Minister Pusić: Time for concrete measures in flood-hit areas

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić attended the Conference on the Western Balkans 1914-2014, organized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 3 June in Vienna

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić attended the Conference on the Western Balkans 1914-2014, organized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 3 June in Vienna.

The conference addressed EU enlargement, the economic situation in the countries of the region and their European prospects. There was also talk about a model to speed up Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU integration, which Pusić said would enable the country “to meet the demands and criteria to progress on the EU path." The participants also talked about the EU negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro, dealing with the obstacles to Macedonia's accession, and a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Kosovo.

An inevitable topic was the catastrophic floods that had hit Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Pusić said that if there was a silver lining, then it was the ensuing mobilization of solidarity in the region. “However, now comes the second period, when the images have left the screens, and the interest and solidarity have begun to wane,” she said, underlining the importance of a clearly defined institutional assistance. One of the examples is the fact that Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia agreed to spray about 100,000 hectares of flooded terrain with mosquito repellent but lack the repellent they expected from the European Union. Pusić was hopeful that the conference would contribute to the realization of concrete measures and that the goodwill, solidarity and a positive outlook would transform into concrete help. Right now for Croatia that means air-conditioned container homes, equipment to dry out flooded houses, generators and field hospitals, said Pusić.

The participants also discussed the economic situation in the region and cooperation within the Central European Initiative. Croatia is interested in projects concerning energy corridors and energy networking, Pusić said, citing the agreement with Poland on the Adriatic-Baltic energy corridor pertaining to LNG terminals in the Krk and the Baltic, as well as the Adriatic-Ionian Pipeline project. We are also interested in transport projects, Pusić said, but there topics cannot be discussed without taking into account the current situation in the Eastern Partnership countries. 

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