- Published: 06.05.2009.
State Secretary Davor Božinović met with Teresa Ribeiro, European Affairs State Secretary at Portuguese MFA
The meeting confirmed that the two countries’ bilateral relations are very good and unburdened by outstanding issues, with a mutual wish for their further development, namely in economy and culture
State Secretary Božinović thanked for Portugal’s continuous support for Croatia’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, emphasizing Croatia’s determination to carry on with the reforms, as well as with the activities concerning the harmonization of Croatia’s legislature with the acquis. He expressed hope that Slovenia would soon unblock Croatia’s EU negotiations, as Croatia has recently accepted the latest proposal by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.
State Secretary Ribeiro conveyed Portugal’s support for Croatia’s EU membership and congratulated Croatia on its joining NATO. He said Croatia served as an example to other countries in the region, expressing hope that Croatia would continue the reforms and solve the border dispute with Slovenia soon. Portugal supports Olli Rehn’s proposal aimed at reaching a mutually satisfactory solution an unblocking the negotiations as soon as possible, said State Secretary Ribeiro. She added that Portugal and Spain also have an outstanding border issue, but it has not interfered with their bilateral relations or with the two countries’ European perspective.
Conclusively, both sides agreed that the recently open direct airline between Lisbon and Zagreb represents a significant incentive for the increase of both the trade and tourist visits from Portugal to Croatia.