Plenković: Ukraine and the European Union should be involved in peace negotiations

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is attending special meeting of the European Council in Brussels today, which will discuss two topics - strengthening European defense and the situation in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join the European leaders. The Prime Minister reiterated that peace negotiations cannot be held without Ukraine and that a final solution cannot be sought without the European Union. "The final solution must not reward Russia as an aggressor, Ukraine must not be forced into a semi-capitulation and the loss of its territories, and the current policy of the West and the European Union in this context must not be humiliated," he stressed.

In a statement to the media, Prime Minister Plenković reported on the meeting of the leaders of the European People's Party, held immediately before the meeting of the leaders of the European Union.
 
He congratulated the future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the new Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker.
 
Their election, he added, strengthens the parties belonging to the European People's Party family, the strongest European political group, and increases their number at the European Council table.
 
Regarding the special meeting of the European Council, Prime Minister Plenković said that it is a logical continuation of all the events of the past few weeks.
 
He announced that two topics will be discussed, the first is strengthening European defense, and the second is the situation in Ukraine.
 
"It is an important signal of support for Ukraine, the people and the country that has been a victim of Russian aggression for the past three years. President Zelensky will be with us here in person. We will consider how, in these circumstances, to contribute to the negotiations on a ceasefire, and then ultimately on a real peace plan," the Prime Minister said.
 
Peace negotiations must include Ukraine and the EU, and Croatia's unique experience of peaceful reintegration of occupied territories can help
 
He stressed that Croatia has a unique experience among the EU members, as it has also had temporarily occupied territories. It has returned some of these territories through the process of peaceful reintegration and can offer this significant experience from the only successful mission of this type in Europe since World War II.
 
He reiterated that peace negotiations cannot be held without Ukraine and that a final solution cannot be sought without the European Union.
 
"The final solution must not reward Russia as an aggressor, Ukraine must not be forced into a semi-capitulation and loss of its territories, and the current policy of the West and the European Union in this context must not be humiliated," he stressed.
 
Solutions leading to a ceasefire must include an adequate peace plan that will enable Ukraine to gradually secure sovereignty over its territory, he added.
 
Croatia has reached NATO's pledge to allocate 2 percent of GDP for defense, and the defense budget has increased fivefold in ten years
 
Speaking about European defense, Prime Minister Plenković stated that it is quite clear that all European countries will invest much more in this segment in the coming years than they have so far.
 
Croatia has already reached, he said, NATO's pledge to allocate 2 percent of GDP for defense, and of that 2 percent, as much as 30 percent goes to modernization, or the transition from Eastern to Western technology.
 
He recalled that his government has increased the defense budget many times over, which in 2016 was around 530 million euros, and in 2027 it will be around 2.7 billion euros.
 
If new pledges in NATO are raised to 3 or 3.5 percent, the Prime Minister added, Croatia will be able to keep up with these demands with its economic growth, economic strength and fiscal capacities, he emphasized.
 
"Our investments are visible - new Rafale multi-role combat aircraft, new Leopard tanks, new Heimars multiple rocket launchers, new Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, new Black Hawks, investments in air defense, and soon investments in the Croatian Navy. All of these are systems that will contribute to the security of our country and our citizens, in our national interest," he said.
 
A chance to further strengthen the Croatian military industry
 
He welcomed the five points offered by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
 
The first is a special fund of 150 billion euros for common defense. The second allows for national flexibility in terms of fiscal discipline, i.e. that part of the defense allocations are not counted as expenses. The third element is a more flexible way of using the regular seven-year budget, the fourth is better use of financial instruments and financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank, and the fifth is the use of private capital in combination with state funds.
 
The White Paper on Defense, he added, which the Commission should complete by the end of March, should take a long-term view of how to strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy and the industrial foundation of the European military industry.
 
He emphasized that he sees an opportunity here for the Croatian military industry to participate in this and produce more for the benefit of Croatia. He added that all our military companies are extremely export-oriented even now.
 
In these circumstances, when investments in the defense industry will become a major priority for everyone, he added, efforts will be made to have an ammunition factory or even some other production in Croatia, for example.
 
We are working on this, he added, but it is too early to make any more detailed announcements.
 
Asked what he expects from today's conclusions regarding Ukraine, the Prime Minister said that, if no consensus is reached, option B will be adopted, which will be presented by European Council President Costa on his own behalf, with the support of 26 or 25 member states.
 
Croatia supports a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina with three equal constituent peoples
 
He also referred to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressed out that Croatia is trying to send reassuring messages.
 
"Croatia supports a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the concept of the Dayton Agreement, which speaks of one state, two entities and three equal constituent peoples," he said.
 
Now is the time, the Prime Minister added, for very wise and prudent behavior by all leaders, political parties and institutions.
 
He welcomed the fact that the Council of Ministers proposed the budget as well as the adoption of certain laws that were ultimately criteria on the country's European path.
 
Croatia supports everything that goes towards strengthening Croats as a constituent people, as well as everything that will enable dialogue and the functionality of the country and the avoidance of any tensions.
 
"That is how we will behave, with, of course, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and continue our role as advocates of Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path," he said.

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