Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta warned that the recent trend of rising nationalism in Europe, which is also occurring in Asia, can lead to negative outcomes that will cause problems for years down the road.

“I think nationalism is the worse feeling that we are experiencing today,” Letta told Malaysiakini on the sidelines of his presentation on the nascent Italy-Asean Association at Universiti Kuala Lumpur’s city campus on Friday.

He said this when asked to comment on his presentation speech, where he said nationalism was a hurdle to regional integration, in the context of the rising nationalism in Europe as well as a similar situation taking place in South-East Asia.