The Croatian Presidency wants to strengthen the financial instruments of the Three Seas Initiative

In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister, who is also the host of this year's summit, thanked the founders of the Initiative, former presidents of Croatia and Poland, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović and Andrzej Duda.

He also thanked the business community for recognizing the value of this Initiative, as well as the opportunity to improve business cooperation, investment and growth.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that the Business Forum managed to attract a large number of participants, which in terms of attendance managed to surpass the attendance of large business forums, such as the one in Bucharest.

More than 1,600 business people in Dubrovnik

Pointing out that there are more than 1,600 business people in Dubrovnik, the Prime Minister stressed that, although the Initiative is only 10 years old, it is in good shape and ready to contribute to the future growth of this part of Europe. This means strengthening the north-south axis and connecting the Baltic with the Black Sea and the Adriatic.

He also stated that this region of 13 EU member states achieves a total growth of 3.5 trillion euros, and with the associated partners of this Initiative, it is a market of 120 million people.

"All of this is an opportunity to be even better and to improve critical infrastructure in terms of transport and energy, but also in terms of digital transformation, to which we have all been committed in recent years," said Plenković.

This, he added, is of particular importance at the level of the European Union at a time when we are discussing the next seven-year budget of the European Union. The Prime Minister believes that in the discussions that will be held over the next 10 months, leaders should advocate for the recognition of the Three Seas Initiative and cross-border cooperation, as well as for ensuring the financing of joint projects.

He also emphasized that the Croatian presidency has placed emphasis on the financial part of the Initiative, expressing satisfaction that yesterday representatives of financial institutions signed the so-called Fund of Funds under the auspices of the European Investment Bank, which he assessed as important for the further development of projects of common interest.

Croatia as a regional energy hub
 
The Prime Minister also expressed his satisfaction that yesterday, with the support of the United States, he signed with the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto, the Southern Interconnection Agreement, which will connect Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Croatian LNG terminal, which has enabled security of gas supply for the past five years, and will now provide it to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

This is a strategic project that will end dependence on Russian fossil fuels and enable further economic growth of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He emphasized that he sees Croatia as a regional energy hub.

"With goodwill and strong investments in domestic energy infrastructure, we will continue the policy of sustainable growth of our GDP, high employment and falling unemployment, which has reached the lowest level in our history," concluded Plenković.

The leaders' panel, in addition to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, was attended by President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki, President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausèada, President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, President of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs, President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini, President of the Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Tasoulas, President of Romania Nicusor Dan, and Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Estonia Lauri Hussar.

Emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe

In his intervention, Prime Minister Plenković said that he considered the Three Seas Initiative's greatest achievement in the past ten years to be the emphasis placed on Central and Eastern Europe.

He said that the European Union is a long-standing project and that certain member states were able to develop in an incomparable way after World War II compared to the countries on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

Plenković emphasized that this Initiative sends a message that countries that have not had the opportunity to develop in the same way want the same treatment when it comes to infrastructure, energy, digital transformation and transport.

He also highlighted the continued support of the United States and other partners as an added value and the greatest success of this Initiative.

"In the next ten years, we need to focus more on finance and investments through various models and the support of financial institutions so that this Initiative becomes a sustainable organization that will continue to be a driving force in the future," Plenković asserted.

The Prime Minister thanked all other countries that were present in Dubrovnik and are not members of this region, mentioning Japan.

We stand strongly by Ukraine
 
When asked about Ukraine, the Prime Minister emphasized that the participation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Julia Sviridenko at the summit meeting in Dubrovnik testifies to strong support for that country.

He also said that there is no doubt that in the war that has been going on since 2022, Ukraine is the victim and Russia is the aggressor.

The Prime Minister welcomed the unblocking of the European Union loan to Ukraine, worth 90 billion euros, which is important for strengthening the Ukrainian army, but also for the functioning of the country.

Today we are more open to the use of nuclear energy

Turning to the subject of nuclear energy, the Prime Minister said that Croatia and Slovenia are partner countries in that area.

He added that the joint nuclear power plant is located in the Slovenian town of Krško, which is 36 kilometers from Zagreb.

He also said that public opinion is changing in most of the European Union member states, as well as realizing that after the accident in Fukushima, some decisions were made hastily.

"Today, we are much more open to the possibility of using nuclear energy," concluded Plenković.