ZAGREB, July 31, 2020 - The Croatian parliament on Friday adopted the report on the activities and results of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the prime minister's report on the July 17-21 emergency EU summit.
Both reports were backed by the ruling majority parties, which command 76 seats in the 151-member legislature.
Presenting the report on the EU summit, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic highlighted the fact that Croatia had won a considerable package of financial aid both under the Multiannual Financial Framework and under the new economic recovery instrument called Next Generation EU, adding that this would have "far-reaching consequences for our economic development, social cohesion as well as for the progress of Croatia and the European Union."
"We are talking about €1.824 trillion, of which Croatia will have access to over €22 billion, or HRK 165 billion, over the next four and seven years respectively," Plenkovic said, noting that this was double the amount made available to Croatia in the 2014-2020 period.
Plenkovic said that this was one of the largest amounts per capita "which will ensure that for each euro invested we get more than 4.5 euros from the EU budget."
Presenting the report on the Croatian presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of the year, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said that this was the crown of Croatia's European journey and a historic moment.
The first Croatian presidency took place at a time of two unpredictable crises - migrant pressure and the COVID-19 pandemic in which "Croatia has successfully adapted," the minister said.
He also mentioned a strong earthquake that struck Zagreb on March 22. "It was the first time that the capital of a presiding country had been hit by an earthquake," Grlic Radman noted.
