On Tuesday, Zagreb hosted a conference on “The Transformative Power of the EU Membership: the Croatian, Irish and Danish Experience”, organized by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs together with the embassies of Ireland and Denmark.
The conference marked Ireland and Denmark’s 50th and Croatia’s 10th EU membership anniversary. Introductory speeches were delivered by Zrinka Ujević, Director General for Europe at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Irish Ambassador Ruaidhri Dowling, and the State Secretary for European Affairs and the Arctic at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carsten Gronbech-Jensen.
See
programme for the list of participants.
The participants discussed the specificities of Croatia, Ireland and Denmark’s EU journeys, which took place at different stages of their political and socioeconomic development, as well as of the EU itself. They highlighted the main differences, speeds and factors of the impact of the accession process and the membership itself on the political, social and economic development of their respective countries. Also underscored was the role of the European Commission in the accession talks as a provider of support, a mediator and an objective assessor. In addition, the participants discussed key challenges for the EU member states in a geopolitical context marked by crises (notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine), which have had a profound impact on the functioning of and decision-making within the EU, as well as on the future development and shaping of policies, especially in terms of the green and digital transition, energy, migration, foreign and security policy, demographic trends, while at the same time the EU strove to preserve its unity, the resilience of its economy and single market as well as its interests and core values, and to strengthen its role on the global scene while maintaining focus on the enlargement policy.
Press releases
