At the invitation of the Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Karl Nehammer, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković paid a return official visit to the Republic of Austria, in Vienna, where he also met with the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, and with representatives of the Croatian community and the Croats of Gradišće.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Plenković and Federal Chancellor Nehammer in a statement to the media confirmed friendly, high-quality and meaningful relations between the two countries and two peoples, which are also historically closely connected.
Prime Minister Plenković pointed out that the trade exchange between Austria and Croatia is large stating that it amounted to 3.4 billion euros in 2022 alone, and it is expected to be even higher this year.
Austria is continuously one of Croatia's most important trade partners, he added, and Austrian companies operating in Croatia make a significant contribution to our economy.
In the context of numerous crises in the past years, the Prime Minister pointed out that Croatia cooperated as a partner with Austria and both countries limited energy prices and provided programs of support and assistance to citizens and the economy.
We want to use EU funds to build gas pipelines from Krk to Bavaria, Austria and Slovenia
He also spoke about Croatian initiative of connecting Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia with regard to further investments in the gas pipeline that would be built and connect the LNG terminal on Krk with these countries.
The plan is to build these gas pipelines in such a way that they can be used for hydrogen in the future, thus keeping pace with the green transition.
They also discussed the position of Croats living in Austria, for example around 50 thousand Croats from Gradišće who are an autochthonous national minority, and Prime Minister Plenković expressed his satisfaction with their status in Austrian society. In addition to them, he added, there are about 130 thousand Croats in Austria, who are either Croatian citizens living there, or have become Austrian citizens.
Prime Minister Plenković also said that they discussed key international topics, above all about Russian aggression against Ukraine, where clear and firm mutual support for Ukraine was expressed.
They also discussed the process of enlargement of the European Union, and both countries, Prime Minister Plenković said, are in favour of joining the countries of South-Eastern Europe.
Border controls within Schengen are a temporary measure due to the risk of terrorism and extremism
There was also talk about the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, which they strongly condemned, stressing Israel's right to defence and security, while respecting international and humanitarian law.
In this context, they also discussed the re-establishment of internal border controls in a number of countries, and Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that these are measures of a temporary nature.
Croatia is a reliable partner
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer pointed out that Croatia is an important trade partner for Austria and that the cooperation between the two countries is based on mutual trust.
He emphasized the alliance between Croatia and Austria in combating illegal migration, evaluating Croatia as a reliable partner. He especially praised the cooperation of the two police forces in breaking up organized groups of smugglers.
Nehammer mentioned that Croatia and Austria are also important partners in the field of energy, adding that the LNG terminal on Krk is also a very important issue for Austria, which wants to become independent of Russian gas.
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