Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi defended Ukraine’s accession to the bloc in his speech to the European Union Parliament in Strasbourg today.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said that the integration of countries that “express European aspirations” is not a threat to the EU project.

“Italy supports the opening of negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia as soon as possible. We want to give new impetus to the negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro and ensure that maximum attention is paid to the legitimate aspirations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. All these countries and we consider Ukraine to the EU.” We want it too,” he said.

Kyiv has formalized its application to join the European Union, as do two other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Moldova, which are home to pro-Moscow separatist zones.

The Italian prime minister also advocated the establishment of a European ceiling on natural gas prices imported from Russia, which would allow “to reduce the sums we send daily to Putin and inevitably finance his military campaign”.

“Since the beginning of the crisis, Italy has asked Europe for a ceiling on the prices of gas imported from Russia. Moscow sells almost two-thirds of its exports to the EU, mostly through pipelines that cannot be diverted to other buyers.” said..

In addition, Draghi said that the EU should take action to become independent from Russia in energy. “The war in Ukraine showed the deep vulnerability of our countries to Moscow.

Italy is one of the most exposed Member States. “This kind of energy dependency is economically unwise and geopolitically dangerous,” he said.

renovation

In his speech, the Prime Minister also took the opportunity to demand reforms in the institutions of the European Union and the acceleration of the integration process in the bloc.

“The European institutions built by our predecessors have served European citizens well, but they are insufficient for the reality that stands before us today.”

According to Draghi, Europe needs to show that it is “stronger, more cohesive and sovereign, capable of taking its future into its own hands”. “The sum total of the crises gives a definite impetus to the integration process,” he said.

According to the prime minister, Italy wants to be “at the forefront of the design of the new Europe”, which includes a proposal to abolish the unanimity principle that governs relations between the 27 member states. to obstruct.

A Europe that can make decisions in a timely manner is a more reliable Europe for its citizens and for the world.”