dimitri Coin, agreed that the three-year period during which no new negotiating cluster was opened was unfair and pointed out that Serbia was often the victim of a false narrative. He emphasised that there is no need to escalate tensions in the delicate area of the Western Balkans, and that all of Europe needs stability in the current geopolitical circumstances.

The meeting was also attended by PFG members Olivera Denic, Doc. Dr Biljana Djordjevic, Dr Lidija Sarac, Jozsef Tobias, Branimir Jovanovic, Darko Jovanovic, Dr Ana Jakovljevic and Verica Milanovic, as well as the Italian Ambassador to Serbia Luca Gori.

The officials exchanged opinions on the possibilities for further concrete cooperation.