ZAGREB, January 13, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is travelling to Strasbourg on Monday afternoon and is expected to meet with the Council of Europe Secretary-General, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and Croatian members of the European Parliament.

On Tuesday, Plenković will inform the European Parliament about the priorities of his country's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020, and will be received by the EP President David Sassoli.

On Wednesday, the Croatian prime minister will attend a discussion on a Conference on the Future of Europe.

The new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to launch the Conference on the Future of Europe to give new impulse to European construction and bring Europe closer to citizens. Commissioner Dubravka Šuica will take charge of the process.

"Preparation of the Conference, in von der Leyen's approach, will follow three steps: first, the elaboration of the concept, structure, timing and scope with Parliament and Council; then, design of a means to ensure that citizens participate as much as possible, including by fostering online participation for younger people; and last, making sure that appropriate follow-up is provided to the actions agreed by the Conference," the EP says on its website.

Parliament has created a working group to contribute to the design of the two-year Conference, in particular in respect of its structure, with a view to a vote in plenary.

More news about the Council of Europe can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 13, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has said that in the next few months the EU and the UK should show maturity and negotiate by the end of this year the key areas of their future relations.

Brexit is one of the main challenges of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of this year. The UK is expected to leave the EU on January 31, after which there will be 11 months for negotiations on future relations.

British PM Boris Johnson has said he will not seek an extension of the transitional period, which is why Plenković believes that in the next few months it is necessary to "show enough maturity and choose the areas in which there is time to negotiate."

"Now we need clarity, predictability and sensible planning for our citizens and our countries. That's our goal in the next few months," Plenković says in an interview on France 24's "Talking Europe" TV show which aired on Sunday.

After Finland failed to align the positions of the member states on the new European budget, the job is up to Croatia.

Plenković says a compromise should be reached between "the more developed countries, countries which have been in the club for over 60 years, (and) those which joined later, those which came from an undemocratic system, entered the EU 15 years ago or as (Croatia) seven years ago."

He says the less developed countries "should gradually come closer to the standard of living that the most developed countries have," and adds that it is also necessary to put emphasis on climate change, security, migration, innovation, education and other concerns for the 2021-27 period.

"The Croatian presidency will give the Western Balkan countries via the Zagreb Summit in May a clear European perspective, a clear time frame, but also a methodology for future negotiations," Plenković says in the TV show.

He reiterates that he expects proposals on certain modifications of the negotiating process methodology and an additional progress report for North Macedonia and Albania. He hopes that will result in "a political solution and restore the confidence of those two countries before the Zagreb Summit."

Asked if the defeat of Croatia's incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the recent presidential election would negatively impact his HDZ party in the next parliamentary election, Plenković says "the government deserves credit for economic growth, it has made big progress with regard to greater solidarity in society and higher salaries."

"Presidential elections are personalised elections. We congratulate the President-elect (Zoran Milanović) and appreciate everything our President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović did on the international front together with the government."

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

ZAGREB, January 12, 2020 - Croatian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Sabolić has said BiH will have Croatia's full support on its European integration path during Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of this year.

EU membership is BiH's strategic goal and the desire of a significant part of its population, he said on Saturday at an event which the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo organised on the occasion of Croatia's EU presidency.

"Croatia is willing to help BiH on that path with its fresh negotiating process experience as well as its status as a European Union member state. We will push for Bosnia and Herzegovina's possible progress towards candidate status," Sabolić said.

Croatia now has the chance, in partnership with the member states and all institutions, to make its special contribution to Europe and one of the priorities is strengthening the European prospects of Southeast Europe, he added.

"We will push for the continuation of a consistent, effective and credible enlargement policy based on the confirmed European perspective of the candidates and the potential candidates, with the full meeting of the defined criteria. As the youngest member state, we are aware of the transforming power of the accession process. The European idea of unity encourages change, suppresses the syndromes and myths of the past, introduces new rules and new values."

Sabolić said it was clear that European unification could not end before all the Southeast European countries gradually became EU members. Therefore, he said, enlargement should be confirmed as a component of the idea of a united Europe.

"We can talk about the pace but we must not bring the goal into question. It's a process in which no one must give up. It's necessary to encourage constant and persevering dialogue. It's a door we want to keep open," he said.

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

ZAGREB, January 12, 2020 - Croatia considers sustainable and responsible tourism important and during the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Tourism Ministry plans to draw up a document in which the member-states and the European Commission will be called upon to cooperate in promoting the development of such tourism, the ministry has told Hina.

Promoting sustainable tourism and the sustainability of coastal and island communities is one of the elements included in the programme of the Croatian six-month rotating EU presidency, and Croatia will put an emphasis on promoting the diversity of the tourist trade, synergy of local communities and tourists, and reduction of seasonality of tourist demand as well as on the implementation of ICT within tourism systems.

Croatia believes that tourism should assume a more conspicuous part in European policies and institutions and will propose the development of a European tourist brand for the joint promotion of member-states in far-away markets.

"All that fits in the first strategic goal of the Croatian presidency, a Europe that grows in a balanced, sustainable and inclusive way," Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli says.

He points out the importance of development of specific types of tourism such as health tourism, cyclotourism, river tourism and so on, that can considerably contribute to the prosperity of the local population and direct travellers to some new destinations outside well-known ones, the minister says.

He recalls that the development of sustainable and responsible tourism can contribute to efforts to protect endangered species, preserve the tangible and intangible heritage as well as to address the issue of excessive tourism.

Apart from documents on sustainable forms of tourism, meetings on this topic will also be organised by Croatia during its EU presidency.

The tourism ministry plans to hold a meeting of the Competitiveness Council (COMPET) in the format of tourism as well as two more events in Croatia.

The two events in question are a meeting of European experts in tourism in March 2020, which includes a trip to the Croatian regions of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, and a ministerial conference on 27-28 April in Dubrovnik, in which the Ministry wants to include member countries of the OECD which participate in the OECD's Tourism Committee.

Prior to all those events, Minister Capelli will participate in a ministerial conference in Madrid which will be held on 21 January, a day before FITUR, the largest tourism fair in Spain. He announced that he will personally invite his counterparts to the Dubrovnik conference during the Madrid conference.

"We think that tourism, due to its importance for the economy in general, deserves a better and a more conspicuous spot, as well as an independent organisational unit within the European Commission, in order for us to have a more professional support for activities and initiatives necessary for contemporary tourism. As for financing in tourism, possibilities will be opened through various funds and programmes, as well as within the current EU multiannual financial framework," Capelli says.

He also reveals that in case a consensus is reached between all member states, a €300 million fund will be established for sustainable tourism within the Single Market Programme.

As for positioning tourism within EU bodies, he says that meetings of the Competitiveness Council in the tourism format have started.

"Finland dedicated its six-month presidency to discussions on the digitisation of the tourism sector, while Croatia will continue to accentuate all segments of sustainable and responsible tourism development and establish a financial framework for tourism," concludes Cappelli.

Croatia assumed the EU presidency from Finland.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, January 10, 2020 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday warned Great Britain that it could not have it all in negotiations on future relations with the EU after Brexit and that it had to decide how close it wanted to stay to the EU, which it will leave on January 31.

We were clear regarding access to the common European market - it is not the same if you are a member or not, the EC president said at a news conference in Zagreb.

We want to stay good friends, neighbours and partners but we must find a good balance between divergence and close relations with the single market, she added.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is confident that the agreement on all aspects of future cooperation with the EU can be concluded by the end of 2020, which EU officials consider unrealistic.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that nothing would change for Croatian citizens on January 31. "You will be able to enter Great Britain as you have so far," said the PM of Croatia, the EU chair since January 1.

Along with Brexit, an important topic during Croatia's EU presidency will also be talks on the new European budget. "We will do our best to find a balance between rural development and cohesion on one side and modernisation on the other," said Plenković.

The older EU members, which are net contributors to the EU budget, want it to be more modest while the younger members insist on maintaining funding for the cohesion and agriculture policies.

Balance must also be found between EU bodies as the European Parliament calls for a more ambitious budget while the prime ministers of European Council members want a more conservative budget.

With Great Britain's departure, Europe will lose around €60 billion from its cash register, and the new financial perspective for the 2021-2027 period will have to take account of new European priorities such as climate change, the digital agenda and illegal migrations.

Von der Leyen and Plenković addressed reporters after a joint session of the EC and the EU chair's government, which is a tradition at the start of every rotating EU presidency.

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

ZAGREB, January 10, 2020 - As part of a visit by the EU College of Commissioners to Zagreb, Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Friday, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It was the first meeting between Krstičević and the new EU foreign affairs and security chief, at which the Croatian minister presented the priorities and activities of the Croatian EU presidency in the area of defence and security.

Krstičević highlighted four key priorities: further implementation, consolidation and coherence of the EU defence initiatives (PESCO, CARD, military mobility and the European Defence Fund), strengthening EU-NATO cooperation and transatlantic relations, strengthening the research dimension of defence with emphasis on the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, and strengthening EU efforts with regard to security and defence in southeastern Europe.

Borrell wished Croatia and Krstičević a successful EU presidency and expressed his satisfaction with the meeting.

The meeting focused on current security challenges in the Middle East and future joint cooperation, specifically within preparations for an informal meeting of EU defence ministers scheduled for March 4 and 5 in Zagreb.

Krstičević also announced that as part of the Croatian EU presidency a conference on EU-NATO cooperation, co-organised by the Croatian and German ministries of defence, would take place in Split.

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

ZAGREB, January 10, 2020 - The European Union can become a bigger player on the global level through its power in trade and reputation in mediating between conflicting parties, at a time of tension in the Middle East, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday in Zagreb.

Von der Leyen arrived in Zagreb on the occasion of Croatia assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Union under the slogan "A Strong Europe in a World of Challenges."

Enhancing Europe's influence consists of several aspects. I refer to trade, to defining processes and standards, for example, as the EU it did with introducing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which the world then followed, von der Leyen told a press conference in Zagreb's National and University Library.

I think that we must not forget that violence can only be stopped by returning to the negotiation table. Violence always occurs when there is an absence of dialogue, she added, underscoring that the EU has a great reputation as a good mediator between warring forces.

We will be of key significance when new relations are built, she concluded.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković informed the press that High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell and Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman had left for Brussels to attend a ministerial meeting to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.

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

ZAGREB, January 10, 2020 - The most senior EU and Croatian officials gathered at the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) in Zagreb on Thursday evening for a concert that officially marked the start of Croatia's presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020.

The HNK choir, orchestra and soloists performed works by Mozart, Verdi, Beethoven, Gounod and Dvorak as well as works by the Croatian composers Vatroslav Lisinski, Ivan Zajc and Jakov Gotovac to an audience that included European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and all members of his government.

Croatia took over the presidency of the EU from Finland on January 1. At the end of June, the rotating EU presidency will be taken over by Germany.

"A Strong Europe in a World of Challenges" is the slogan of Croatia's EU presidency.

Addressing the guests, PM Plenković recalled that Croatia was chairing the EU in the seventh year of its EU membership and ahead of the 30th anniversary of the introduction of democracy.

In this role Croatia has an opportunity, in partnership with member-states and institutions, to give Europe its contribution and a new impetus, said the PM of the youngest of the EU's 28 members.

He added that the European cultural heritage, a product of interaction between national cultures, was a motive for political action and discussions about Europe's future.

Our goal in that process should be to further democratise political decision-making and bring European policies and institutions closer to citizens in order to better respond to their expectations and needs, said Plenković.

The visit of the European Commission to Zagreb and the concert at the HNK officially marked the beginning of Croatia's EU presidency, and its international beginning will be marked with a concert in Brussels, on January 15, the day of Croatia's international recognition and the peaceful reintegration of its eastern Danube region.

Croatia's EU presidency coincides with the very beginning of a new EU institutional and legislative cycle, launched with the appointment of new EU bodies.

The most important tasks facing the EU in the coming months are an agreement on the next, seven-year budget, an agreement on future relations with Great Britain, a conference on Europe's future and a legislative framework for the fight against climate change.

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

ZAGREB, January 9, 2020 - The College of Commissioners, comprised of the 27 Commissioners, is holding a meeting on Thursday and Friday in Zagreb, at the start of Croatia's six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, and the gathering is chaired by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The gathering of the College of Commissioner in Zagreb formally marks the start of Croatia's presidency in the first half of 2020.

European Council President Charles Michel, who arrived in Zagreb on Wednesday, will attend the two-day meeting.

Commission President von der Leyen and other members of the EC are arriving in the Croatian capital on Thursday and in the evening, they will attend a special concert in the Croatian National Theatre (HNK).

Upon the gala concert in the HNK, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović will give a reception for the guests.

On Friday morning, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković receives the EC President von der Leyen, and their meeting is scheduled before the start of the meeting of the Croatian government and the College of Commissioners in the Croatian National and University Library (NSK).

After that, Plenković and von der Leyen are due to address the press.

The events in Zagreb are being covered by some 60 Brussels correspondents who came in Zagreb on Wednesday for the College meeting at the start of Croatia's EU presidency as part of regular practice by EU countries-in-chair to invite correspondents from Brussels at the start of their rotating EU presidency. On that occasion, journalists were briefed about the priorities of the Croatian presidency by PM Plenković on Wednesday afternoon.

The College of Commissioners, comprised of the 27 Commissioners, meets as a general rule at least once per week. This weekly decision-making procedure is called the oral procedure.

In practice, the Commissioners meet every Wednesday morning in Brussels. However, during the plenary sessions of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the meeting takes place on a Tuesday.

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

ZAGREB, January 9, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday held talks with European Council President Charles Michel on endeavours to reach agreement on a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) among the European Union's member-states during Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2020.

Reaching a deal on the new MFF for the period between 2021 and 2027 is a crucial challenge for the Croatian presidency after the Finnish presidency did not manage to bring the positions of the member-states closer regarding this topic.

Now it is up to the Croatian presidency to try to find a solution in cooperation with the MFF main coordinator, European Council President Michel, as a neutral participant in the negotiations on this topic.

A consensus should be reached between the wealthier EU member-states, net contributors to the EU budget, and poorer ones which absorb EU funds in order to catch up with those developed countries.

After their meeting, Plenković and Michel will address the press.

Michel, who arrived in Zagreb on Wednesday, already met the country's President-elect Zoran Milanović, and later on Thursday he will be received by Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković.

On Thursday evening Michel will attend a special concert in the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) on the occasion of the start of the Croatian presidency of the Union.

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