Croatia supports its neighbors on their EU path; they should seize the opportunity and fulfill their part of the task

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković participated today in London at the Berlin Process Summit, an initiative launched in 2014 by then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the aim of strengthening regional cooperation, resolving a number of outstanding issues, improving transport and energy connectivity, and preparing for the European Union accession process. In a statement to the media, Prime Minister Plenković said that today's meeting demonstrated the high level of ambition of all our neighboring countries in Southeast Europe to continue the process of opening various chapters for membership in the European Union as soon as possible and to achieve positive dynamics at the institutional level as soon as possible.

Croatia supports all our neighbours on this path and we are sharing our experiences, the Prime Minister stressed.

At this moment, unlike in previous years, the general approach to enlargement within the European Union is more open than it was, he added, bearing in mind the global security challenges that reflect on the stability of Europe.

Therefore, he believes it is good for countries to seize the opportunity that is opening up to them, while each fulfilling its part of the task, that is, to meet the necessary criteria for accepting the acquis communautaire and building institutions, and the ability to withstand the pressure of the common European market.

Asked for his opinion on proposals to enable these countries to access the European Union more quickly, but not to have the right to vote as older members, the Prime Minister said that he was not enthusiastic about this idea that has been circulating for the past few years.

"One of the main characteristics of a state is that it is respected. And it is respected if it has equal rights," he said.

He added that, above all, everyone should respect themselves and make an effort in the accession process, as did all the others who entered the European Union.

We believe that the date for opening negotiations for BiH will be known very soon

When asked about the final date for opening negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prime Minister said that he believes that we are very close to that moment, recalling last year's decision by the European Council to open negotiations, for which Croatia strongly lobbied.

He praised the excellent presentation by the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH Borjana Krišto at today's meeting.

He added that the appointment of the Chief Negotiator, and possibly his deputies, is expected, given the structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that after that, reforms should be conducted.

"Croatia is the most engaged in support and we believe that this will happen very soon," he said.

He also emphasized that it is very important for Bosnia and Herzegovina to try to resolve the issue of a fair electoral law by the time of the elections next year.

As soon as the issue of the ownership structure of NIS is resolved, everything will function normally

The journalists were also interested in whether he had the opportunity to discuss the situation between NIS and JANAF with Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut today.

Saying that he had, the Prime Minister reminded that Croatia had been advocating for all these months to prevent Serbia from experiencing an energy threat due to the sanctions that came into effect due to the ownership structure of NIS, which is majority-owned by Russian companies.

JANAF cannot currently supply oil to NIS, because it would bring itself under the US sanctions regime, he explained, which is why it had to stop the flow on October 8.

"We hope that the issue of majority ownership will be resolved. In the event of a restructuring of ownership, these sanctions would no longer apply and everything would function normally," he said.

On the other hand, he added, there are countries in our region that do not have refineries and therefore import finished petroleum products, which is acceptable for smaller countries. Serbia is a larger country and it is not easy to reorganize this issue, in terms of the supply of derivatives.

Croatian police officers guard both the EU external border and the Schengen border

The Prime Minister also reported that the meeting, at the initiative of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, discussed joint efforts to combat illegal migration.

He emphasized that Croatian police officers guard both the EU external border and the Schengen border, and thanked them once again for the efforts they are investing in successfully carrying out this demanding task.

Asked whether there was a stricter stance by the EU and the US towards Serbia due to the incident in Banjska, Kosovo, Prime Minister Plenković asserted that this issue should be resolved, saying that it could not remain as if it had not happened.

Everything is known, he said, including who was there and what they did, and it is true that there was no major reaction.

Although today's format is not a forum where this issue will be resolved, he added, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti mentioned it once again today as an issue that has remained unresolved.

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