State Secretary Metelko-Zgombić attends GAC

State Secretary for Europe Andreja Metelko-Zgombić on Tuesday in Brussels attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council.
 
Ministers held a policy debate on strengthening preparedness, response capacity and resilience to future crises. Metelko-Zgombić said that Croatia shared the view on the need to advance the EU’s response to the crises and challenges of today, as well as the need to ensure an ambitious and comprehensive approach to risks. Speaking about boosting interdepartmental coordination, she underscored Croatia’s exemplary civil-military cooperation within RescEU. She also stressed the importance of complementarity and synergy of EU-NATO action, which was backed by European Commission Vice-President Šefčovič.
 
As part of preparations for the European Council meeting of 24 and 25 March 2022, Metelko-Zgombić welcomed the placing of energy products on the agenda, underlining the importance of EU leaders discussing security issues that the Union is faced with. She said that Croatia was following the situation in Ukraine with great concern and condemned Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk region.
 
Ministers underscored solidarity and full support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial unity, calling for urgent adoption of sanctions.
 
Metelko-Zgombić pointed out that Croatia would like to see a European Council debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is at a key moment of talks on electoral reform aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination in the election process.
 
The state secretary also highlighted the importance of adopting the Strategic Compass for security and defence, as well as the urgent adoption of a joint EU-NATO declaration.
 
The presidency informed the Council about the Conference on the Future of Europe and on the next steps, as the Conference enters its final stage. Metelko-Zgombić emphasized the importance of ensuring that our citizens’ ideas and recommendations are heard and considered.
 
The Council held a hearing on the rule of law in Poland under the Article 7(1) TEU procedure.
 

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