Italy, Slovenia and Croatia have signed a joint commitment to fight human trafficking to prevent migrant deaths at sea and stem the flow of irregular arrivals at a trilateral meeting held this year in Ancona.

Priorities agreed at the summit

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani hailed the "positive results" of the meeting, urging -- along with his counterparts from Zagreb and Ljubljana, respectively Gordan Grlić Radman and Tanja Fajon -- EU partners to move forward because the solution to the migration crisis in its entirety "can only be European", he noted.

This would imply shared protection of Europe's external borders and support to Africa, dealing with the root causes driving people to abandon their homeland.

Speaking about the upper Adriatic area, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon meanwhile expressed concern for the rising number of irregular migrants along the Balkan route.

On this front, the priorities identified at the gathering in Ancona included "the enhancement of joint patrols' activities and their modalities; the improvement of readmission procedures; the reinforcement of information exchange, including for investigation purposes; the coordination of national positions in the competent institutional bodies of the European Union," as declared in a joint statement signed by the three ministers at the end of the meeting.

Another issue highlighted by participants was "cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime, with particular attention to migrant trafficking networks and human trafficking."

Importance of western Balkan's European integration

Tajani noted that Italy is also counting on the progressive European integration of the western Balkans to win this challenge. "We want to be protagonists in promoting an action of stability without which everything becomes difficult", stressed Tajani, with a clear reference to tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

Supporting the region's development "is a European theme", noted Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman.

Containing migration flows is only part of wide-ranging cooperation initiatives between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia as the countries want to work together to fully take advantage of the area's potential for growth and development, participants said. This includes promoting the development of ports.

Ports "must be more competitive, not only for exports, but also for imports from China or India", explained Tajani, noting that the Adriatic Sea is the fastest route to reach Europe, compared to large northern European ports like Antwerp and Rotterdam.

Another dossier on the agenda of the meeting was the sustainability of the Adriatic eco-system, as well as maritime economy and tourism with an eye on innovative solutions for the future.