The Croatian President on the future of Europe.
Croatia and Romania advocate for the united European Union and are against the so-called multi-speed Europe. That was jointly stated in Bucharest yesterday by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović and her Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. “We are strongly against the multi-speed Europe, Europe that would have a core and a periphery, against any Europe that would not give everyone equal opportunities for development. That is why we have started the Three Seas Initiative, which is primarily focused on the cohesion of the European space,” said President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, who is on a three-day official visit to Romania, reports Večernji List on October 3, 2017.
In Europe, there are growing differences between the so-called old and new Europe and between the European East and West. These differences should be erased by building up the foundations for economic development and greater competitiveness of our economies, through the construction of transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, as well as digitalisation and broadband internet access, said Grabar-Kitarović.
Iohannis emphasised that the Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Initiative was key to “developing infrastructure in our region.” “When I say region, I include all the countries that have recently become members of the European Union and still need an important impetus for development,” Iohannis said, adding that both countries wanted to become members of the Schengen Area and that both wanted to use European structural funds.
Romanian media reported that President Grabar-Kitarović supported the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area and the abolishment of the EU supervision due to the lack of the rule of law. Immediately after the entry into the EU, Romania and Bulgaria were put under the monitoring of the so-called Verification and Cooperation Mechanism, given that it was judged that in the field of justice, especially in the fight against corruption and organised crime, the countries did not meet the required standards.
President Grabar-Kitarović and President Iohannis will today address Croatian and Romanian businesspeople who will participate in the economic forum. The Croatian business delegation is led by the president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) Luka Burilović and includes representatives of AD Plastik, Crosco, HS Produkt, Kamgrad, Stražaplastika, Port of Vukovar and IGH. The forum aims to strengthen the cooperation between Croatian and Romanian companies, find investment opportunities, increase commodity exchange between the two states, and present Croatia as an attractive tourist destination.
“The opportunities for collaboration are tremendous, from IT technology, through renewable energy, to infrastructure investments. Croatian companies are great in building transport infrastructure, but also in the area of railways, locomotives and rail wagons, low-floor trams,” said the Croatian President yesterday.
During her visit to Romania, she will also meet with Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, give a lecture at the University of Bucharest, and visit Croats who have been living in Romania for centuries.
Translated from Večernji List.
