ZAGREB, September 4, 2019 – Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in Zagreb on Wednesday that presiding over the European Union was a demanding and responsible job which Croatia will be able to do well.
Croatia assumes the six-month rotating presidency over the Union on 1 January 2020.
Blok said he was glad that he had come to Zagreb in this important period ahead of Croatia’s first presidency of the EU. The Netherlands presided over the EU in the first half of 2016.
We are aware of how demanding and responsible this is and we wish our Croatian colleagues a productive chairmanship and we are looking forward to our cooperation, Blok said after his talks with Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman.
The Croatian minister told a news conference that the Dutch minister was interested in what Croatia would put an emphasis on in the first half of 2020.
According to Grlić Radman, Blok appreciates Croatia’s plans to work on strengthening economic and infrastructure connectivity among EU member states and on reinforcing the EU’s external and internal security.
The two ministers agree that the bilateral relations are very good and friendly, being developed through dialogue.
The Netherlands is a significant trading partner. It is the second biggest foreign investor in Croatia. There are always possibilities for us to additionally strengthen economic cooperation, investments, particularly investments in the maritime sector, urban planning and sustainable development as well as innovations and transport, the Croatian minister said.
He added that the government systematically worked on boosting the country’s business climate and that the Dutch business community was invited to invest in Croatia.
Every year a half million Dutch citizens visit Croatia.
Grlić Radman asked his Dutch counterpart for support for Croatia’s efforts to join the passport-free Schengen area.
Blok believes that Croatia has accomplished its tasks regarding its Schengen membership bid.
However, we are in the middle of the process in which the European Commission is expected to make public its assessment, and let us wait, said the Dutch official, who will be received by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković later in the day.
More news about relations between Croatia and the Netherlands can be found in the Politics section.
