PM in Brussels, our focus on Schengen, Euro adoption and economic recovery plan

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic is in Brussels, taking part in an extraordinary European Council meetring. Key topics are EU foreign policy, the EU single market, industrial policies and digital transformation.   

Plenkovic said the talks were about topics to be discussed at the summit and about topics of importance for Croatia, such as the continuation of its journey towards euro adoption and the Schengen area and preparations for making a plan of economic recovery.

"There is close cooperation and communication at the level of experts so that, like other countries, we can get ready to absorb the available funding," Plenkovic said, describing the meetings as very good.

Plenkovic and von der Leyen also commented on the first rule of law report released by the EC on Wednesday.

The report notes that the fight against corruption in Croatia is insufficient both in laws and in practice, notably at the local level.

"The document was compiled on the basis of input by a number of stakeholders with whom EC officials communicated. The government, too, contributed. Some of the things (in the report) are positive, some point to what is yet to be done in terms of the perception of corruption, court efficiency and autonomy, and the continuation of the fight against corruption," he said.

There are no untouchables in the fight against corruption, Plenkovic reiterated.

The rule of law report will be discussed at meetings of the General Affairs Council, which is made up of ministers in charge of European affairs. The first debate will be held in November and it will focus on five countries - Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Estonia.

Milanovic's statements are brilliant

"They are brilliant statements," said Plenkovic when asked to comment on Milanovic's statement that US State Secretary Mike Pompeo was coming to Croatia to sell fighter jets and that Croatia needs to buy jets only from NATO members, which would mean that the Swedish Gripen jets need not be considered.

Plenkovic is currently in Brussels for a two-day extraordinary summit of EU leaders.

Plenkovic gave the same answer when asked to comment on Milanovic's statement that the "lockdown was a delusion" and his calling Members of Parliament Dalija Oreskovic and Marijana Puljak "smug keeners".

As far as the fighter jets are concerned, Plenkovic said that the government had offered the President's Office to delegate a representative to the government's commission for the procurement of the jets, which the president rejected.

"The president rejected that. That is how I feel about his comment on that topic," said Plenkovic.

As far as cooperation with the president is concerned with regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the status of Croats in that country, Plenkovic said that he and his government had dealt with that issue prior to the "president's two or three recent statements."

"As far as our engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina is concerned, organising the Zagreb Summit, raising the topic of the constituency of Croats, we did that prior to the president's last two or three comments," said Plenkovic.

Plenkovic added that his and the government's stance is more than clear.

"It is essential that we return to the letter and spirit of the Dayton agreement. The fact that the more numerous Bosniak people in the Federation of BiH elects the Croat representative in the Presidency leads to dissatisfaction and illegitimate representation. That practice has existed since 2006 and before then no one had thought of undercutting the Dayton agreement. That isn't anything new. We have been talking about that for at least 14 years," he said.

Plenkovic expects flexibility in negotiations with BAT

"I think that it is essential that during the negotiations that are being conducted by the Finance Minister with BAT and other stakeholders on the Croatian market, a general agreement is reached on what sort of excise calendar we can expect in the future and jobs are kept, be they in Istria or in Virovitica-Podravina County. That is the framework and I expect flexibility from all sides as that is in our interest," said Plenkovic.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric on Wednesday said that talks with BAT were ongoing and that the situation was not simple, noting that he did not agree that allegedly deteriorated business conditions were the reason for BAT's possible withdrawal from Croatia.

Maric did not wish to answer reporters' questions ahead of a cabinet meeting when asked if it was true that BAT had given the government an ultimatum which the government had no intention of complying with.

"With all due respect for public interest, I will refrain from commenting, as I have been in recent days... everything will be explained at a given moment but since talks are still underway, I do not intend to comment," Maric said on Wednesday.

Text:Hina

 

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