State Secretary Biščević met with State Secretary at Finnish MFA Pertti Torstila

The invitation from the Finnish side ensued after the intensive political consultations at the highest level that took place during the recent visits by the President of the Croatian Parliament to Finland and the Finnish Prime Minister to Croatia.

The meeting between the two state secretaries reviewed the course of Croatia’s EU negotiations, with a full support from Finland, as the EU presiding country, for the further speeding up of the negotiations process. State Secretary Biščević informed State Secretary Torstila about Croatia’s activities on its way to NATO membership, within the context of the pending Riga summit.

The Republic of Finland, who is presiding over the EU, has shown special interest in Croatia’s opinions about the situation in the South-Eastern Europe, and in expectation of the pending decisions about the future status of Kosovo. It was pointed out that the Croatian side supports the compromise solutions that will reflect the interests of the nation, keep the way towards the Euro-Atlantic integration open, and serve the interest of the further development of the region.

The meeting also discussed the need for maintaining the international community’s engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and keeping the country on the road to the Euro-Atlantic integration.

The Republic of Finland has shown a great understanding of and gave full support to Croatia’s efforts in acceding to the Euro-Atlantic integration, and described the bilateral relations between the two countries as excellent, with no open issues, and with a possibility of further intensification in the field of economic co-operation.