ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday that Hungary and Croatia pursued their minority policies based on the principle of protection of ethnic minorities and that they could serve as an example to the whole of the EU.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with representatives of the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia (DZMH), Szijjártó said that the Hungarian community in Baranja enjoyed steady and constantly growing support by the Croatian government and that the Hungarian government was doing the same with regard to the Croat community in Hungary.

Mutual respect between our nations and minorities makes it possible to deal with occasional difficult issues on the basis of mutual respect, and the DZMH and its president and MP Robert Jankovics have a major role in that regard, said Szijjártó.

He said that at the recent parliamentary election, Hungarians were choosing between war and peace and that they clearly opted for peace and security.

"We did not and will not make any decisions that would risk Hungary's involvement in the war in our neighbourhood," the Hungarian minister said.

Szijjártó said that 318,000 Hungarian expatriates, including those in Croatia, had taken part in the Hungarian election and that the Hungarian government wanted to enable all members of the Hungarian people to participate in making important decisions, which, he said, was something the left challenged for Hungarian expatriates.

He said that the Hungarians in Croatia could count on the support of their mother country in culture, religious life and economy.

Asked about the reception of Ukrainian refugees, Szijjártó said that it was the biggest humanitarian operation in Hungary's history and that so far Hungary had taken in 640,000 refugees from Ukraine.

Asked about the completion of the Hungarian section of the Vc international road corridor, Szijjártó said that the spring of 2024 was when the M6 highway should be connected to the Croatian highway section on the Hungarian border.

I hope the issue of Croatia's entry to the Schengen area will be resolved by then because if that does not happen, we will have to build a border crossing, which costs and is a waste of time. We hope we will not have to do it and we fully support Croatia's accession to Schengen, he said.

Jankovics thanked the Hungarian government for its help to Croatia during the 1990s war, coronavirus pandemic and earthquakes, as well as for its support to Croatia's bid to join the Schengen area of passport-free movement.

He noted that the result of the recent parliamentary election in Hungary meant that Croatian Hungarians would be able to continue their cooperation with the Hungarian government.

Our situation is a fortunate one because we can be loyal to our nation and be good citizens of Croatia, Jankovics said.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Croatia supports Finland's and Sweden's potential NATO membership, which would strengthen Croatia's security and defence, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Thursday.

"We feel that the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden will only strengthen our security and our defence," he told the press at Zagreb airport after talks with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto, adding that all NATO member states have the same stand on that.

Grlić Radman said that his Finnish counterpart called him two days ago and his Swedish counterpart yesterday, and that he told them he supported "their future application as an important contribution to transatlantic security."

Croatian President Zoran Milanović has said that the Croatian parliament should not ratify the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden until the election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina is changed so that the more numerous Bosniaks do not elect the Croatian member of the Presidency and delegates to the House of Peoples.

According to him, Croatia must use this "historic" chance to fight for BiH Croats' rights and also solve a security issue.

Grlić Radman said today that by joining NATO, Croatia agreed to the open-door policy which envisaged that all countries that met the standards could join if they wanted to.

Szijjarto said Finland and Sweden had not yet applied for membership, but that Hungary would have a positive view if they did.

The two ministers discussed the situation in BiH, with Szijjarto saying that Hungary supported Croatia's position that the Presidency's Croat member must be elected by Croats.

He said that for BiH's stability, it was necessary to respect the will of all three constituent peoples and that Hungary did not support the political campaign and sanctions against the Presidency's Serb member Milorad Dodik.

Grlić Radman said national minorities were a strong link in Hungarian-Croatian relations and that the model of the protection of their rights in the two countries was exemplary.

Speaking of the energy situation in the wake of Russia's aggression on Ukraine, Szijjarto said energy supply was not a philosophical but a physical issue and that Hungary would pay Russian gas so that it reached Hungary.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 5 April 2022 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday called on Croat and Bosniak parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach an agreement on electoral reform so that all citizens and peoples in the country can be legitimately represented.

Croatia does not want the crisis due to changes to BiH's election law to be prolonged, he said at the opening of the 2022 International Economic Fair in Mostar, BiH.

"We appeal in particular to the leaders of the Bosniak and Croat parties to renew trust, to renew their alliance so that the election law can be changed."

We have shown willingness at the highest EU level to organise a continuation of the talks, Plenković said, adding that Croatia is doing that as a well-meaning friend which wants to help BiH to be functional.

"That's why it's important that BiH functions well, that a step forward is made with the support of the international community, and that the Croats are legitimately represented in state and Federation institutions."

Plenković said he initiated a debate on BiH at the European Council, which adopted conclusions to encourage an electoral reform agreement. That would be a way for BiH to continue its European journey, he added.

"That's the appeal of a friend, a country which wants BiH to get EU (membership candidate) status as soon as possible and step up its European journey."

Croatia is the second biggest investor in BiH and its main trade partner.

Plenković said the strengthening of infrastructure and economic ties was very important. He called for building a southern Croatia-BiH gas interconnection so that BiH can have diversified supply.

Hungarian FM criticises EU

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, speaking at the opening of the fair as the representative of the partner country, strongly criticised Brussels over the slow EU integration of Western Balkan countries.

He said Brussels was making a strategic mistake and that such conduct was damaging to regional security. He pushed for Serbia's EU accession and giving BiH candidate status.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said any regional instability affected every Western Balkan country. "Instability is bad for everyone. It's necessary to build bridges of cooperation and to build a more progressive region."

The International Economic Fair Mostar is taking place after a two-year break due to COVID. It brought together 750 exhibitors from some 20 countries.

In Mostar, Plenković met with the leadership of the HDZ BiH party and is to meet the leadership of the Croatian National Assembly, an organisation of Croat political parties in BiH.