- Published: 20.04.2020.
FM holds video conference with German counterpart
Minister of Foreign and Europan Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday held a video conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Minister of Foreign and Europan Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday held a video conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Grlić Radman familiarized his German counterpart with the Croatian Government's timely measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 and with the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Zagreb. He thanked Germany for assisting in the cleanup efforts and its openness to further assistance in reconstruction.
In these challenging times, Grlić Radman underscored the importance of the EU's joint and coordinated response, which should display collective strength, unity and solidarity. He welcomed the Commission's measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed the importance of unity in reaching an agreement on the multiannual financial framework. The EU's new seven-year budget should enable dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic, while taking into account the specific circumstances in some member states, notably the importance of utilizing EU funds for Croatia.
This was the first in a series of video consultations held for the purposes of activity coordination, given that Germany is taking over the Council of the EU presidency from Croatia. Grlić Radman presented further plans of the Croatian presidency. Both officials agreed that exchange of experiences was very important, as some of the topics of the Croatian presidency will be carried over into the second half of the year, for instance the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership.
Moreover, Grlić Radman thanked Maas for assisting in the repatriation of Croatian nationals, underlining the role of Croatia as the presiding country in coordinating consular cooperation. The two ministers also reflected on the situation in Libya and Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of multilateralism and a global approach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Grlić Radman and Maas discussed ways and modalities in which German tourists could visit Croatia.