„Rozszerzone Morze Śródziemne” jako strategiczny kierunek włoskiej polityki zagranicznej i bezpieczeństwa
„The Enlarged Mediterranean” as a strategic direction of Italian foreign and security policy

Summary/Abstract: „The Enlarged Mediterranean” is a strategic and geopolitical concept expressingthe extent of Italian national, economic and security interests in the near anddistant Mediterranean. This area, encompassing the entire Mediterranean basinand the areas directly and indirectly adjacent to it (North Africa, Sub-SaharanAfrica, the Near and Middle East, the Black Sea), has become a priority focus ofItalian foreign and security policy for several years. Indeed, the country’s mostvital political and economic interests are concentrated in this area: the securityof maritime trade routes, an area for the exploitation and supply of energy re-sources and a region of action to counter illegal immigration and terrorism. Thestrategic importance of this region for Italian foreign, security and defense policyincreased after the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the outbreak of con-flict in the Middle East. The significant increase in the region’s instability, withless interest from the EU, NATO and the US in the „southern flank”, has forcedItaly to concentrate its efforts on Africa, a particularly sensitive area within the„enlarged Mediterranean”. Indeed, from the African continent come Italy’s mostimportant security challenges: illegal immigration and energy security for theeconomy, as well as opportunities for economic expansion and the accentuationof its role as an international middle power. For this reason, Italy has becomeone of the main initiators and promoters of a new approach to cooperation withAfrica (through the Mattei Plan for Africa”) and guarantors of security in theregion. The aim of this article is to systematically analyze Italy’s foreign and se-curity policy in the area of the „enlarged Mediterranean” and to illustrate, withthe example of its specific involvement in the African area, its growing interna-tional role.

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