ZAGREB, September 29, 2019 – Croatia has presented its priorities for the forthcoming presidency of the European Union in talks with many EU officials over the last three days and all were well accepted, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday.
“All the priorities were well accepted by all our interlocutors. The visit to the EU institutions was well timed,” Plenković told reporters at the end of his three-day visit to Brussels, following a meeting with outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk.
The prime minister met with outgoing Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and future Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Commissioner for the Euro Valdis Dombrovskis, present and future Commissioner for the Budget Guenther Oettinger and Johannes Hahn, chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, current and future European Council President Donald Tusk and Charles Michel. He also addressed a forum on EU-Asia connectivity.
One of the topics discussed was Croatia’s preparations to assume the six-month rotating EU presidency on January 1 next year. Croatia singled out four priority areas for its presidency: economic growth, the single market, cohesion and climate change; connectivity; internal and external security; and strengthening the Union’s global role.
The meeting with Tusk also focused on preparations for a European Council meeting in Brussels on October 17-18, which will open discussion on the multiannual financial framework for the next seven years, and will also deal with Brexit. The Brexit situation is very uncertain because it is not yet clear whether the United Kingdom will leave the EU on October 31 as planned or if its departure will again be delayed, until the end of January next year.
Also discussed was the possibility of opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia. Ministers for European affairs are expected at their meeting in Luxembourg on October 15 to give the green light for the start of negotiations with the two countries. The German parliament gave the go-ahead a few days ago.
“Croatia’s position is that both Albania and North Macedonia have met the criteria and that a decision should be adopted to that effect. Consultations are under way and we will see if all member states feel the same,” the Croatian PM said.
As for Brexit, Plenković said the most important thing was for EU27 to remain united, adding that everyone was awaiting a concrete proposal from the British government. He said that Croatia was advocating an orderly departure of the UK, but was also ready for the opposite scenario.
More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.
