It is in the European Union's strategic interest to keep a "priority focus" on the countries of the southern Mediterranean, Italy's deputy foreign minister Marina Sereni said on Tuesday.
"It is essential that the European Union maintains a priority focus on relations with the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean," Sereni said.
"The Southern Neighbourhood represents a strategic priority, to which to devote maximum political importance and adequate resources", said Sereni.
Sereni made the remarks during talks in Brussels with EU enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, which focused on relations between Europe and the Mediterranean countries, according to a foreign ministry statement.
During her two-day visit to Brussels, Sereni was due to hold talks with various top EU officials, the foreign ministry statement said. The officials included Maryem van den Heuvel, diplomatic adviser to European Council president Charles Michel and the deputy secretary-general of the EU External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, said the statement.
