(ANSA) - UDINE, 11 MAG - "In the Balkans, from Kosovo to Bosnia, the EU has already lost ground to faster and culturally more penetrating external actors like Turkey," stated Giuseppe Colasanto, Deputy Commissioner of the State Police, who participated in numerous missions in the world's most sensitive regions, yesterday in Udine. Interviewed at the Einaudi Bookstore in Udine during a public event as part of the vicino/lontano festival, Colasanto delved into the themes of his book Oltrefrontiera (Gaspari Editore, 2024) and shared his direct experiences in crisis regions. "Only by living in those places do you understand the reasons of the other," highlighted the author, emphasizing the need "not to impose one's categories on others, because otherwise, one makes colossal misjudgments." In Bosnia, he reported, one encounters situations bordering on the paradox. "You see someone stopped at a traffic light, and you know that they have killed 500 people. Everyone knows it, but nobody knows when the trial will start," he explained, pointing out that in a context "where justice seems slow and ineffective, distrust is fostered, leaving room for new external influences." Colasanto underlined that Turkish influence has become an integral part of daily life in Sarajevo. "Today, it feels more like being in Izmir than Europe," he said. Cultural references are shifting. Young people are looking less and less toward Brussels and more toward Ankara and the Gulf capitals, where they find opportunities and a sense of belonging that Europe struggles to offer." With his upcoming focus Middle East Express, Colasanto will explore the dynamics of a region "that is increasingly precarious, where every event," he concluded, "can unpredictably upset the balance." (ANSA).