ZAGREB, December 5, 2019 – Croatia considers NATO and the European Union main partners in projection of peace and also believes that the bonds between the USA and the European Union are inextricable and inseparable, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in London on Wednesday after a two-day summit meeting of NATO which observed its 70th anniversary.
“The cooperation between the USA and Europe as regards security is firm and inextricable,” he added.
This is the message given today by all heads of state or government and they have underscored that the development of strategical autonomy at the EU level, which implies the strengthening of the EU defence policy, can and is simultaneously complementary to the strengthening of the European pillar of NATO, the Croatian premier said.
Plenković said that Croatia had a unique experience in comparison to other NATO member states and in this context he recalled that while it was a non-member of the alliance, Croatia was a victim of the aggression launched by the regime of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević in the 1990s, and now after it became a NATO member, Croatia contributes to efforts to restore in crisis areas worldwide.
He said that this information about the transformation from a victim of the aggression into a country which is going to chair the EU in the first half of 2020, makes it clearer to other counterparts in NATO how the alliance is important for the security.
During his participation in the summit, Plenković met with the summit’s host Boris Johnson for the talks on the role of Croatia, as the next EU chair, for preparations of a negotiating framework for the future relations between the EU and Great Britain in the event that the next British parliament ratifies the Brexit agreement.
Plenković said that he had also talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about possible scenarios for the exit from the current situation after the opening of the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania was vetoed by Paris
It is in our interest that the EU-Western Balkans summit, set for May in Zagreb can be successful, the Croatian premier said.
Plenković and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed plans for the Croatian prime minister’s possible visit to Berlin in January.
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