Assistant Minister Marušić attends informal meeting of General Affairs Council

The first part of the meeting concerned the upcoming European Parliament elections and ways to increase polling

The first part of the meeting concerned the upcoming European Parliament elections and ways to increase polling. The participants agreed that the support citizens showed for the EU as a political and economic project did not reflect in their polling, which indicates that they do not see a direct link between the EU policies and their everyday life, which was also stressed by Marušić. The participants concurred on the necessity to raise awareness about that link as well as the fact that citizens’ votes do have an impact on the EU policies and the institutions that implement them. Emphasis should be placed on the basic values such as promoting peace and stability. Also, it is necessary to intensify public debate about the EU policies on all levels as well as communication with the media so that citizens would be better informed, Marušić said.

The second part of the meeting focused on the relations between the General Affairs Council and the European Parliament as well as the ways to improve them. Greater authority following the Lisbon Treaty has led to significant changes in the way the European Parliament works as well as the need for GAC to adapt its functioning accordingly.

Ahead of the meeting, Marušić held talks with Tomas Gulbinas, the EU Director at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about the activities during Lithuania’s presidency, stressing the enlargement as one of Croatia’s foreign policy priorities. Gulbinas was informed about the activities of the Centre of Excellence as a possible platform for the cooperation between Croatia and Lithuania and the Western Balkans countries concerning the enlargement policy.

On the fringes of the meeting, Marušić held short talks with German Minister of State for European Affairs Michael Link regarding the current situation in the Middle East. 

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