The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs on Wednesday in Zadar organized a panel discussion with the citizens titled “Preparing for Tomorrow: Global and Regional Role of the EU in Responding to Transnational Challenges”.
Also participating in the panel were EC Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica (via video link), MEP Željana Zovko (via video link), Deputy Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Josip Brkić, and Rector of the University of Zadar Dijana Vican.
The participants included high school and university students from Zadar, representatives of CSOs, and attendees of MFEA’s Diplomatic Academy.
In his keynote address, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman expressed satisfaction that so many young people had shown up. “It is a pleasure to be with you here today, because we’re talking about the future of Europe. And as much as Europe belongs to all of us, the future belongs to youth,” he said.
The minister reflected on the issues of global security and the role of the EU, emphasizing that modern-day security does not involve only defence against war and terrorism, but also protection from cyberattacks, hybrid warfare, misinformation campaigns, climate change and public health threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic. “Croatia and the EU as a whole cannot view their security separately. What threatens our neighbours, threatens us as well,” he said.
In addition, Grlić Radman underscored enlargement as one of the EU’s most successful policies, saying that European perspective had been promised to the Western Balkan countries more than 20 years ago. “Croatia believes that EU enlargement has both the past and the future, and that the vision of Europe’s future has to include Southeast Europe, as that is in the interest of both the EU and the Western Balkans,” the minister concluded.
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