Renzi: Treat Serbia and other EU neighbors more carefully

STRASBOURG - Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi warned on Tuesday MEPs that the European Union (EU) would have to treat Serbia and other surrounding states more carefully.

Europe should have in mind that it is a superpower based on certain values. Therefore, it should take a different, more careful approach to the Mediterranean region, enlargement process, primarily in relation to Albania, Serbia and Montenegro, Renzi said at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

We cannot do without these countries and we must not let our enlargement policy be governed by fear, the Italian prime minister said.

He reminded the present about Pope Francis' speech in the EP a year ago, when the Roman Catholic pontiff spoke about the soul of Europe and the EU as a space of freedom.

Others are promoting fear and populism, want to turn the EU into a fortress, Renzi said, underscoring that he is strongly against that concept.

The EU should not be encircled by trenches and walls, it should be open and resemble a church or a museum, he said.

He highlighted that Europe is not a military superpower, but rather a superpower of values that it must not abandon over demagogy and fear for its own security.

MEPs, who on Tuesday considered the results of Italy's six-month presidency, gave Renzi a thunderous applause.

AP Photo/Christian Lutz