Italy joins anti-Isis coalition meet in London
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will on Thursday attend an anti-Isis coalition meeting in London, where around 20 countries will come together to decide how to best combat the terrorist group.
The day-long meeting will be hosted by Philip Hammond, UK foreign secretary, and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
It will build on a consultation group already created to discuss how Italy and other countries should respond to threats from Isis, which is principally active in Syria and Iraq.
“We’ll be reviewing the situation with our main allies,” said Gentiloni ahead of the meeting, adding that Italy’s support of a military offensive against Isis was “appropriate”.
Following attacks in Paris earlier this month by Isis sympathizers, European governments stepped up efforts to strengthen cooperation on intelligence matters.
Gentiloni described a broader European intelligence agency as “a dream that we need to cultivate”.
“I realize that we’re still taking the first steps on a road that is leading us to have common foreign, defence and security policies,” he said. Gentiloni’s predecessor Federica Mogherini, now EU foreign policy chief, was said to be “taking all possible steps in that direction”.
Creating Europe-wide policies on intelligence and foreign affairs would however take time, Gentiloni cautioned.
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The day-long meeting will be hosted by Philip Hammond, UK foreign secretary, and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
It will build on a consultation group already created to discuss how Italy and other countries should respond to threats from Isis, which is principally active in Syria and Iraq.
“We’ll be reviewing the situation with our main allies,” said Gentiloni ahead of the meeting, adding that Italy’s support of a military offensive against Isis was “appropriate”.
Following attacks in Paris earlier this month by Isis sympathizers, European governments stepped up efforts to strengthen cooperation on intelligence matters.
Gentiloni described a broader European intelligence agency as “a dream that we need to cultivate”.
“I realize that we’re still taking the first steps on a road that is leading us to have common foreign, defence and security policies,” he said. Gentiloni’s predecessor Federica Mogherini, now EU foreign policy chief, was said to be “taking all possible steps in that direction”.
Creating Europe-wide policies on intelligence and foreign affairs would however take time, Gentiloni cautioned.
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