Croatia dynamically starting EU presidency in Jan, says PM

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that in January Croatia would dynamically embark on the presidency of the European Union, including meetings with leading European officials and the European Commission.

"Already in the week starting January 7, we will have a very intensive and dynamic course of events," he said at the last cabinet meeting this year.

On January 7, Plenkovic is going to Paris for consultations with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel is arriving in Zagreb two days later, and the European Commission will convene in Zagreb on the 10th.

On January 14, Plenkovic will present Croatia's presidency programme at the European Parliament, while on the 16th he will hold consultations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Croatia will chair the EU as of January 1 as the youngest member state to do so. The cabinet today adopted Croatia's presidency programme.

Plenkovic and Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman reiterated that the programme contained Croatia's national priorities and that it was aligned with the EU's strategic programme for the 2019-24 period as well as the new Commission's policy guidelines.

The slogan of the Croatian presidency is “A strong Europe in a challenging world” and the focus will be on a Europe that develops, a Europe that connects, a Europe that protects and a Europe that is influential.

Grlic Radman said the presidency was a historic event for Croatia and that the programme was detailed. "We can be proud of the look, the visuals of this document," he said adding that "the content highlights Croatia's priorities."

The presidency will contribute to boosting Croatia's influence and visibility in international relations, he said, adding that polls showed that support for the European journey among Croatian citizens was increasing. "Today 81% of citizens recognise the EU as an organisation to which Croatia belongs naturally."

Plenkovic highlighted a project for the reconstruction of the existing and the construction of a second track on a 44 km Hrvatski Leskovac-Karlovac rail section worth HRK 3.45 billion, of which HRK 2.7 billion is a European grant.

"It's good that this project is starting just before the presidency so that we can all once again realise that EU membership makes Croatia's sovereignty stronger, nobler and fuller, and thereby our influence too," he said.

Aside from the main four priorities of the Croatian presidency, the programme details priorities for the ten configurations of the Council of the EU related to topics that are discussed and decided such as agriculture, fisheries, justice and home affairs.

The configurations are chaired by the relevant ministers from the presiding country, except the Foreign Affairs Council which is chaired by the the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Although the European Council, the EU's highest political body, is chaired by President Charles Michel, Plenkovic will have a prominent role in three important events during the Croatian presidency -- an EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb in May, the reaching of an agreement on the multiannual financial framework, and the organisation of a conference on Europe's future.

Text: Hina

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