ZAGREB, January 26, 2018 (Hina) – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that it would be good for Croatia to be in “an inner circle of the European project” and that therefore his government was focusing its activities on achieving this goal through a strategy aimed at adopting the euro and meeting the membership criteria for the Schengen area of passport-free travel.
Plenković was attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, one of the subjects of which was Europe’s future. Asked by the press if the future was “a multi-speed Europe”, the Prime Minister said: “A multi-speed Europe exists already today.”
“It is essential that each member state chooses a path it wants to follow. I think that for Croatia, given that it was the last to join the Union, given its size and its reform ambitions, it would be good to be in an inner circle of the European project, and that’s why I want the government’s activities to focus on achieving these goals, which is why we have launched the strategy to adopt the euro and meet the Schengen criteria,” Plenković said.
In the afternoon, he and Bulgarian President Boyko Borisov, who chairs the European Council, are due to address a panel entitled “Accelerating the long-term development of the Western Balkans”, which is dedicated to the future of Southeast European countries in the European Union. Plenković will express support for the EU integration of these countries ahead of the announcement of a new enlargement strategy by the European Commission.
The future of Europe was also the subject of a panel held on Thursday, and Plenković said that it was quite optimistic. “The atmosphere was more positive than a year ago. Last year we were still in sort of shock caused by the Brexit referendum. Now we are trying to come to terms with this situation and manage it.”
Plenković said that the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron, who “emanates Euro-enthusiasm”, and the reaffirming of the position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel “mean stability for the European project and a chance for Croatia to achieve its ambitions of becoming part of the eurozone and Schengen, find its firm place on the political map of Europe and thus participate in global processes as well.”
