Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric paid a two-day official visit to Ireland. Upon arrival in Dublin, she met with representatives of the Croat community in Ireland.
Pejcinovic Buric met with Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Coveney. The two officials highlighted the very good bilateral relations as well as the need to intensify trade and utilise the cooperation potential in tourism, which is growing thanks to new direct flights. They also underlined the need to intensify dialogue as part of preparations for Croatia’s presidency over the Council of the EU in 2020. Pejcinovic Buric and Coveney exchanged views on current EU affairs, with emphasis on Brexit, and on foreign policy priorities. Pejcinovic Buric informed Coveney about Croatia’s preparations to enter the Schengen and euro areas. They also talked about the EU enlargement and the importance of the European accession process, which has a transformative character for the prosperity of states and societies as well as for economic and overall reforms.
Pejcinovic Buric discussed European affairs in more detail with Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee. She also met with President Michael D. Higgins, discussing the EU’s future and the Croat community in Ireland, and held talks with the speaker of the Irish parliament’s lower house, Sean O Fearghail, and members of the Irish-Croatian friendship group in the Irish parliament. The collocutors emphasized the importance of parliamentary cooperation for the development of cooperation in areas of common interest in foreign policy and European affairs, and exchanged views on activities aimed at stabilizing Southeast Europe and supporting the European prospect of the region’s countries.
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