'Both Europe and Russia Interested in the Reset of EU in Near Future'

ROME (Sputnik) — Russia is as interested in the reset of the European Union, as the members of the bloc are, Sandro Gozi, the Italian secretary of state of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers responsible for European policies, said Thursday.

"Both Europe and Russia are interested in the reset of the European Union in the near future. I think that Moscow, in the EU framework, should pay attention to the pro-European forces and those who want to strengthen the European Union and create a Europe that we are lacking, rather than anti-European radicals," Gozi told Sputnik at a conference dedicated to the forthcoming anniversary of the creation of the European Union.

Gozi stressed that Europe needed a new political vision for countering multiple challenges. According to the Italian official, the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties should represent the opportunity to demonstrate to the public, especially to young people, that "Europe cannot be discarded."

The 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, which laid the foundations for the European Union, is celebrated in March. At the EU Summit in Rome on March 25, timed to the anniversary, the leaders of the bloc’s member states are expected to discuss the future of the European Union amid the disintegration sentiments following the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the bloc.