Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Wednesday paid a working visit to Austria, where he met with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg.
The two ministers discussed Croatia and Austria’s excellent bilateral relations as well as topical matters of mutual interest, notably energy, EU enlargement and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the context of the Russian aggression on Ukraine and the expected additional restrictions in Russian gas deliveries, the two ministers stressed the need to increase energy supply diversification, where the Krk LNG terminal could play an important role.
Grlić Radman called for the removal of the historical Croatian coat of arms from the Bleiburg memorial. “Even though we know that this issue concerns federal states and local authorities, I nevertheless appealed to the Austrian government to help in efforts to restore the coat of arms and make it clear that that is a historical coat of arms and should not be associated with World War II regime," the minister said. He also informed Schallenberg about Croatia’s wish for Austria to treat the Croatian language as separate from the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language, which he described as an artificial linguistic creation.
Grlić Radman thanked Austria for supporting Croatia’s entry to the eurozone and the Schengen Area, as well as its bid to join the OECD.
Concerning the situation in the Western Balkans, the two ministers agreed that it was in the interest of both Croatia and Austria to promote the European path of the region so that it could be stable and prosperous. With regard to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they agreed that it was necessary to ensure the equality of its three constituent peoples.
During his visit to Austria, Grlić Radman also met with representatives of the Croatian community and representatives of the Burgenland Croats, who are an important link in the two countries’ relations, underscoring the Croatian Government’s continued support for their activities.
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