PM Plenkovic gave a well-attended lecture at Sciences Po, the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, on Croatia's perspective and experience four years after its accession to the European Union.
PM Plenkovic said his government was already implementing comprehensive reforms and was still facing many reforms such as the reforms of public administration, the judicial system and the pension system. He presented data on economic growth, inflation, declining unemployment and the exit from the excessive deficit procedure.
Speaking of his government's main goals, Plenkovic cited Croatia's plan to join the Schengen area, for which he said the country would be ready in 2019, and the euro area. He said that it was necessary to improve communication with the public about the benefits of EU membership.
Asked how to oppose right-wing and left-wing populism in Croatia, Plenkovic said there was "no universal recipe" for that. He said he was the first Croatian prime minister to regularly report to the Croatian parliament on all European Council meetings, but that populists used the floor of the Croatian parliament to speak about everything but European issues and solely for the purposes of daily politics.
The Croatian prime minister was also asked about Croatia's official position on the Hague war crimes tribunal and its verdict against six Bosnian Croat wartime political and military leaders.
PM Plenkovic reiterated that Croatia was one of the countries that strongly supported the tribunal's establishment and that it respected its verdicts. He added that Croatia was dissatisfied with the fact that it had tried three times to join the proceedings against the six Bosnian Croats as an amicus curiae to contest the prosecution's allegations about the role of the first Croatian president and his close aides in the Bosnia and Herzegovina war, but had been rejected all three times.
Text: Hina