Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman 27 February 2020 attended a ministerial conference of the Visegrad Group (V4) on the topic of EU enlargement, which also saw representatives of the Western Balkan countries, Austria and Slovenia, as well as Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.
The conference was held as part of the Czech V4 presidency and discussed supporting the Western Balkan countries on their EU journey.
Addressing the event, Grlić Radman welcomed the fact that the Czech presidency continued the dialogue with the Western Balkan countries, as was the case with previous V4 chairs. Croatia welcomes cooperation and the continuation of political dialogue in this format. Moreover, Grlić Radman underscored that one of the goals of Croatia’s EU presidency was the success of the EU-Western Balkans summit scheduled for May in Zagreb. The minister was hopeful that the summit, 20 years after the Zagreb Summit and 17 years after the Thessaloniki Summit, would send a strong message about EU prospects for the Western Balkans.
On the margins of the conference, Grlić Radman held bilateral talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Bisera Turković and Serbia’s European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimović, discussing the priorities of the Croatian EU presidency and the upcoming Zagreb Summit.