“Croatia and Bulgaria are continuing to develop their excellent relations. One of the big advantages of the EU is the possibility for countries from the same region, though not immediate neighbours, to have a de facto political responsibility for its stability,” said First Deputy prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić, thanking her Bulgarian counterpart Daniel Mitov for the heartfelt welcome. Pusić, who is on a one-day visit to Sofia, underlined that the two countries had a lot of common interests – from energy and transport infrastructure, relations with the eastern and southern neighbours, to economic strengthening, enlargement and stability of Southeast Europe. Cooperation has already begun on those points, Pusić said, and will be solidified through the two countries’ agreements on joint interests in the region. She said cooperation also included other EU member states from the wider region in matters of economy, energy, transport, security and stability. “We believe it is important to keep Southeast Europe on the agenda as a region of future EU member states. Our countries have guaranteed European prospects and in that Croatia and Bulgaria see a joint interest,” Pusić said, underscoring the importance of territorial integrity of all the countries in the region. She said it was a country-specific tailor-made approach, mentioning Macedonia as the most sensitive point of the region which required engagement by other EU member states as well.
Pusić said that what Macedonia needed was stability and protection of human, civil and ethnic rights, which can be achieved only through cooperation. She recalled that Croatia had established the Centre of Excellence, which gathers people who have participated in Croatia’s EU entry talks and cooperate with state officials from all countries in the region, including Macedonia.
The two ministers also talked about other common topics and interests, such as entering the Schengen area, entering the euro area and the development of a strategy for entering a single digital market. The talks also focused on a large European investment project launched by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.