ZAGREB, March 26, 2020 - EU member states have formally given their consent in writing for opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Goran Grlić Radman said on Wednesday, who considers that this is Croatia's success amid coronavirus and earthquakes.

"Croatia managed to do this in very difficult conditions, fighting with coronavirus and earthquakes in Zagreb," said Grlić Radman.

The European Commission is starting to work on the negotiation framework, which is expected by June, he said.

This morning, EU member states adopted the decision to open negotiations with Skopje and Tirana.

Blocking the two countries in October last year was "an unexpected decision", Grlić Radman said, pointing out the fact that Croatia had started working on the issue during preparations for its first presidency of the Council of the EU.

"Croatia has made all foreign-policy efforts to convince all member states that it was necessary to open negotiations with these two countries, because the European prospects of West Balkan countries, stability, and security, were in the interest of the EU. This is a great political success for Croatia," Grlić Radman stated.

The exact date when the negotiations would start is not known as yet, however, the minister thinks that the date is not important now, but that the important thing is to send a message to other West Balkan countries that it was worthwhile to work on their European prospects, meeting criteria, and accepting European values.

The EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb, the central event of the Croatian Presidency of the EU, will take place in May, and for now it will not be postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus.

"The date still stands. We hope that we will have overcome this crisis by then. We are ready for May, and we are not thinking about cancelling it," stated the minister.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 25, 2020 - Croatia has welcomed the agreement on the launch of EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, underscoring that one of the priorities of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU has thus been fulfilled.

EU ministers of European affairs, who make up the General Affairs Council, on Tuesday reached a political agreement on opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, and the formal decision is to be made in writing after the political consensus was reached at a video-conference.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković wrote on Twitter that Croatia fully supported the two aspirants at the start of a new stage of their journey towards EU membership.

The decision reached by the member-states' ministers to give a political green-light for the launch of accession negotiations was described by Plenković as the fulfilment of one of the priorities of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The European Council is expected to support the conclusions on the start of the membership talks with Skopje and Tirana at a video-conference scheduled for Thursday.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 23, 2020 - Several European Union member states have responded to Croatia's appeal for emergency relief aid after the Zagreb area was struck by a strong earthquake on Sunday, and the Copernicus emergency management service is helping map the affected areas, the European Commission said on Monday.

Croatia has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and the Commission has already helped by sending tents, beds, mattresses, heaters and sleeping bags from Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and Italy, Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told a video press conference.

In addition, the EU's Copernicus satellite programme, which provides information based on satellite observation of Earth, is helping map the affected area, he added.

The European Union is here to help Croatia in these difficult times. European aid is already on the way and I thank Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and Italy for their offer through the Civil Protection Mechanism. Our thoughts are with the people affected and with the national services on the ground. We are ready to provide further assistance, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said.

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ZAGREB, March 22, 2020 - The European Commission said on Sunday that it was following the developments in Croatia after Zagreb was hit by a few strong quakes and was ready to provide assistance to the country.

The Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčić said today that the Emergency Response Coordination Centre was in contact with Croatia's authorities.

The three strong quakes rocked Zagreb and the wider area in the morning. The first tremor with 5.3 magnitude was the strongest. There were two subsequent tremors with magnitudes 5.0 and 3.7. According to first reports, a child in Zagreb was severely injured, and some residents remained trapped in their homes.

European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday extended a message of support to Croatia, saying the EU is willing to help after strong quakes hit Zagreb this morning.

"My thoughts are with the people of Croatia following the devastating earthquake this morning. I just assured (Croatian PM) Andrej Plenković that the EU stands with our friends and is ready to offer help and assistance," Michel said on Twitter.

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ZAGREB, March 18, 2020 - Croatia's EU presidency has proposed that a decision be made next week to launch accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, and that the first intergovernmental accession conference be called immediately after a negotiating framework is adopted.

Draft conclusions that were made available to Hina and that the General Affairs Council is expected to adopt at its next meeting on March 24 propose that a decision be made to launch membership talks with both countries.

Talks on the draft conclusions will first be held at the level of member-countries' ambassadors before the document is discussed by European affairs ministers.

The text of the conclusions must be unanimously supported by all member-countries, which is why changes to the proposed draft are possible before its adoption.

This decision, if adopted by the Council of Ministers, should also be supported by the European Council, that is, heads of state or government, at a summit meeting on March 26-27.

Under the draft conclusions, the Council is to invite the European Commission to present a draft negotiating framework for both countries as soon as possible and by June at the latest.

The negotiating framework is a key document that defines how and based on which principles accession talks will be conducted.

The negotiating framework needs to be adopted unanimously by all member-countries and it is a precondition for calling the first intergovernmental accession conference, at which talks are formally launched.

Work on harmonising the text of the negotiating framework can take time.

According to the draft conclusions, the first intergovernmental conference should be called as soon as possible after the negotiating framework is adopted.

Officials at Croatia's Permanent Representation to the EU would not comment on the draft document, saying only that despite the current crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they work intensively on other portfolios as well, such as enlargement, which is one of the priorities of Croatia's EU presidency.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 13, 2020 - The European Union must show its citizens that it has answers to their concerns, Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said ahead of a regular meeting of EU ministers of the interior in Brussels on Friday.

The meeting is expected to discuss assistance to Greece in coping with the migrant wave from Turkey and ways of strengthening cooperation in civil protection to stop the spreading of the novel coronavirus.

"This is a regular meeting in extraordinary circumstances. As the county chairing the Council of the EU, we have to demonstrate leadership because citizens across the EU want to see Europe having answers to their concerns," Božinović said ahead of the meeting.

Only a few ministers arrived in Brussels for the meeting while other countries were represented either by state secretaries or ambassadors to the EU.

The meeting is taking place at a time when a number of EU countries have closed their borders, schools, restaurants and shops in an attempt to stop or slow down the spreading of the coronavirus.

Božinović underlined the need for decisions in the EU to be adopted in a "more uniform way", noting that that would enhance citizens' trust.

Asked if Croatia was prepared to take in unaccompanied migrant children currently staying on Greek islands, Božinović said that the matter had been discussed, that there was a willingness to do so, but that the matter should also be considered in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johannson recently visited Greece and she will inform the ministers about the result of her visit, he said.

EU ministers of the interior held an extraordinary meeting in Brussels two weeks ago at which they expressed support for Greece and concluded that illegal crossings of the border into EU territory would not be tolerated after Turkey opened its borders to migrants.

Today's meeting will discuss Germany's proposal to take in 1,600 unaccompanied migrant children from Greek islands, which has been supported by several member-countries.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 13, 2020 - European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković decided on Thursday to cancel or postpone less important and less urgent meetings at the Council of the EU and to hold conference calls in some cases. Michel, von der Leyen and Plenković, as the prime minister of the country chairing the Council of the EU, agreed that the EU's ability to make decisions must be retained but that institutions' work must be adjusted to the current situation to minimise the risk of the spreading of the coronavirus.

At the more important meetings that will be held measures will be taken to provide for the safety of participants.

Five meetings scheduled to take place until the end of the month are considered important and will be held.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 12, 2020 - The Opatija Declaration on guidelines for the development of EU maritime policy - environment protection, digitisation, human resources, security and competitiveness - was adopted on Wednesday at an informal meeting of the Union's transport ministers in that Croatian seaside resort.

Croatian Minister of the Sea and Transport Oleg Butković described that the declaration as a step toward achieving a maritime green evolution, adding that the declaration is based on five key points, environmental protection, digitisation, human resources, security and competitiveness.

"These key chapters reflect the current situation when it comes to the challenges of maritime and inland navigation both within the European Union and globally," said Minister Butković.

He added that after the meeting, all the conclusions will be put to the Council of Ministers that will be held during Croatia's presidency of the European Union in June.

Butković explained that today's meeting was an opportunity to discuss topics such as achieving ambitious goals in environment protection, maintaining the competitiveness of Europe's seafaring in the context of the Green Deal aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and investments in green technology and environment protection.

European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean assessed the meeting in Opatija as very successful adding that the unanimous adoption of the declaration is a positive sign that puts the maritime sector into the green agenda which will become compulsory once regulations on alternative fuels are adopted.

Butković informed that the ministers also discussed the COVID-19 epidemic which has spread throughout Europe and Croatia's neighbouring countries.

"In that regard we are definitely available and in the next few days, in cooperation with the European Commission, we will convene the Council of Ministers, probably via a video conference, in an effort to integrate everyone, hear every country to see what the situation is and to find a common platform so that on the one hand we ensure undisturbed transport and the flow of goods while respecting every member state and all the measures that each country has implemented on its territory," Butković said.

Asked about the problem of Croatian seafarers returning to their homes after their contracts expire, Minister Butković said that the ministry was in daily contact with the unions and that a press release in that regard would be issued before the day's end.

"We will do everything so that that situation is brought to a successful end so those people can return however, that is now a matter for the crisis management centre at the national level and so everything needs to be coordinated," he said.

The ministers in Opatija agreed that "the current situation has a significant impact on whole sector and industry."

"The Ministers concluded that it is necessary to stand in solidarity with the affected member states and work together in order to find the best solution," according to a press release issued by the Croatian presidency.

The informal meeting of EU transport ministers was held within a two-day maritime conference that the ministry organised as part of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU.

The conference was attended by representatives of European associations of shippers, mediators in employing seafarers, shipyards and other stakeholders from the global maritime industry, international maritime organisations, the European Maritime Safety Agency and others.

The informal meeting was an opportunity to continue the debate on policies aimed at achieving ambitious environmental goals while maintaining the competitiveness of European maritime affairs.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 10, 2020 - Opatija is hosting a two-day maritime conference as part of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU at which participants are discussing digitisation, safety, environmental protection and boosting the status of maritime careers.

Speaking of health challenges, European Maritime Safety Agency director Maja Markovčić Kostelac said a special recommendation was made, as part of the International Maritime Organization and health institutions, that applied to ships of all countries.

The European Commission has issued a similar recommendation and the situation is under control for now, she added.

The state secretary at the Sea and Transport Ministry, Josip Bilaver, said the latest challenge in the maritime industry was how to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

Asked about prevention measures, he said the ministry was following and participating in the work of the national civil protection authority. "Our ports, Ploče, Zadar, Split and Rijeka, are in sensitive regions, so we communicate with the port authorities on a daily basis."

Asked if the Jadrolinija shipping company would suspend its route to Ancona, Italy, its CEO David Sopta said that for now it would not but that it would if necessary. He added Jadrolinija seafarers were equipped with masks, gloves and disinfectants.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 6, 2020 - Croatia could instigate the establishment of good relations between Russia and Europe during its presidency of the Council of the European Union, Russian Ambassador Anvar Azimov said in Rijeka on Friday.

In our opinion, Russia and Europe are the most natural friends in the world today. I would like it very much if your EU presidency marked the start of the establishment of good relations between Russia and Europe, he said.

Croatia has that possibility today and your wise Croatian government can make it happen and become the initiator of such relations, he added.

Azimov visited Rijeka for the unveiling of a bust of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin near the Astronomy Centre. The Russian Embassy to Croatia and the City of Rijeka participated in the erection of the bust.

Azimov also commented on Thursday's talks between presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey at which, he said, a very important decision was made as yet another important step towards establishing peace in Syria.

The two presidents agreed on ceasing all military operations and on a joint patrol of Russian and Turkish troops, Azimov said.

We are interested in reaching peace in Syria as soon as possible to stop the movement of migrants into Europe. Yesterday's decision testifies to Russia's influence and power, and Europe must appreciate Russia's role. Instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, Europe must establish friendly relations with it, he added.

More news about relations between Croatia and Russia can be found in the Politics section.