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A press conference will be held on Thursday 11 September at 11.30am at the Open Space, Palazzo Carafa, Lecce, to present the public meeting "EU Enlargement – Opportunities and Benefits for Citizens, Businesses and Regions", scheduled for Friday 18 September at 7.00pm at the Ex Convento dei Teatini in Lecce.
Speakers at the press conference will include Senator Adriana Poli Bortone, Mayor of Lecce and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Heritage Agency, and the President of the "Tito Schipa" Conservatory of Music in Lecce, MP Luigi Puzzovio.
The presentation will outline the content, aims and programme of the initiative, promoted by the Representation of the European Commission in Italy, the Municipality of Lecce and the Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Heritage Agency, with support from the Europe Direct centres of Lecce, Taranto and BAT, as part of the "Harmonies of the Mediterranean – Journeys, Myths and Returns" programme.
The 18 September event will focus on the EU enlargement process, with particular attention to Albania and Montenegro, and on the opportunities and benefits that European integration can bring to citizens, businesses and regions.
Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, will take part, alongside representatives from European, national and local institutions, as well as from the diplomatic, economic and academic worlds. The debate will be moderated by Liliana Faccioli Pintozzi, Head of Foreign News at Sky TG24.
The initiative also aims to highlight the role of Lecce and Puglia as a natural bridge between Europe and the Mediterranean — a region that, by virtue of its geography, history and culture, has always maintained close ties with the opposite shore of the Adriatic and with the Western Balkan countries.
