Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday attended a meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrád Group and Western Balkan countries. The main topics of the meeting were the EU enlargement policy, cooperation related to COVID-19, post-pandemic recovery and regional cooperation.
Grlić Radman thanked the Visegrád Group countries for the continual support to Western European countries on their European journey. He also welcomed the holding of the first two intergovernmental conferences with Serbia and with Montenegro, expressing hope that the strengthening of political dialogue between the EU and these two countries would stimulate the continuation of reforms and speed up their accession process. The minister underscored the importance of reaching a consensus on the negotiating framework for Albania and North Macedonia. He also underlined the importance of visa liberalization for Kosovo and the implementation of key reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina before the 2022 election.
“By actively participating in numerous regional organizations and initiatives, Croatia recognises the importance of regional cooperation and, as an EU member state, continues to be a reliable partner to Western Balkan countries and transfer its knowledge and experience gained during the EU accession process. We believe that that transfer of knowledge and experience is of key importance, and in the eight years of EU membership, Croatia has implemented 37 twinning projects in partner countries, including six Western Balkan countries, and more than 700 bilateral technical support projects,” Grlić Radman underscored.
The minister added that the Western Balkans deserved to be constantly on the EU agenda and that strong political support for the enlargement process was key. Conversely, he emphasized the importance of Western Balkan countries’ commitment to reforms. Grlić Radman also expressed his satisfaction that Slovenia, which is taking over the presidency of the EU on 1 July, plans to organise an EU-Western Balkans summit, which will be a continuation of the Zagreb Summit held during Croatia’s presidency last year.
Underlining the importance of mutual understanding and solidarity during the pandemic, the minister reported that Croatia had allocated EUR 6 million for the activities of Team Europe 2020 and donated vaccine to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
Due to Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar’s inability to attend the meeting, Grlić Radman presented Slovenia’s priorities during its EU presidency.