Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman 17 February 2020 attended a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which focused on the situation in Libya, and the EU relations with the African Union (AU) and India.
Grlić Radman welcomed High Representative Josep Borrell’s efforts concerning the stability of Southeast Europe, as well as his recent visit to Serbia and Kosovo. The minister also emphasized the importance of the Union’s engagement towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Our immediate neighbourhood is precisely where the Union should prove itself the most as a geopolitical Europe, which is the ambition of the current European Commission,” Grlić Radman said.
During a discussion on the new Strategy with Africa, the minister underscored that the needs and interests of African countries should be taken into account. “We will place emphasis on economy and investments, fighting climate change and ensuring a future for the African youth. We know that Africa is a continent of the young, so we have to find a way to stimulate employment and ensure prosperity and future for the youth in their own countries,” Grlić Radman said.
The new Strategy should be drafted together with African partners. This year will see a high-level meeting on the Sahel end-March in Brussels, a ministerial EU-AU meeting in Kigali in May, and an EU-AU summit in October in Brussels.
In light of the deteriorating situation in Libya, the ministers discussed stepping up the Union’s role in stabilizing the situation and launching a political process. Concerning a stronger engagement in its own neighbourhood, the ministers reached an agreement on launching a new operation in the Mediterranean, aimed at implementing the arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council.
In addition, the ministers held informal talks with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with the aim of dynamizing the EU-India cooperation.
Grlić Radman accompanied Prime Minister Andrej Plenković at a donors’ conference for Albania. Croatia pledged €1 million to help in the reconstruction of Albania’s health and education infrastructure in wake of the devastating earthquake that hit the country in November last year.