ZAGREB, November 8, 2018 - Croatia and Finland will preside over the European Union (EU) in times full of challenges and they are ready to fully cooperate and support one another, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and his Finnish counterpart Paula Rissiko said at their meeting in Helsinki on Wednesday.

Jandroković, who is taking part in a European People's Party (EPP) congress in Helsinki together with a delegation of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), held talks with Rissiko within the frameworks of the preparation of trio (Romania, Finland, Croatia), for taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 Jan 2019 to 30 June 2020. The concept of trio/troika has been introduced to enable member states to share experiences and ensure coherence on an 18-months base.

"We primarily discussed the future presidency of the Council of the European Union because together with Romania we are part of the chairing troika. Croatia will chair the EU for the first time and Finland's experience is very important to us," Jandroković told the press after his meeting with Rissiko.

He underscored friendly bilateral relations, adding that both countries wanted to deepen cooperation in the economy and within the EU. The talks also focused on numerous challenges before the EU, including the migrant crisis, Jandroković said.

The two speakers expressed readiness to fully cooperate and support one another in order to successfully prepare and implement the parliamentary dimension of each of the three countries' presidencies. They also commended cooperation so far.

Jandroković and Rissiko also talked about topical European issues such as the future functioning of the European Union, the migrant crisis, topics discussed at the EPP congress and the election of the candidate for the European Commission president, according to a press release issued by the Croatian Parliament.

The two speakers agreed that Croatia and Finland shared the commitment to Euro-Atlantic structures, and that there was room to strengthen bilateral relations.

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ZAGREB, November 6, 2018 - Croatia should be ready for ongoing changes during its presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020, including an adjustment of priorities, Lilyana Pavlova, minister for the Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU, said in Zagreb on Monday.

The Croatian administration should be ready for ongoing changes, including an adjustment of priorities. They should be defined as broadly as possible so that they can be adjusted to specific challenges, Pavlova said in her address at Europe House where she was hosted by the Croatian Office of the European Parliament in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

Set yourselves ambitious, yet attainable goals, she said, adding that the EU presidency is both a great opportunity and a great challenge for member states.

Pavlova spoke of organisational, diplomatic, technical, financial and political challenges in the preparation and execution of the Bulgarian EU presidency in the first half of 2018 and of the main themes of the presidency, including the future of young people and Europe, connecting the Western Balkans, security and the digital economy.

She said that "an entire army of people" had been involved in the implementation of the presidency programme, and that the Bulgarian government had decided to form a dedicated ministry to centralise the process and make it more effective.

Pavlova said she believed that the environment and climate change, security, digital transformation and the multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027 would turn out to be the main themes of the Croatian presidency. She said that the presidency required cooperation at national, European and global levels, stressing the importance of dialogue with citizens and positive media coverage.

Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, said that Croatia's preparations for the EU presidency were well under way. She added that the priorities themselves would be adopted just before the presidency and would reflect the EU agenda at that point.

The presentation was moderated by Violeta Simeonova Staničić, head of the Croatian Office of the European Parliament, who spoke of the timing of the Croatian presidency. She noted that a new European Commission and a new European Parliament would take office at the time, warning that the influence of new political factions could be expected.

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ZAGREB, October 29, 2018 - During the dialogue with citizens by European Commission Vice President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis on Monday, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić underscored that Croatia could join the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERMII) by 2020 and that, for the improvement of the living standards of people at risk of poverty, it would be necessary to boost economic growth and employment by concerted action.

Asked whether a referendum would be held regarding the introduction of the euro in Croatia and when it could be introduced, Marić underscored that the government's idea and wish is "by 2020 to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II," which would last for a minimum of two years plus one more for adjustment and meeting the strictest criteria such as those relating to interest rates, exchange rates, prices, deficit and public debt. He also said that the referendum for accession to the EU was compulsory and that joining the EU comprehended introducing the euro.

I think that there won't be any need for a referendum and that is why in that context we have launched this debate, publicly, to argument the introduction of the euro so as to explain it as much as possible to all citizens, experts and broader public, Marić said.

During question time at the Faculty of Economics, one student claimed that the "European Union is turning a blind eye to economic crime," noting that the grey economy accounts for 30% of domestic GDP, placing Croatia immediately after Bulgaria and called out Minister Marić that by introducing the euro he wanted to pass the buck in that regard onto the European Union.

Marić responded "that is not passing the buck," and added that every country that has an above-average share of services (in GDP), not just tourism but other activities too, have a portion of grey economy. He said that not one EU Finance Council meeting went by without debating so-called circular fraud, aggressive tax planning and everything else "which is not a problem that is particular to Croatia but in many other countries too."

Responding to a question about the current social state of affairs in the EU, Dombrovskis said that the European economies have shown a growth for the past six years.

As far as the social picture is concerned, he underscored the level of employment. Europe currently has the highest historical level of employment - that means more people have a job in the EU than ever before. At the same time, when discussing the social picture it is necessary to be aware that the consequences of the crisis can still be felt, including a growing income gap, he said.

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ZAGREB, October 29, 2018 - Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission vice-president for the euro and social dialogue, said on Monday the Commission supported Croatia on its journey to the euro area, not just politically, but also through a structural reform programme, noting that economically 2018 was a good year for Croatia.

The Commission can help countries working on introducing the euro technically and financially, he said after meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and cabinet ministers.

At the meeting we discussed economic and fiscal matters and it must be said that 2018 has been a good year for Croatia. The economy shows robust growth, close to 3%, which is the European Union average, Dombrovskis told reporters, adding that a budget surplus was also recorded.

He said the government had announced its intention to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) in 2020 as a step towards introducing the euro, calling this a sort of waiting room before joining the euro area. Countries usually spend two years in ERM II but it may be longer.

Commissioner welcomes pension and other reforms

Dombrovskis underlined the need for awareness of the importance of structural reforms, saying they played an important role, not just for joining but also successfully participating in the euro area. He added that countries which intend to join must show a certain economic resilience.

He welcomed the reforms which have been launched, including the pension and education reforms, the strengthening of the financial sector, and efforts to reduce non-performing loans and to bolster the financial situation and sustainable economic growth. Dombrovskis also pointed to the macroeconomic imbalances which still exist in Croatia.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said the government was aware of the job ahead, such as dealing with unemployment. He added, however, that it was very important for Croatia to have exited the Excessive Deficit Procedure.

Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić said Croatia "is doing its job, with which the European Commission is happy."

Euro adoption strategy

Dombrovskis arrived in Croatia for a two-day working visit and is due to be received by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. He will meet parliamentarians and hold a roundtable discussion on the introduction of euro and the European budget at the Zagreb Faculty of Economics.

A year ago, the government and the Croatian National Bank (HNB) launched a document entitled "The Strategy for the Adoption of the Euro in the Republic of Croatia". On that occasion, Prime Minister Plenković said that his cabinet had set two important goals: one of them is to make Croatia prepared in 2019 to join the passport-free Schengen zone, and the other is to enable Croatia to join the euro area. Plenković said then that his cabinet's target would be to enable Croatia to enter ERM II in 2020 when Croatia will hold the rotating EU presidency from 1 January to 30 July.

I don't want to speculate on the date for the adoption of the euro. What is realistic and what we are working on is to make sure that 2020, when Croatia chairs the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, is the year Croatia can become part of ERM II, he said at the presentation of the strategy on 30 October 2017.

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ZAGREB, October 19, 2018 - The thistimeimvoting.eu non-political campaign aimed at motivating European Union citizens to vote in the May 2019 European elections was presented at Europe House in Zagreb on Friday.

ZAGREB, October 19, 2018 - Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that he was satisfied with the way his position on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the status of the Croat people was accepted at the EU summit in Brussels.

ZAGREB, October 18, 2018 - The offer made by the European Union to Great Britain in Brexit negotiations is good and generous and now it remains to be seen what is acceptable to the Britons considering the political situation in their country, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Thursday before the start of the second day of the EU summit.

ZAGREB, Oct 18, 2018 - The Eurobarometer, a survey of public opinion throughout the EU, has revealed a marked increase in general public support for EU membership.

ZAGREB, October 18, 2018 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that he would use the EU summit in Brussels as an opportunity to talk to European officials about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) following the general election, given the status of the Croat people in that country.

ZAGREB, October 16, 2018 - Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović-Burić on Monday conveyed the concern to her counterparts in the European Union over the fact that for the third time since the conclusion of the Dayton Peace Accords, the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina were not in position to elect their legitimate representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency, the Croatian ministry said in a press release.