Jankovic: Serbia can count on the support of Meloni and Salvini, but Kosovo is not their priority

The head of the Center for Neighboring Countries and the Mediterranean at the Institute for International Politics and Economics, Slobodan Jankovic, states that Serbia can count on the support of the Italian Government led by Giorgia Meloni. However, he adds that the question of Kosovo's status is not among the priorities of the current Government in Rome.

Commenting on Meloni's recent visit to Belgrade and the possibility of Italy, which has recently increased diplomatic engagement in the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, contributing to unlocking the dialogue, Jankovic says that Rome is not taking significant steps in that regard. Instead, it is more following Washington primarily and then Brussels.

"The issue of the status of Kosovo and Metohija is not a priority for Giorgia Meloni and her Government at the moment. We could see this from her visits to the Balkans, Croatia, and Albania. She emphasized bilateral relations with these countries, the migrant issue, which is crucial for Italy and was highlighted in discussions with the President of Serbia. And, of course, Italy's investments and economic trade were also focal points", Jankovic notes for Kosovo Online.

He points out that during her visit to Belgrade, Meloni conveyed messages that are in line with Italy's long-term desire to remain an important partner for Balkan countries and to become even more significant in the long run. Regarding Serbia, he adds that there is room for further growth in foreign trade, and besides that, Italy is interested in strengthening quadrilateral cooperation within the Central European Initiative, where Serbia, Hungary, and Austria are also involved. These are the plans of Meloni’s Government, Jankovic explains, mainly focusing on strengthening bilateral relations with certain countries considered close or potentially close partners.

When asked if Serbia could expect stronger support from Italy in European institutions, Jankovic responded affirmatively.

"When it comes to Meloni personally, yes, and even more so from Matteo Salvini, whose party, the League, is a part of the Italian Government. Whether this will bring significant improvement for Serbia in terms of relations with the EU in the long run, I don't know. Perhaps some small improvements. All Italian governments so far have supported Serbia's integration into the EU, but there has been no progress in those integrations. At least to me personally, that has been clear for a long time, as an Italian student, as someone who dealt with these issues at their diplomatic academy over 20 years ago", Jankovic says.