PM Plenkovic says EU countries must defy populism together

Only together can we defy populism and demagogy which are a horizontal problem, that exists in Croatia too, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Malta on Thursday in his comment on a congress of the European People's Party (EPP), held after Great Britain officially launched the procedure to exit the EU.

Plenkovic was on an official visit to Malta, during which he met with Malta's president and prime minister on Wednesday, and attended the EPP congress on Thursday.

"Only together can we defy populism and demagogy, which is a horizontal problem and which exists in Croatia, too," Plenkovic said.

He described the congress as successful, interesting and dynamic.

The declarations that were adopted are good for the European project and reflect a new ambition and enthusiasm, and constitute real balance between building the European project and the relevant role of national states and parliaments, he added.

The Croatian PM held a number of bilateral meetings on the margins of the congress, meeting with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, EPP President Joseph Daul and the president of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber.

"It was especially important to me to send out a message about the need to strengthen democratic legitimacy, increase the benefits of common policies and the common budget, make the global role of the EU stronger and continue the enlargement process, notably to include Bosnia and Herzegovina," Plenkovic said.

As for Britain's activating Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, Plenkovic said that Croatia would protect its interests and make sure the process was completed as harmlessly as possible for Croatian nationals living in the United Kingdom.

Text: Hina
Foto: Government of the Republic of Croatia / Hina / European Council

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