Croatia and Finland to cooperate on regional twinning projects

Assistant Minister for European Affairs Hrvoje Marušić and Secretary General Vesna Cvjetković held separate talks with the Undersecretary of State at Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Stenlund

Assistant Minister for European Affairs Hrvoje Marušić and Secretary General Vesna Cvjetković held separate talks with the Undersecretary of State at Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Stenlund.

“Croatia and Finland share the same views on the EU enlargement and will cooperate on twinning projects in Southeast Europe. As a new member state, Croatia wants to transfer its know-how and experience in European integration,” said Marušić. He presented the activities of the Centre of Excellence and pointed out education, agriculture, the environment, judiciary and internal affairs as prospective areas for future projects.

Stenlund and Cvjetković discussed organizational and financial challenges of foreign service, human resources as well as supporting diplomatic missions and employees abroad. Stenlund outlined Finland’s experience with seconding Finnish institution employees to EEAS.

Cvjetković informed Stenlund about adapting Croatia’s foreign service to new foreign policy priorities, notably promoting export and economic diplomacy, in which important role is to be played by the diplomatic missions and consular posts. Emphasis is to be placed on development and humanitarian aid as well, through development projects in post-conflict areas and projects aimed at alleviating humanitarian crises.

The two officials also discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereby Cvjetković underlined that “the EU enlargement policy sends a strong message to Southeast Europe, while the European integration prospect would contribute to the stability and prosperity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” adding that Croatia advocated a specific, tailor-made approach for BiH to deal with the outstanding issues that have been set as prerequisites for launching the accession process.

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