FM Stier: Croatia bridge between Central and Southeast Europe

(Hina) - Croatia is a bridge between central Europe and our southeastern European neighbours and can contribute to the strengthening of cooperation which can help common security and facilitate efforts to tackle the migrant wave

(Hina) - Croatia is a bridge between central Europe and our southeastern European neighbours and can contribute to the strengthening of cooperation which can help common security and facilitate efforts to tackle the migrant wave, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Davor Ivo Stier said after a meeting with European colleagues at the Visegrad Group (V4) conference in Warsaw on Tuesday,

Traditionally, the Visegrad Group holds meetings with countries of the so-called western Balkan, but this time it decided to invite EU member states that are neighbours in the region -- Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Italy, Stier said.

In his brief address to the press, Stier said Croatia was very well acquainted with the situation in Southeast Europe and it had excellent cooperation with Southeast European countries.

This is "why it can contribute to a better understanding and strengthening cooperation between countries of southeast and central Europe in the context of common security and particularly in the context of migration," Stier said.

Security of the European continent and migrant waves are common challenges of this entire area and they require good coordination and cooperation of EU members and countries that are on the so-called Balkan route, the Croatian minister said. The enlargement policy is closely connected with the EU security policy, he recalled.

The Visegrad Group on Tuesday strongly advocated EU enlargement to include six western Balkan countries -- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia -- saying that enlargement is invaluable for security of the region.

Stier, who on the fringes of the Visegrad Group conference held several bilateral meetings, said the priority was the protection of EU borders.

We must control the borders, notably the border between Turkey and Greece, as an external EU border. This is important on the so-called Balkan route as well where each country must express solidarity with others in efforts to efficiently control its borders, Stier said.

Since the start of the migrant influx in 2015, the V4 has been expressing concern and insisting on stronger control of the external borders. This alliance consisting of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia is also against imposed refugee quotas.

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