The chairman of the Italian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Lamberto Dini has worned Greece that it will be isolated if decides to block Macedonia’s NATO membership in the upcoming 2008 NATO summit.
When asked about Italy’s position regarding Greece’s announcements to veto Macedonia’s accession to NATO unless the name dispute isn’t solved until the Bucharest Summit the chairman of Italian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Lamberto Dini stated:
“Greece will be isolated if it vetoes Macedonia’s accession to NATO. For us Italians this country is called the Republic of Macedonia”
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Italy’s Foreign Affairs Committee’s members together with chairman Dini held a meeting with members of Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee.
At the meetings Macedonian and Italian MPs debated on several topics, including the continuous Italian support of Macedonia’s efforts towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
Dini, who is a former premier and foreign minister, considers that all parliamentary political parties must be united for prompt integration of Macedonia to EU-NATO. According to him, the parties can have different positions on certain issues, but they must be united for the issues of national interest.
Dini said the alternative for Euro-Atlantic integration is isolation for which “there’s no place in the era of globalisation, especially for smaller countries”.
– Italy believes that the future of our and your children, economic progress, well-being and prosperity will become a guarantee unless Macedonia joins the EU, he said.
Chairwoman of Macedonian Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee, Flora Kadriu said the interlocutors discussed the further development of bilateral relations and their intensification at parliamentary level. The meeting also focused on exchanging viewpoints and positions regarding the developments on the Balkans.
The Italian parliamentary delegation, led by Dini, was scheduled to meet Friday afternoon with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.