ZAGREB, Nov 10, 2020 – Addressing an EU enlargement summit in Sofia on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic reiterated that Croatia will support Western Balkan countries on their journey towards the European Union.
The heads of six Western Balkan countries and EU representatives met in Sofia on Tuesday to discuss EU enlargement as part of the Berlin Process, which is being jointly chaired by North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
According to the European Commission, the Western Balkan countries could adopt their action plans on a common regional market at the summit.
Plenkovic expressed Croatia’s “sincere ambition” to help countries in the region to implement reforms and come closer to EU membership.
He thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for placing great importance on the issue of enlargement during Germany’s presidency of the EU, just like Croatia did during its presidency in the first half of this year.
Plenkovic said that he hopes that leaders in North Macedonia and Bulgaria will reach a compromise over a dispute relating to national identity.
Sofia had earlier announced that it could veto the start of EU negotiations with North Macedonia if Skopje did not admit that its identity and language are of Bulgarian origin and if it did not stop claiming that a “Macedonian” minority exists in Bulgaria.
That has presented a new obstacle for Skopje after it conceded to adding “North” to the country’s name ending a decades-long dispute with Greece which unblocked its pathway to the EU and NATO. North Macedonia joined NATO earlier this year.
