During his official visit, Milanovic met with his Estonian counterpart Taavi Roivas and discussed bilateral relations and issues relating to the Schengen acquis.
In a statement to the press after meeting with Roivas, Milanovic said that Croatia entering the Schengen area was important for the country and that the government in Zagreb would send an application in this regard as soon as possible, namely on July 1, 2015.
Milanovic underscored that Croatia expected a lot from joining the Schengen area because as a tourism economy it depends on the profitability of the tourism industry and free movement of its guests and that most of these came from the European Union.
Milanovic congratulated Estonia on winning a tender which was part of the EU's IPA 2008 programme for Croatia "Blue Border Surveillance - Phase II" for the supply of patrol vessels to further strengthen the operating capacity of the Croatian border police in order to fulfil the requirements of the Schengen acquis.
The vessels were delivered in 2013 and have been controlling Croatia's borders.
During his visit, Milanovic inspected the "e-Estonia Showroom" exhibition of IT solutions and met with the executive director of the EU agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems (eu-LISA), Krum Garkov, a Croatian government statement said.
(Hina) sp
Kohtumisel HR PM Zoran Milanovićiga oli arutlusel, kuidas eestlastegi jaoks oluline reisisihtkoht Schengenisse saada. pic.twitter.com/LtvR2HBVuy
— Valitsuse uudised (@StenbockiMaja) January 26, 2015