ZAGREB, June 30, 2018 – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday that, from the day of its accession to the EU, Croatia had acted as if it were one of the founding countries, while Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, in a comment on the fifth anniversary of Croatia’s EU membership, said that the country had benefited from its membership.
We are celebrating the fifth anniversary of Croatia’s accession to the EU. To be honest, I cannot even remember the time when Croatia was not an EU member because from the first day of its membership it has behaved as a founding country. The EU has become more complete and I would like to congratulate Croatia, which is a great nation, on this anniversary. I would not want to miss this great nation, Juncker told Croatian reporters after the EU summit.
Asked about Croatia’s role in the EU, Juncker said that it strongly defended its interests in the European spirit. Croatia has a positive role. It is not always an easy partner. There are actually no easy partners in Europe, Juncker said, noting that Croatia acted as a founding country, defending its interests in the European spirit.
At the time when Croatia signed its accession treaty and joined the EU, Juncker was Luxembourg’s prime minister and one of the signatories to Croatia’s accession treaty.
Commenting on the fifth anniversary of Croatia’s EU membership, PM Plenković said that Croatia had benefited rather well from its five years in the EU. “Maybe we could have done better, my government has stepped up and simplified the absorption of EU funds, but funds are not the only thing that matters. Policies matter, EU law matters, the reliability of our legal and tax systems matters, it is important for investors and generally for the adoption of European values. That is the most important thing. Continued economic growth is evidently positive, because all indicators have been improving since 2013,” Plenković said.
“I believe that we are respected, that we have managed to position ourselves at all levels. This refers to the Council, the European Parliament, the proposals we are putting forward, the activities of our commissioner and many other people now working in the Commission services… More time needs to pass and then we will be able to judge our achievements in their entirety. I am confident that the European project is good for Europe, for all nations, including the Croatian, and for all our citizens.”
Croatia signed its EU accession treaty on 9 December 2011 and has been a member of the EU since 1 July 2013.
