FM Grlić Radman: When the going gets tough, Croatia gets going

Ahead of tomorrow's final summit of the European Council under the Croatian presidency, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman summarized the results of Croatia’s six-month presidency. 

Commenting on President Zoran Milanović’s statement that the presidency was “unremarkable”, the minister said that the statement was misinterpreted. 

"The President actually commended the state administration’s efforts. We were fantastically prepared for a normal presidency, but this was an unprecedented situation. The whole world has been affected ba COVID-19. Croatia will be remembered for rising to the occasion, because when the going gets tough, Croatia gets going.”

Zagreb and Eastern Partnership summits the crown of our presidency

“We have been focused on the realization of our priorities, and the Eastern Partnership and Zagreb summit are the crown of Croatia’s presidency. If you look at the 122 events we organized before March 13th, these were in-person conferences, eight high-level events and 21 expert meetings,” Grlić Radman said.

Asked whether Croatia could have done more to impose solidarity and unity, the minister said it was precisely Croatia’s initiative.  

Croatia helped to maintain organization; launch of accession talks with N. Macedonia, Albania

"In a situation where you have 27 member states and each is looking after its own, the organization threatened to fall apart. Croatia’s Council of the EU presidency helped maintain it. We had to unite the member states in dealing with the problem and I think we’ve done a great job.

We also had Brexit and the launching of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, which had been inconceivable,” Grlić Radman explained. 

The minister also commented on travel to and from Croatia in light of COVID-19.

“Božinović did the right thing. We will monitor the epidemiological situation in Croatia, stay careful and act in accordance with the measures that are in place. The weather is nice, we have opened up, people are travelling and it’s only natural,” said Grlić Radman. 

Source: RTL/Croatian Government