- Published: 18.12.2023.
OECD membership will be proof of Croatia's deep transformation
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Speaking at a European Parliament conference on the decade of Croatia's membership of the European Union, Grlić Radman said that Croatia had fulfilled a number of opportunities offered by the European Union and could be proud of its results.
Thanks to EU funds, Croatian GDP has increased by 5%, reaching 73% of the EU average, he said, adding that what remains for Croatia to do is to join the OECD, which brings together the 38 most developed countries in the world.
In that way Croatia "will complete its positioning on the international scene and prove that it has gone through a deep social, political and economic transformation," the foreign minister said.
Talks on Croatia's OECD membership are under way, and Grlić Radman predicted that it would become a member in 2026.
He said that Croatia had brought to the EU "its knowledge and human resources, its specific Central European and Mediterranean identity, as well as its strong ties with Southeast Europe."
Croatia is recognised as the strongest advocate of EU integration of Southeast Europe and, because of its LNG terminal, as a regional energy hub, Grlić Radman said, adding that the Croatian economy has been growing for 11 quarters in a row and that it recorded the highest growth among the EU member states in the third quarter of this year.
"It is key to again recall the importance and value of membership of the European Union as a community and project of peace, rule of law and democratic values," the Croatian foreign minister said.
"The advantages of membership should be communicated more often and more effectively, common challenges should be sincerely discussed and solutions should be sought," he said in his opening remarks at the conference.
The conference will include two panels, one on Croatia's membership of the EU's Schengen borderless area and the other on its membership of the euro area.
Text: Hina/MVEP