ZAGREB, March 29, 2019 – Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and her Latvian counterpart, Raimonds Vejonis, on Thursday said in Zagreb that preserving the unity of the EU and NATO is essential for Europe’s stability and added that the coming elections for the European Parliament could significantly determine the direction of the development of the relations in Europe.
Croatia and Latvia share similar views on foreign policy priorities and strive to strengthen their bilateral relations, particularly economic, the two presidents told the media after their meeting.
“Our two countries are not connected only by friendship, similar size and history but also with the fact that we share many views on the EU and global issues,” Grabar-Kitarović said.
She underscored that Croatia exceptionally appreciates Latvia’s support primarily during Zagreb’s endeavours to establish a sovereign state and during Croatia’s accession to the EU and NATO.
She said that Croatia considers the EU’s defence initiatives and its complementarity with NATO to be important, because that remains to be a pillar of defence in Europe.
Grabar-Kitarović announced the continuation of coordination at the Three Seas Initiative level with the aim of boosting competitiveness of the economies of the countries covered by the Initiative.
She recalled that the Initiative creates opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector, for example through the North-South Europe gas corridor and the future LNG terminal on Krk Island. “The initiative responds to contemporary challenges by bringing positive changes that will contribute to the EU and the Euro-Atlantic community,” Grabar-Kitarović said.
President Vejonis, who arrived for an official day-long visit to Croatia, said that his country and Croatia are building relations with the same aim of strengthening Europe’s unity, security and prosperity, which includes support for the European prospects of the Western Balkans and closer relations with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
Our two countries are experts for (our respective) regions and I see exceptional potential for the exchange of know-how regarding our regions. It is with that in fact that we can strengthen stability and progress in Europe, Vejonis said.
He added that because of the threats it is exposed to, Latvia considers NATO to be the most important military alliance in the world and thanked Croatia for its participation in the NATO mission in the Baltic region.
Asked what he expects of the European Parliamentary (EP) election in May, President Vejonis said that it is difficult to foresee the results.
The most important thing is to underline that they (results) will be fragmented because the fragmentation of parliaments is visible through various processes in European countries and the EP too will be fragmented, he said.
He added that all EU member states should work more on security issues prior to the election. We see that some countries are trying to influence the election and we need to be prepared for that. Regardless of the differences between member states, we have to be united and participate in the election, that is exceptionally vital, the Latvian head of state added.
Grabar-Kitarović said that she firmly believes in the European project and wants Croatian citizens to participate in the election. She added that growing populism in Europe is the result of “political elite distancing” itself from the real needs of the people, hence the main task is to return citizens’ trust in institutions.
More news about relations between Croatia and Latvia can be found in the Politics section.
