(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 26 - Investing in the Balkans and accelerating the process of accession to the European Union of the countries in the area so as not to leave the region at the mercy of the influence of China and Russia, which are feeding - also through incessant propaganda on social networks - nationalist and anti-European sentiments in public opinion. On these assumptions the Southeast European Observatory (SEE) was born, the result of a partnership between the Luigi Einaudi Foundation and Mib Trieste School of Managment, with the support of Open Society Foundation and Generali. The initiative was presented at the Senate; the Observatory will be based in Trieste. 'The objective,' said Einaudi Foundation secretary general and Observatory director Andrea Cangini, 'is to encourage confrontation between the so-called Balkan peoples and dialogue between the countries' ruling classes, to accelerate the accession processes of the countries in the area still excluded from the EU, and above all to spread among the youngest the cardinal principles of the liberal method and the Europeanist ideal. We are concerned that, due to Russian and Chinese influences, the Balkans will again become the powder keg of Europe'. The whole area, said Ambassador Luigi Mattiolo, Mario Draghi's diplomatic adviser at Palazzo Chigi and now president of the Observatory, 'is subject as never before to disinformation and economic conditioning: if the EU is unable to achieve the goals of its enlargement to the east, other actors will be able to impose themselves'. The 'Liberal Dialogues,' the Observatory's first project, will start in March: a series of lectures by Italian and Balkan academics and intellectuals of liberal culture in the main capitals of the countries in the area, to spread the liberal method and the Europeanist ideal, in line with what the Einaudi Foundation already promotes in Italy. The meetings will be held in Trieste on March 10, Ljubljana on March 31, Belgrade on April 14, Podgorica on May 5, and Tirana on May 19. Starting next year, the Liberal Dialogues will be held in all capitals of the Balkan countries. "The Western Balkans are an integral part of the EU's security and future, and their full integration is a geopolitical investment of collective interest. Italy will continue to be a credible, consistent and constantly present partner in this region, with strategic vision and European spirit, to contribute to a stronger, cohesive and safer Union," said Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Maria Tripodi, speaking at the Observatory conference. For Tripodi, the Italian government has relaunched its commitment to the 'area by intensifying bilateral dialogue with all countries in the area and reaffirming support for their path to EU membership. Rome promotes the strengthening of regional cooperation, including through the Central European Initiative. Special attention is also given to the economic and social dimension. "The full integration of the area," he concluded, "will be the focus of the next 'Friends of the Western Balkans' ministerial scheduled in Rome on March 3 and chaired by Minister Antonio Tajani. For Secretary of the Senate Committee on EU Policy Tatjana Rojc (Pd), it is "m+very useful to set up every tool capable of affirming the values of pluralism and rights in an area that suffers perhaps more than others from the hybrid influence of aggressive powers. I support the initiative of the Southeast Europe Observatory as one of the tools that can be employed to reach sensitive strata and target executives-in-training from the Balkan countries. For years I have been denouncing this phenomenon and the risks of a retreat of liberal democracies in the Balkans, and I call on the government for a wide-ranging effort to make our country's weight in the process of integrating the Balkans into the European Union more effective, before the opportunity to complete enlargement is lost." (ANSA).