ZAGREB, December 6, 2019 - The Croatian Parliament will emphasise through its activities the priorities of the Croatian presidency of the European Union and special emphasis will be placed on the membership prospects of Western Balkan countries that wish to join the EU, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Thursday.

Jandroković was attending a conference of European Parliament presidents in Zagreb, which also involved European Parliament President David Sassoli and the chairs of political groups in the European Parliament.

"What is important to us is to emphasise through the parliamentary dimension the priorities of the Croatian presidency - a Europe that develops and connects, that cares about security and that is influential in the world. But of particular importance to us are the membership prospects of our neighbours that aspire to become EU members," Jandroković told the press ahead of a meeting with Sassoli and representatives of the political groups in the European Parliament.

He expressed hope that the Western Balkans summit, which will be held in Zagreb in May, would send positive messages to all the countries aspiring to join the EU. "We on our part as Parliament will try to give an added value to it," he said.

Sassoli and the leaders of all political groups in the European Parliament were on an official visit to Zagreb on Thursday to discuss with the Croatian leadership the priorities of the Croatian presidency of the EU in the first half of next year.

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

ZAGREB, December 5, 2019 - During its European Union presidency in the first half of next year Croatia will need to reconcile different interests regarding the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), notably the differences in the views of the European Parliament and the countries that contribute the most to the EU budget, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said after meeting with European Parliament President David Sassoli in Zagreb on Thursday.

Plenković and Sassoli held a joint press conference after a meeting between the Croatian government and the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament.

"At this moment there is indeed a great difference between the goals set by the European Parliament and what is going on at the level of the Council or the member states. That's why the task of Croatia, along with the Council led by Charles Michel, will be to reconcile these interests so that that the next MFF could be smoothly implemented as of January 2021," Plenković said.

He said that the member states are divided into net contributors to the EU budget which are more conservative about the MFF and net beneficiaries and recipients of EU funding, including Croatia, which want considerable funds for traditional policies such as cohesion and agriculture.

"This is a key match between the conservative position of those that give the most, the middle position of member states that want considerable funds for cohesion policy and agriculture, and the ambition of the European Parliament, which says that if we are to confront the challenges facing Europe today, such as climate change or security, these funds must be higher," the Croatian PM said.

Sassoli said that the European Parliament wanted the next seven-year budget to support the programme of the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.

The European Parliament wants an ambitious budget, one that will make it possible for the Union to deliver on its priorities, he added.

He said he wanted a Europe that grows, a Europe that can create jobs, keep its industry and achieve a transition to a green economy.

Sassoli said that a balance needed to be established between different views, but also that the European Commission's initiatives needed to be financed. None of the European governments can allow the Commission to fail, he stressed.

Sassoli condemned the conservative views on the MFF, noting that the European Parliament was not satisfied with the views of current EU president Finland.

He said that the MFF is a political issue of "our vision of Europe" and that the budget talks should also include "a little bit of heart and not just mathematics."

Plenković added that Croatia's goal was to help reach an agreement and avoid this issue being passed on to the German presidency. "The MFF must be sustainable, a compromise will be demanding and difficult," Plenković said, noting the fact that the United Kingdom, a large contributor to the EU budget, was leaving the Union.

Plenković and Sassoli are agreed that EU enlargement should continue. "We share the view that we should find a way to unblock negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia," the Croatian PM said.

Sassoli supported Croatia's ambition to join the Schengen area.

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

ZAGREB, December 5, 2019 - Croatia considers NATO and the European Union main partners in projection of peace and also believes that the bonds between the USA and the European Union are inextricable and inseparable, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in London on Wednesday after a two-day summit meeting of NATO which observed its 70th anniversary.

"The cooperation between the USA and Europe as regards security is firm and inextricable," he added.

This is the message given today by all heads of state or government and they have underscored that the development of strategical autonomy at the EU level, which implies the strengthening of the EU defence policy, can and is simultaneously complementary to the strengthening of the European pillar of NATO, the Croatian premier said.

Plenković said that Croatia had a unique experience in comparison to other NATO member states and in this context he recalled that while it was a non-member of the alliance, Croatia was a victim of the aggression launched by the regime of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević in the 1990s, and now after it became a NATO member, Croatia contributes to efforts to restore in crisis areas worldwide.

He said that this information about the transformation from a victim of the aggression into a country which is going to chair the EU in the first half of 2020, makes it clearer to other counterparts in NATO how the alliance is important for the security.

During his participation in the summit, Plenković met with the summit's host Boris Johnson for the talks on the role of Croatia, as the next EU chair, for preparations of a negotiating framework for the future relations between the EU and Great Britain in the event that the next British parliament ratifies the Brexit agreement.

Plenković said that he had also talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about possible scenarios for the exit from the current situation after the opening of the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania was vetoed by Paris

It is in our interest that the EU-Western Balkans summit, set for May in Zagreb can be successful, the Croatian premier said.

Plenković and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed plans for the Croatian prime minister's possible visit to Berlin in January.

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

ZAGREB, December 4, 2019 - Croatia does not stand out in the EU in terms of focusing on environmental policies but the European Greens expect it not to hamper the green transition during its presidency of the Council of the EU, the co-chair of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) group in the European Parliament, Philippe Lamberts, said ahead of his visit to Zagreb.

European Parliament President David Sassoli and leaders of all political groups in the European Parliament will pay an official visit to Zagreb on Thursday to discuss with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and government members the priorities of Croatia's EU presidency in the first half of next year.

Green topics are evidently not the focus of the Croatian presidency, Lamberts remarked in an interview with Hina.

If we want the von der Leyen Commission to be successful, all member countries will have to accept the green transition, even if they did not do it earlier, he said.

Croatia has an abundance of sun and wind compared to Belgium and one would expect, considering that it is a Mediterranean country, that it would focus on renewable energy sources, however, its energy policy is still mostly based on energy from fossil sources, Lamberts said, noting that this meant that the green awareness was not very much present among Croatian governments.

This is evidenced by other issues that Croatia is struggling with, such as waste management. If you want to go green, you have to deal with the issue of waste, starting with its reduction and maximum possible recycling, Lamberts said, noting that as far as he could understand, that had not been one of the priorities of Croatian governments so far.

He noted that one should not overestimate member states' possibilities in shaping the EU presidency.

Presidency is primarily about the role of an organiser and a fair mediator, Lamberts said, expressing hope that the Croatian government and administration would act accordingly.

He went on to say that he was of the impression that the Andrej Plenković government would perform well, that he was satisfied Plenković had a pro-European orientation but that he was always wary of any form of nationalism and was aware that the ruling HDZ party was known as the main Croatian nationalist party. He added that he was also aware that lately the HDZ had become more pro-European and said that he welcomed it.

Lamberts also said that the Greens would continue to ask the Commission to stop supporting the project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk.

The position of the Greens is that any support from public sources should not be spent on energy from fossil sources. That does not mean that such energy should be banned overnight, but public money should be entirely invested in the transition towards green energies. If Croatia has projects related to sun, wind or similar energy, the Greens will strongly support their financing from the European budget but will not do so with regard to energy from fossil sources, Lamberts said, explaining his party group's opposition to the Krk LNG terminal project.

At a plenary session in November the Greens in the European Parliament abstained from a vote on the new European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen.

The Greens/European Free Alliance is the fourth largest political group in the European Parliament, holding 74 of 751 seats.

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

ZAGREB, December 1, 2019 - Croatia and Germany will co-organise a NATO-EU cooperation conference in Split next June, Defence Ministers Damir Krstičević of Croatia and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer of Germany agreed in Trogir on Sunday.

The conference of European defence ministers and NATO officials will be held on June 8-9, Krstičević told reporters.

"Germany is the most important partner in security and defence in Europe and strengthening our cooperation is my priority," he said.

The conference will be a sort of transition between Croatia's and Germany's EU presidencies, said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Croatia offers a unique opportunity for us all to meet as well as prove our common views, she added.

Krstičević said today's meeting was yet another proof of the real friendship between Croatia and Germany. "The most concrete example of our defence cooperation is the joint participation in operations and missions, from Afghanistan to Kosovo. I'm glad that as of January next year we will again be together in Lithuania under Germany's leadership."

Kramp-Karrenbauer underlined Croatia's role in the region. We know that Croatia paid a high price for its freedom, which is why it has a special perspective and plays a special role in the stability in this region, she said.

She supported EU enlargement and said it was wrong to veto the beginning of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.

She said the joint role of Germany and Croatia in NATO was important. We consider NATO an important pillar of the security structure within which transatlantic partnership and friendship is extremely important, she added.

It is necessary to enhance and develop security and defence cooperation in Europe, which will be an important topic next year when Croatia and Germany chair the EU, Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

I am firmly convinced that it will be an excellent presidency of the Council of the EU, she said of Croatia's presidency in the first half of 2020.

After Croatia, she is visiting Kosovo and Afghanistan. Croatian troops are important mission partners to German troops, with valuable experience, and we can learn a lot from them, she said.

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

ZAGREB, November 29, 2019 - Preparations are nearing completion for Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020 during which 161 events will be held, bringing together 25,000 delegates, the head of the presidency secretariat, Gordan Markotić, said on Friday.

Four of those events involve the Croatian parliament and two-thirds of the meetings will be held in Zagreb, he told the parliamentary committee on European affairs.

Twelve informal council meetings will be held - eight in Zagreb, three in Split and one in Opatija, as well as nine ministerial conferences, of which five in Zagreb.

Numerous conferences are planned, on consumer protection, the defence industry, organ transplantation, the cohesion policy, migration, demographic challenges, tourism, the European Social Fund, and the transport infrastructure.

Markotić said some expert-level meetings would be held in Osijek and that a high delegation would visit the region of Slavonia.

The presidency officially begins on January 9, when members of the European Commission will arrive in Zagreb. The international opening of the presidency will occur in Brussels on January 15, the anniversary of Croatia's international recognition and the peaceful reintegration of the Danube River Region.

The presidency budget will be 50-70 million euro, most of which will go on security.

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

ZAGREB, November 28, 2019 - During its chairmanship of the European Union in the first half of 2020, Croatia will advocate for the continuation of southeast European aspirants' journey to the European Union, as Zagreb finds this important for the transformation, peace and stability in the region, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in parliament on Wednesday.

Plenković presented to Croatian lawmakers a report on the 17-18 October European Council meeting during which European leaders in Brussels discussed a new institutional framework of the European Union, enlargement process, Brexit, a new seven-year budget of the European Union, climate change and the developments in Turkey.

The European Council failed to reach an unanimous decision on opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, as France, the Netherlands and Denmark were opposed to the opening despite the fact that the European Commission gave a green-light for the start of their membership talks.

The European Council is expected to put this topic again on its agenda before a summit meeting of the EU and southeastern European countries, set for May in Zagreb, Plenković said.

Plenković explained reasons why Croatia found it important for the enlargement process to continue.

Enlargement is important for transformation of the countries that are still outside the bloc, he said adding that Croatia is aware of its importance for peace and stability particularly in the southeast of Europe.

The process of accession is good lever to undertake reform processes concerning democratic values, strengthening of the legal system and reforms aimed at making those aspirants functional market economies, he added.

This is also important for the sake of good neighbourly relations, resolution of outstanding issues, respect of human and minority rights, he added.

We also conduct consultations with key partners in the Union, new leaders of EU institutions as well as with neighbouring countries so as to really calibrate the expectations of those who would like to go forward, in parallel to being acquainted with details, moods and real possibilities of EU members, he said.

In cooperation with the new European Council President, Charles Michel, we must find a balance and send political messages that will pave the way for a road-map for the decade ahead of us, he said.

Plenković reiterated four umbrella areas for Croatia's presidency: a Europe that develops, connects and protects and is influential on the global scene.

Croatia will continue to work on its two strategic priorities. its Schengen membership bid and its preparations for the euro adoption.

More news about Croatia and the Western Balkans region can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 27, 2019 - Croatian MEP Tonino Picula has been appointed EP rapporteur for Western Balkans ahead of a summit in Zagreb in May 2020.

His role will be to prepare recommendations to the Parliament, Council and Commission regarding the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania as well as providing new impetus to the enlargement process, Picula's office reported on Wednesday.

One of the main topics and challenges that Picula will be involved with in the report is reaching a consensus in the Council regarding the enlargement process to countries in the Western Balkans, his office said in a press release, adding that the report is also aimed at analysing and responding to new proposed reforms for the enlargement reform process.

"Reform debates must not stop the process. Countries need to be assessed individually based on individual merits and achievements. Montenegro is the forerunner in that process and I expect that the achieved results and invested efforts to be recognised and that pre-accession negotiations be closed during this term," Picula concluded.

"I am exceptionally honoured with this new role as rapporteur for recommendations on the Western Balkans ahead of the coming summit in Zagreb...I will offer concrete recommendations that will enable blockades to be removed and to finally open negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania in Zagreb already," Picula said.

"By making a mistake, French President Emmanuel Macron, who blocked the process of opening negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, in fact succeeded in something he did not plan - he returned the issue of enlargement into the focus of being debated at the European level," added Picula.

More news about the European Parliament can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 22, 2019 - Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek presented the priorities of the Croatian EU presidency relevant to her department at a meeting of the EU Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council in Brussels on Thursday.

Speaking to the Croatian press after the meeting, she said that during its EU presidency in the first half of next year Croatia would organise a conference on risk management in the conservation of cultural heritage.

"It is an important topic in the context of climate change and other risks to heritage. What has been going on in Venice in the last few days shows how important that is," Obuljen Koržinek said, referring to the flood threatening Venice.

Croatia will also organise a conference on media literacy, in late March or early April. "That is a topic for the future, how to teach young generations to use the media and social networks, to behave responsibly and become resilient to fake news," the minister said.

Also discussed during the Croatian EU presidency will be mobility in the cultural and creative sector.

Croatia has prepared a varied cultural programme that will be presented in the EU member states and other countries in the first half of 2020.

"The programme provides a very good overview of our rich heritage as well contemporary artistic content, including music, theatre and exhibitions. I believe we will use these six months well to bring Croatian culture closer to the public across the EU and in Brussels," Obuljen Koržinek said.

More culture news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, November 21, 2019 - The European Commission's new President Ursula von der Leyen said in Zagreb on Wednesday that nationalists and populists would not destroy the European way of life, which is also the name of one of the portfolios in the new Commission.

That name has elicited criticisms, notably from European Liberals and Greens. They believe it has too many associations with the protection of Europe from illegal migrants.

There is no doubt as to what the European way of life is. We will never let those nationalists and populists, which want to cause divisions and destroy the EU, hijack our European way of life, von der Leyen said at a European People's Party congress.

Our Union is based on respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy and equality. We will always defend our European way of life, she added.

The European Parliament is expected to confirm the new Commission next week and Europe's new government is expected to step into office on December 1.

Von der Leyen supported Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area, following a positive recommendation from the outgoing Juncker Commission.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope that the European Council adopts a positive decision because I strongly believe that Croatia belongs in Schengen, there is no doubt about that, she said.

To the Western Balkan countries recently blocked on their European journey by France, von der Leyen said she stood by them.

We share the same continent, history, culture, and we are in the same political family. I assure you that we stand by you, independently of all processes. We stand by you and want you to be as close to us as possible, she said.

Talking about Brexit, she announced that, if it happened, the EU would respect Britons, notably in trade relations.

But we let them know that a country that is not in the EU can't enjoy the same rights as the member states, she said.

The EPP will have eight European commissioners, including Croatian MEP Dubravka Šuica, who will be the vice president for democracy and demography.

You will help us tackle one of the biggest challenges, how to ensure the prosperity of citizens at a time when we have an increasingly old population. You will put people at the very heart of Europe, von der Leyen told Šuica.

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