The European Union (EU) needs more cohesion in order to boost growth, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Tuesday during a meeting  with his Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg.

Terzi said he and Schwarzenberg, who also serves as deputy prime minister, agreed on the need to promote greater cohesion among the EU member states in order to enhance long-term sustainable growth, according to a statement published on the website of Italian foreign ministry.

"This is one of the key challenges that Europe has to face, in order to be up to its legitimate international ambitions and respond to the expectations of global players," Terzi said.

"This is the contest of the vivid U.S. expectation that Europe makes a strong commitment to the liberalization of the transatlantic market, which was expressed during Prime Minister (Mario) Monti's important visit last week in the United States," he added.

The Italian foreign minister also pointed out that Italy considers the Czech Republic an important partner within the EU, adding bilateral relations are experiencing an especially dynamic period, with bilateral trade totaling 7.5 billion euros (about 9.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 11 months of 2011.

He said the two countries will further promote collaboration at all levels, especially in research and technology, which are sectors of strategic importance for the creation of new skilled jobs.