- Published: 02.02.2011.
State Secretary for European Integration Andrej Plenković participated in International Donors’ Conference “Solidarity with Belarus”
The Conference, which drew some 200 participants from 37 countries, as well as numerous international and non-governmental organizations, saw among others the participation of Polish and Swedish foreign ministers Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt, European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle and Belarus opposition leader Aleksandar Milinkevich
The Conference, which drew some 200 participants from 37 countries, as well as numerous international and non-governmental organizations, saw among others the participation of Polish and Swedish foreign ministers Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt, European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle and Belarus opposition leader Aleksandar Milinkevich.As its contribution to the democratization and strengthening of Belarus civil society, the Republic of Croatia offered student scholarships, education of civil society representatives in cooperation with NGOs in Croatia and public health assistance to Belarus experts.
The Conference also reviewed the possibilities of supporting democratization, as well as the strengthening of press freedom and civil society in Belarus. As a concrete contribution to the realization of these projects, the donors announced the financial aid totalling € 87 million.
State Secretary Plenković met as part of the Croatian-Polish political consultations with Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mikołaj Dowgielewicz and Undersecretary of State at the President’s Cabinet Jaromir Sokolowski.
The meeting reviewed the political and economic relations between Croatia and Poland and discussed Croatia’s EU negotiations, as well as Poland’s preparations for assuming the EU presidency in the second half of 2011. It discussed in detail the plans regarding the signing of Croatia’s Accession Treaty and the holding of the referendum in the fall. The Polish side expressed full support for Croatia and agreed on the dynamics of the highest-level bilateral meetings in the coming months.