ZAGREB, July 3, 2018 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met with his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg in Zagreb on Tuesday, on which occasion the two governments signed memorandums on Norwegian financial aid for the development of Croatia and an agreement on classified data protection.
Croatian Minister of Regional Development and European Funds Gabrijela Žalac and Norwegian Ambassador Astrid Versto signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the Norwegian financial mechanism 2014-2021 and a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the EEA financial mechanism 2014-2021 between Croatia, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein.
The memorandums relate to Norway’s financial mechanisms as some sort of an aid fund for the development of Croatia, Plenković told a joint press conference with Solberg. “The value of these funds exceeds 100 million euro and they follow up on the support which Norway extended to us when we were not an EU member,” Plenković said, adding that this was a considerable contribution to Croatia in several areas, including education, energy efficiency and climate change.
Solberg, the first Norwegian prime minister to visit Croatia after 18 years, said that this instrument would also strengthen relations in areas such as the judicial system and civil society. She noted that economic cooperation between the two countries had increased by 30 percent after Croatia joined the EU and that it could be further strengthened, particularly in the blue and green sectors.
The prime ministers also discussed cooperation within NATO, a week before the alliance’s summit in Brussels, and the situation in Southeast Europe where Croatia “has a key role in spreading stability,” the Norwegian prime minister said.
Both prime ministers expressed their satisfaction that Croatia has become a popular travel destination among Norwegian tourists, and Solberg noted that many Croatians have found a home in Norway where they work or study and thus contribute to the Norwegian society.
Solberg praised the performance so far of the Croatian national football team at the World Cup in Russia and expressed regret that Denmark had been knocked out of the competition. Your team is impressive, but we are a little sad because the Danish coach is Norwegian. He was our only participant, she said. In this context, she presented Plenković with a ball on which messages about sustainable development, the fight against poverty, gender inequality and other current topics were written. The ball is part of a project which the Norwegian prime minister led with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to raise awareness of these issues among young people.
Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković also received the visiting Norwegian prime minister and they underscored the importance of bilateral parliamentary cooperation.
