Pusić: Stable and secure Southeast Europe in UK and Croatia’s interest

Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond discussed in Zagreb on Thursday the European Union's prospects and development options and its plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina which Croatia strongly supports

(Hina) - Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond discussed in Zagreb on Thursday the European Union's prospects and development options and its plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina which Croatia strongly supports.

"We discussed development options and the way EU institutions function, as well as the stability and security in Southeast Europe and the countries in the region that have a prospect of EU membership, and we particularly discussed Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been making no progress for years," Pusić said after the talks.

"Croatia enthusiastically supports the European approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Mr Hammond travels to tomorrow with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier," said Pusić.

British Foreign Secretary Hammond said the talks focused on the Balkans in the context of EU enlargement and on the initiative announced in Berlin two months ago, which had been endorsed and was advocated by the EU and which was designed to enable some progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina after a long period of stagnation.

He said that he appreciated Croatia's support for the initiative as well as its being the first to propose, in early 2014, that the order of steps to be made to bring about progress in reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina be changed.

Hammond said that he informed Pusić, as he did his other colleagues in the EU, of Britain's wishes for a reform of the EU in the years to come.

Britain wants, in cooperation with other countries, to formulate a set of reforms that would make the EU relevant, adequate and efficient in the 21st century to the benefit of citizens and all countries, he said.

Hammond explained that the British initiative referred to economic competitiveness that would guarantee preservation of EU living standards in the globalised economy, democratic accountability that would guarantee that the EU answered to its citizens, and an institutional reform reflecting the need to preserve the single market and ensuring that all member countries had a say in decision-making processes in the EU, where some countries were part of the euro area and some were not.

Pusić invited her British counterpart to the Croatia Forum, to be held in July, focusing on international development assistance as an instrument of international relations and foreign policy, and on the issue of energy security.

Hammond said he saw Pusić's invitation as an expression of support ahead of the general election to be held in his country in May this year.

Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, too, met with the British official today. They discussed current issues in the area of European affairs, with emphasis on the efficiency of EU institutions, the government said in statement.

Also discussed was the situation in Southeast Europe and the EU membership prospects of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the statement said.

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