Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman 3 March 2020 delivered an address at a two-day inter-parliamentary conference on the EU’s foreign, security and defence policy.
Addressing the conference, the minister reflected on the challenges of today such as illegal migration, climate change, terrorism and nuclear proliferation that threaten the security and stability of the European continent. He underscored the spread of coronavirus as the most recent challenge demanding cooperation and joint response.
Talking about the Croatian Council of the EU presidency, Grlić Radman highlighted its third and fourth priority – “A Europe that Protects” and “A Europe that is Influential”, as two interlinked areas of great importance for the promotion of EU values and interests in the world. “Strengthening peace and security, promoting multilateralism and an international order based on the respect for rules is in the Union’s interest,” stressed the minister, adding that it is crucial for the common foreign, security and defence policy to connect and harmonize all of the available instruments in order to bolster the EU’s global position.
Moreover, Grlić Radman emphasized that Croatia considered the security and stability of Southeast Europe one of the cornerstones of the security of Europe as a whole, adding that enlargement policy was a geostrategic investment in the security of both the EU and the entire European continent.
Concluding his address, the minister underlined that the common foreign, security and defence policy was not only the foundation of European security but also a groundwork on which the EU builds its global strength, influence and importance.