ZAGREB, January 20, 2020 - Opening a meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) in Zagreb on Monday, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said that Croatia's presidency of the EU is confirmation of its "strict dedication" to promoting European values.
"The chairmanship is confirmation of our strict dedication to participate with other member states in promoting the European project and common values," Jandroković said and added that Croatia is "firmly committed" to European values and principles.
"We will advocate a Europe based on common values, equality, respect for mutual interests and differences," Jandroković said.
The key topics during Croatia's chairmanship will be Great Britain's withdrawal from the EU, adopting the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027, and the continuation of the enlargement policy, he added.
Jandroković said that the EU needed to establish as close ties with Great Britain as possible and that an agreement should found with regard to the MFF that "will be sustainable, balanced and in a spirit of partnership."
The Parliament Speaker reiterated that Croatia "strongly supports" EU enlargement and that that is in Europe's "political, security and economic" interests.
"Abandoning European credibility in this region will result in the growing influence of other factors," Jandroković believes. The EU accession criteria need to be "consistent and require an individual approach," he added.
The chairman of the Croatian Parliament's European Affairs Committee, Domagoj Ivan Milošević, expressed hope that the MFF would be adopted during Croatia's presidency.
Today's meeting was convened in preparation for a plenary session of COSAC that will be held in Zagreb on May 24-26.
Milošević said that the COSAC plenary session would discuss the implementation of presidency priorities, transformation of the labour market, labour mobility, the distributive effect of cohesion funds on member states, a European integrated maritime approach, and rights and obligations in the digital sphere.
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