Plenkovic tells Croats in Munich about advantages of EU membership

Thanks to European funds, Croatia can carry out projects for which it has not enough money, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Sunday at a meeting with Croats in Munich, speaking about the advantages of European Union membership.

Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and next year it will chair the EU for the first time.

The next goals are joining the Schengen and euro areas, and the 2021-27 budget offers big opportunities for building roads, airports and railways, and for investing in rural development and agriculture, said Plenkovic.

"We would have a hard time finding the money for all that in the national budget without borrowing, and here we get it as grants," he said at the meeting at the Croatian Consulate. "That's why this added value of our EU membership, which you live every day, knowing very well how useful it is, is one of the fundamental goals in the years ahead."

About 100,000 Croats live in Bavaria, including 50,000 in its capital of Munich. Half of all the German tourists vacationing in Croatia come from Bavaria, as do large investments in the Croatian economy.

Croatia has had close relations with Bavaria and Baden Wuerttemberg for years. Bavarian PM Markus Soeder is set to visit Zagreb in May.

Plenkovic was in Munich to attend a security conference at which 600 officials, diplomats and experts from all over the world discussed current security problems.

Text: Hina

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